The 2009 Belmont Park Fall Championship meet, permeated by inclement weather and races washed off the turf, saw declines in handle and attendance figures.
The 2009 meet ran 33 days, four fewer than the 2008 meet, yet saw 81% more races taken off the turf (38 in 2009 compared to 21 in 2008). A total of 119 turf races were run at the 2009 Fall meet compared to 143 in 2008.
Daily average attendance dropped 13%, from 3,987 in 2008 to 3,470 in 2009, while on-track and total handle daily averages dipped 15.8% and 17.1%, respectively. Daily average on-track handle decreased from $1,248,821 in 2008 to $1,051,874 in 2009, and daily average total handle decreased from $10,029,353 in 2008 to $8,312,055 in 2009. Total attendance for the 33-day meet was 114,519, down from 147,515 for the 37-day meet in 2008, total on-track handle was $34,711,829, down from $46,206,364 in 2008, and total handle was $274,297,813, down from $371,086,050 in 2008.
