Del Mar Thoroughbred Club announced Sept. 21 that it will pay its horsemen a retroactive purse distribution estimated to be between $850,000 and $900,000.
The seaside California track said the retroactive purse payment covering the meet that ran from July 21 to Sept. 8 will go toward overnight purses only, excluding the track’s major stakes program. The distribution amounts to approximately 7.5% of the overnight purses paid in 2010, according to DMTC.
Once final figures from all sources have been confirmed, Del Mar officials expect to be sending out checks to horsemen by early November.
Del Mar’s 71st summer meeting finished with a total handle of $449,711,296 and a daily average of $12,154,359.
"Our horsemen were, along with racing fans, the reason for a successful meet this summer," DMTC president and general manager Craig Fravel said in a statement. "Our racing office managed the inventory well and, in the end the numbers both on the track and at the pari-mutuels were better than expected."
Del Mar’s daily average purses for 2010—$557,000 per day—are the highest in California and among the highest nationally.
