While racing continues to see a decline in race days, races, and starts, the all-important third quarter economic indicators saw growth in purses and handle for those remaining race days.
According to the Thoroughbred racing indicators for the third quarter released Oct. 6 by Equibase, wagering per race day improved 4.9% in the months of July, August, and September, while purses per race day were up 4.4% during that three-month stretch.
Third quarter metrics always have been important for the racing industry as they include summer racing from tracks such as Saratoga Race Course and Del Mar. Total wagering at the Saratoga summer meet reached $791,129,471, a slight drop from $803.8 million in 2024. At Del Mar's summer meet, total wagering reached $535.15 million, an increase of 6.7% from last summer's $501.57 million.
While the wagering and purse numbers per race day saw growth, that improvement was not enough to lift the overall performance. A reduction in race days of 5.4% in the quarter contributed to flat performances in both wagering, down 0.7% to $2,893,176,383; and available purses, down 1.3% to $386,085,666.
While those percentages are small, they indicate declines of some $21 million in wagering handle and nearly $5 million in purses for the quarter.
For the first nine months of the year, handle is down 2.1% to $8,679,660,193 when compared to January-September of 2024. Available purses also are down, off 2.4% to $975,527,036.
Both of those 2025 numbers clearly are impacted by the 4.8% decline in race days to 2,837.
| 3rd QTR 2025 vs. 3rd QTR 2024 | |||
| Indicator | 3rd QTR 2025 | 3rd QTR 2024 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $2,893,176,383 | $2,914,848,801 | -0.74% |
| U.S. Purses (Available) | $386,085,666 | $390,994,856 | -1.26% |
| U.S. Purses (Paid) | $369,409,534 | $373,719,930 | -1.15% |
| U.S. Race Days | 1,125 | 1,189 | -5.38% |
| U.S. Races | 8,871 | 9,270 | -4.30% |
| U.S. Starts | 63,167 | 66,654 | -5.23% |
| Average Field Size | 7.12 | 7.19 | -0.97% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $2,571,712 | $2,451,513 | 4.90% |
| Average Available Purses Per Race Day | $343,187 | $328,843 | 4.36% |
| * Includes worldwide commingled wagering on U.S. races. | |||
| YTD 2025 vs. YTD 2024 | |||
| Indicator | YTD 2025 | YTD 2024 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $8,679,660,193 | $8,866,367,013 | -2.11% |
| U.S. Purses (Available) | $975,527,036 | $999,708,464 | -2.42% |
| U.S. Purses (Paid) | $931,534,289 | $955,889,050 | -2.55% |
| U.S. Race Days | 2,837 | 2,979 | -4.77% |
| U.S. Races | 23,046 | 24,090 | -4.33% |
| U.S. Starts | 170,083 | 176,856 | -3.83% |
| Average Field Size | 7.38 | 7.34 | 0.53% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $3,059,450 | $2,976,290 | 2.79% |
| Average Available Purses Per Race Day | $343,859 | $335,585 | 2.47% |
| * Includes worldwide commingled wagering on U.S. races. | |||
