Advance deposit wagering increase fueled a healthy increase in business during the brief 2012 Autumn meet at Betfair Hollywood Park, which concluded its 24-day live racing season Dec. 16.
"Preliminarily, we are up between 7-8 percent through a comparable number of days (the 2011 Autumn meet was 26 days),'' said track president Jack Liebau in a press release. "We're most pleased by the fact that a substantial portion of the increase was attributable to ADW (advance deposit wagering) handle, which was up over 30 per cent and over 50 per cent of our ADW handle is through TVG (Television Games Network).
"We're also pleased that wagering in Southern California was up 3-4 percent over last year and we believe that was due to our joint marketing program with TVG and our races being televised on TVG and Fox affiliated stations.''
In addition, Hollywood Park's races were being shown over The Stronach Group's HRTV, which is TVG's rival in the United States' TV horse racing market. The network is affiliated with the Stronach's ADW provider Xpressbet.
Hollywood did not release its final meet total figures, as it hosts seven days of simulcasts before the stand officially ends. Complete handle and Southern California attendance figures will be available later this month, the track said.
Average field size at the meet increased for a third consecutive year, rising from 7.33 starters per race in 2010, to 7.89 last year, and 8.16 in 2012. The season certainly finished with a flourish as 228 horses were entered in 21 races the final two days of the meet.
Another success was a renewed interest in Saturday's Pick Six. The average Pick Six pool for the half-dozen Saturdays during the meet was $243,754.
Tom and Debi Stull's Tommy Town Thoroughbreds, Glen Hill Farm, and the partnership of BG Stable and trainer Hector Palma tied for the top spot in the owners' standings with four wins. In terms of earnings, Black Rock Thoroughbreds led with $388,200.
Jockey Edwin Maldonado won his first major riding title in Southern California, finishing with 25 wins, one more than Rafael Bejarano. Martin Garcia was third with 22 victories.
Garrett Gomez was the leader among jockeys in stakes wins with five and earnings with $1,075,460.
Hall of Famer Bob Baffert won his third Autumn training title, and fifth overall including the 2010 Oak Tree meet. Baffert wound up with 17 wins, leaving him three clear of John Sadler and four in front of Doug O'Neill.
Another Hall of Fame trainer, Jerry Hollendorfer, was second with three stakes wins and $835,996 in earnings.
Betfair Hollywood Park
Benoit Photo