Handle Down, Purses Increase in January

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Wagering on United States races dropped 2.02% in January when compared with the same month in 2012, according to the Thoroughbred Racing Economic Indicators released by Equibase Feb. 4.

With 23 fewer racing days–individual programs at each track–pari-mutuel handle was down $16.53 million, from $819,076,428 in January 2012 to $802,539,167. The number of racing days fell 7.30%, from 315 last year to 292 this year.

U.S. purses, meanwhile, were steady in January. The 2013 figure of $66,108,372 was up 0.42% from $65,828,965, according to the statistics.

According to Equibase, there were 16 full-card cancellations and several partial-card cancellations in January 2013.

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