Attendance and pari-mutuel handle were off slightly for the Aug. 27 Travers Stakes (gr. I) program at Saratoga as Hurricane Irene made its way up the East Coast.
The weather in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., was ideal for the Travers program as heavy rain fell several hours away to the south and east. The New York Racing Association opted to cancel live racing for Aug. 28 given expected poor weather conditions in upstate New York.
The ontrack crowd was 43,050, down 5.9% from 45,764 in 2010. Ontrack handle for live races at Saratoga was $8,172,452, down 0.6% from $8,218,975 last year.
Including handle at Aqueduct and Belmont Park, two other NYRA tracks, ontrack handle totaled $8,839,281, down 0.5% from $8,844,774 in 2010. Simulcast business at the two downstate tracks most likely was impacted by the storm and its affect on travel in the area.
All-sources handle on 13 Saratoga races was $33,017,384, down 2.6% from $33,890,996 last year.
NYRA said the pool for the $1 million guaranteed Travers day all-stakes pick four was up 11.2% to $1,650,587.