Handle Up Mid-Meet at Tampa Bay Downs

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Photo: Tom Cooley Photography

General Quarters took the Sam F. Davis, highlighting the first half of the Tampa Bay Downs meet.

Driven by its live export signal to out-of-state outlets, total handle is up slightly at Tampa Bay Downs through the mid-way part of the 94-day meet, the track reported Feb. 20.

Total handle was reported at $183,314,097, or a daily average of $3,900,300, an increase of 0.8% over the same period of the 2007-2008 meet. Live out-of-state export handle was up 2.6% to $155,493,949.

But officials hope to improve on reports of total live on-track handle ($11,964,739) and total attendance (144,343), which were down 10.8% and 5.5%, respectively.

“While the current economic situation and the colder than usual temperatures have certainly affected our on-track handle and attendance, the implementation of advanced deposit wagering prior to the start of the current racing season has been paramount in increasing the co-mingled all-source handle at Tampa Bay Downs,” track vice president and general manager Peter Berube said in a news release. “I’m confident that as we move into the warmer months, attendance will pick up and that we will continue to see support from fans across the country.”
 

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