Santa Anita racetrack reports rises in betting, attendance ...Middle East

Total betting on Santa Anita racing rose about 10% from a year ago as the Arcadia track ran more races with more horses during its winter-spring season, executives said Monday.

The season, which opened Dec. 26 and ended Sunday, was Santa Anita’s first winter-spring meet since its management’s controversial decision to close Golden Gate Fields in the San Francisco Bay Area in June 2024 sent many lower-level horses to Southern California and reduced competition for wagering dollars.

The number of races at Santa Anita went up 10.1% to 763 in the 2024-25 season from 693 in 2023-24 as starts by horses increased 16% to 5,719 from 4,937 and the average field expanded to 7.5 horses from 7.1.

That largely explains why betting on Santa Anita races from on-site and other sources was up 10.4%, totaling $631,651,707 compared to $572,015,408 in 2023-24. Comparable handle figures for past seasons at the 90-year-old track are not included in the media guide. But other handle figures declined steadily in recent years.

Because of the closure of Golden Gate Fields — among other Northern California thoroughbred and harness tracks without meets this year — overall betting on races in the state has shrunk. California Horse Racing Board executive director Scott Chaney reported in May that statewide handle was down 7% for daytime racing and 5% in total.

Santa Anita reported a 4% increase in attendance, to 541,692, which works out to an average of 6,945 a day.

It also said the recent season produced the best horse-safety record at big North American tracks.

One horse died in competition during the 78 days of racing at Santa Anita since Dec. 26, the fewest there during that span of dates since the CHRB began posting horse deaths on its website in 2020. But seven horses died in training to bring the total fatalities in racing and training to eight, in line with the eight, nine and eight the past three years.

“This year was a transitional one for the California racing community, and it was a success by every measure,” Santa Anita senior vice president and general manager Nate Newby said in a news release.

“We have witnessed increases in every key category,” Thoroughbred Owners of California president Bill Nader said, “which could only happen through the move to a single circuit.”

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