From the New York Racing Association
With only one week left in its summer meet, business at Saratoga in upstate New York remains brisk.
Through the fifth week of the meet, attendance is up 6% from last year, on-track handle is up 7.5%, and total handle is up 6.1%, according to figures released by the New York Racing Association after the Aug. 27 program at the Spa.
Total attendance was 809,471, up from 763,133 in 2006. (Attendance figures for “giveaway” days include patrons who pay multiple admissions to obtain more than one item, either at the track entrance or at the multiple admissions area inside the track.) On-track handle was $104,891,565, up from $97,604,949 in 2006 through the fifth week of the meet. And total all-sources handle was $479,567,195, up from $451,840,546 during the same period last year.
Through Aug. 27, there have been 288 races run at Saratoga compared with 278 in 2006, when one racing day was canceled because of extreme heat. The number of wagering interests was 2,463, up 6.6% from 2,311 in 2006.
“The Saratoga 2007 season continued its strong performance through (the fifth week),” NYRA president and chief executive officer Charles Hayward said. “Hot weather on Travers day (Aug. 25) had a negative impact on on-track handle and attendance. All-sources Travers day handle of $36,749,572, however, was the third-highest Travers handle in history.
“We look forward to finishing the meet with a bang with a ‘Sunset Friday’ card and a stakes-studded Labor Day weekend.”
