You're Listening to an article from Canadian Thoroughbred.com. Wagering on U.S. Racing Declines for Third Straight Year By:
CT Staff | .
Betting on horse races in the US slid in 2024, the third year in succession wagering has dropped .
Figures released last week by Equibase noted a total of $11,265,210,514 was wagered in 2024, a 3.35 percent decline ($390 million) from the $11,655,726,020 bet in 2023. For the year, also declining were race days (-2.37 percent); races (-2.82 percent), and starts (-2.63 percent).
According to Equibase, the month of December saw a 14.44 percent decline in wagering, the biggest monthly percentage drop of 2024. Three other months had double-digit wagering declines: January, -10.76 percent; April, -11.42 percent; and September, -10.96 percent.
From small fields (the foal crop in North America has dropped some 40 percent in the last 16 years) to horses making fewer starts to too many racetracks and race dates and the influx of sports betting, horse racing wagering is in a battle.
(*Figures for wagering on Woodbine races and through its country-wide betting platform HPIBet.com have not been released yet)
For more, check out this report on the Paulick Report.
courtesy Paulick Report
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