Tag: Business Of Horse Racing

The image of a Kentucky Derby winner -- like Victor Espinoza aboard American Pharoah in 2015 - was absent from May due to the coronavirus. That impacted horse racing betting handles for the month. (Image: Mark Cornelison/Lexington Herald via Getty)

May’s Racing Economic Indicators Continue COVID-19 Plunge

- 3 min read

Even with tracks emerging from coronavirus shutdowns throughout May, Thoroughbred racing handles for the month plummeted compared to their 2019 totals, according to Equibase’s monthly report on horse racing’s economic indicators. The biggest individual culprit for May’s decline was easy to pinpoint: no Kentucky Derby and no Preakness Stakes. The […]

Until fans are allowed back inside, Minnesota horse racing fans can't watch Canterbury Park races. They can't bet on them via remote apps, either. (Image: Explore Minnesota)

Minnesota Race Fans Can’t Attend, Can’t Bet on State Races

- 3 min read

Minnesota horse racing fans find themselves in the strange place of not being able to bet on races at state tracks after a bill provision allowing advance deposit wagering (ADW) for in-state races failed in the state legislature. The amendment allowing in-state ADW came out of a bill just as […]

Charlatan has a fruitful future in the breeding shed after he finishes beating his fellow thoroughbreds like he did here in the Arkansas Derby. (Image: Coady Photography)

After Three Races, Charlatan’s Breeding Rights Sold to Kentucky Farm

- 3 min read

He has all of three races and one stakes victory under his tack. And now, Charlatan has a new home once his racing career is finished. Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm in Lexington, KY. announced it bought Charlatan’s breeding rights for an undisclosed amount. The announcement came less than a week […]

American Pharoah is just beginning to make his mark on the racing world as a stallion. His prolific career won't be affected by The Jockey Club's new limits on stallion breeding. (Image: Coolmore Farm)

The Jockey Club Introduces New Limit on Stallion Breeding

- 3 min read

In a significant effort to reduce overbreeding among thoroughbred horses, The Jockey Club implemented a new rule limiting stallions to covering (or mating with) 140 broodmares per year. The new rule, which The Jockey Club said is “to preserve the health of the Thoroughbred breed for the long term…” goes […]

As one of five open tracks in April, Arkansas' Oaklawn Park enjoyed a 242% increase in April handle compared to 2019. (Image: AP)

April Racing Handle Tells Two Different Stories on COVID-19 Effects

- 3 min read

When Equibase released its monthly report of Economic Indicators in Thoroughbred Racing earlier this week, the numbers told two different stories about the COVID-19 effect on handle. And by default, the effect on the sport itself. The first: that total wagering dropped 24.4% in April 2020 compared to April 2019. […]

The annual Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Selected Yearling Sale often brings in more than $40 million. Due to the coronavirus. it was canceled and merged with two other sales this year. (Image: Donna Abbott-Vlahos)

Fasig-Tipton Combines Three Major Horse Auctions Into One Showcase

- 3 min read

Recognizing a sagging market for yearlings amid the coronavirus pandemic, renowned thoroughbred auction house Fasig-Tipton announced plans to consolidate three yearling sales into one. The company merged the Saratoga and New York Bred sales scheduled for July into the 2020 Selected Yearlings Showcase, scheduled for Sept. 9-10 at its Lexington, […]

Maximum Security edged Benbatl to win $10 million in the inaugural Saudi Cup in February. Saudi officials froze purse payments pending an investigation surrounding his trainer, Jason Servis. (Image: Reuters)

Officials Freeze Saudi Cup Purse Pending Internal Investigation

- 3 min read

In the latest fallout from a long-running horse doping scandal ensnaring some of the sports top trainers and veterinarians, the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia announced it is withholding the purse distribution for the $20 million Saudi Cup pending its own internal investigation. Maximum Security won the Feb. 29, $20 […]

Constitution blew away the competition in the 2015 Donn Handicap. But he's blowing away the competition as a sire in 2020. (Image: WinStar Farm)

Promising Pedigree: Constitution Progeny Showing What’s in Sire’s DNA

- 3 min read

His racing career was promising, but unfulfilled – four victories in eight starts. Even being a son of standout sire Tapit, there was nothing in the crystal ball foreshadowing what awaited Constitution in the stallion shed. Which illustrates why horse breeding is such an inexact science, and why semi-royal bloodlines […]

Scenes like this race start at Arkansas' Oaklawn Park are rarer and rarer these days due to the coronavirus. Oaklawn is one of only five US thoroughbred tracks still running, causing a 22.58% drop in March wagering compared to the same month in 2019. (Image: Coady Photography)

No Surprise: Horse Racing Handle Takes Huge Hit in March

- 3 min read

With the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic closing racetracks and limiting betting opportunities at the few still facilities that remain open, horse racing wagering dropped sharply in March, falling 22.6% from its 2019 totals. Bettors placed $731 million in wagers during March, a $214 million drop from last year. Equibase released the […]

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