racing purses

Louisiana's Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots will host 73 black-type races worth a combined $9.7 million during the upcoming 76-day 2023-24 Thoroughbred meet, officials at the New Orleans oval announced Wednesday. The amount is up $1.2 million from last year, but does include $1 million in base purses offered Dec. 2 as Fair Grounds hosts the 25th annual Claiming Crown. That event returns to Fair Grounds for the first time since 2011 with purses ranging from $75,000 to $200,000. Another $25,000 in each race will be available in purse...

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf submitted his 2020-2021 budget Tuesday, which called for a massive cut in the amount of money that goes to horse racing from slots proceeds. Wolf is seeking to take $204 million away from the Race Horse Development Fund, which totals about $250 million. Such a move would prove devastating to racing and breeding industries, as slot money accounts for 88% of the total purses. "This scheme would destroy an industry that provides a $1.6-billion economic impact and supports an estimated 16,000 to 23,000 jobs in the...

According to figures released Monday by Equibase, handle on U.S. racing dipped slightly in 2019, down 2% from 2018 numbers. The decline reversed a 4-year trend in which handle had risen every year from 2015 through 2018. When factoring in a decrease in number of races run, from 36,586 to 36,207, handle also declined, but by just 1%. A total of $11.04 billion was wagered in 2019. "I think it is extremely worrisome," said Marshall Gramm, the Professor and Chair of the Department of Economics at Rhodes College and a...