By Past The Wire Staff•January 6, 2023•4 min readSave Article
Photo by Ernie Belmonte/Past The Wire, Collage Maribeth Kalinich
NTRA Statement on 2022 Thoroughbred Racing Economic Indicators
NTRA and Equibase Press Releases
LEXINGTON, Ky.—The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) issued the following statement after the release of the Equibase Annual Year End 2022 Thoroughbred Racing Economic Indicators.
“Thoroughbred racing purses and pari-mutuel handle continued to exhibit strength in 2022. Purses were up double-digits year-over year and reached an all-time high thanks in part to contributions from other gaming sources,” said NTRA President and CEO Tom Rooney. “Pari-mutuel handle was nearly equal to 2021 and the second highest since 2009. These business trends occurred during a year of unprecedented growth in legal, state regulated sports betting. The 2023 gaming landscape promises to be more competitive than ever for the sports wagering dollar. It also represents a huge opportunity to introduce pari-mutuel wagering and the sport of Thoroughbred racing to a vast new audience if we as an industry embrace the challenge.”
Total wagering for the year ended slightly down at -0.87% while purses continued their upward trend, ending up significantly at +10.92%, when compared to 2021. Year to date 2022 vs. 2021 indicators are listed below:
YTD 2022 vs YTD 2021:
Indicator
YTD 2022
YTD 2021
% Change
Wagering on U.S. Races*
$12,108,807,335
$12,215,598,838
-0.87%
U.S. Purses
$1,309,837,841
$1,180,842,882
+10.92%
U.S. Race Days
4,104
4,072
+0.79%
U.S. Races
33,453
33,565
-0.33%
U.S. Starts
244,133
247,405
-1.32%
Average Field Size
7.30
7.37
-0.99%
Average Wagering Per Race Day
$2,950,489
$2,999,901
-1.65%
Average Purses Per Race Day
$319,161
$289,991
+10.06%
For December, Fourth Quarter and Year End 2022
Equibase Data
December 2022 vs. December 2021
Indicator
December 2022
December 2021
% Change
Wagering on U.S. Races*
$748,142,136
$808,954,882
-7.52%
U.S. Purses
$83,068,942
$74,780,035
+11.08%
U.S. Race Days
256
251
+1.99%
U.S. Races
2,200
2,151
+2.28%
U.S. Starts
17,285
17,257
+0.16%
Average Field Size
7.86
8.02
-2.07%
Average Wagering Per Race Day
$2,922,430
$3,222,928
-9.32%
Average Purses Per Race Day
$324,488
$297,928
+8.91%
4th QTR 2022 vs. 4th QTR 2021
Indicator
4th QTR 2022
4th QTR 2021
% Change
Wagering on U.S. Races*
$2,569,665,204
$2,720,404,107
-5.54%
U.S. Purses
$327,833,091
$300,288,903
+9.17%
U.S. Race Days
881
870
+1.26%
U.S. Races
7,442
7,339
+1.40%
U.S. Starts
57,174
56,789
+0.68%
Average Field Size
7.68
7.74
-0.72%
Average Wagering Per Race Day
$2,916,760
$3,126,901
-6.72%
Average Purses Per Race Day
$372,115
$345,160
+7.81%
YTD 2022 vs. YTD 2021
Indicator
YTD 2022
YTD 2021
% Change
Wagering on U.S. Races*
$12,108,807,335
$12,215,598,838
-0.87%
U.S. Purses
$1,309,837,841
$1,180,842,882
+10.92%
U.S. Race Days
4,104
4,072
+0.79%
U.S. Races
33,453
33,565
-0.33%
U.S. Starts
244,133
247,405
-1.32%
Average Field Size
7.30
7.37
-0.99%
Average Wagering Per Race Day
$2,950,489
$2,999,901
-1.65%
Average Purses Per Race Day
$319,161
$289,991
+10.06%
2020 Comparisons:
December 2022 vs. December 2020
Indicator
December 2022
December 2020
% Change
Wagering on U.S. Races*
$748,142,136
$751,783,126
-0.48%
U.S. Purses
$83,068,942
$57,534,410
+44.38%
U.S. Race Days
256
229
+11.79%
U.S. Races
2,200
2,008
+9.56%
U.S. Starts
17,285
16,884
+2.38%
Average Field Size
7.86
8.41
-6.56%
Average Wagering Per Race Day
$2,922,430
$3,282,896
-10.98%
Average Purses Per Race Day
$324,488
$251,242
+29.15%
4th QTR 2022 vs. 4th QTR 2020
Indicator
4th QTR 2022
4th QTR 2020
% Change
Wagering on U.S. Races*
$2,569,665,204
$2,576,392,869
-0.26%
U.S. Purses
$327,833,091
$240,534,957
+36.29%
U.S. Race Days
881
793
+11.10%
U.S. Races
7,442
6,805
+9.36%
U.S. Starts
57,174
55,530
+2.96%
Average Field Size
7.68
8.16
-5.85%
Average Wagering Per Race Day
$2,916,760
$3,248,919
-10.22%
Average Purses Per Race Day
$372,115
$303,323
+22.68%
YTD 2022 vs. YTD 2020
Indicator
YTD 2022
YTD 2020
% Change
Wagering on U.S. Races*
$12,108,807,335
$10,922,936,290
+10.86%
U.S. Purses
$1,309,837,841
$869,771,206
+50.60%
U.S. Race Days
4,104
3,302
+24.29%
U.S. Races
33,453
27,700
+20.77%
U.S. Starts
244,133
220,006
+10.97%
Average Field Size
7.30
7.94
-8.12%
Average Wagering Per Race Day
$2,950,489
$3,307,976
-10.81%
Average Purses Per Race Day
$319,161
$263,407
+21.17%
2019 Comparisons:
December 2022 vs. December 2019
Indicator
December 2022
December 2019
% Change
Wagering on U.S. Races*
$748,142,136
$707,728,171
+5.71%
U.S. Purses
$83,068,942
$66,315,581
+25.26%
U.S. Race Days
256
252
+1.59%
U.S. Races
2,200
2,169
+1.43%
U.S. Starts
17,285
17,561
-1.57%
Average Field Size
7.86
8.10
-2.96%
Average Wagering Per Race Day
$2,922,430
$2,808,445
+4.06%
Average Purses Per Race Day
$324,488
$263,157
+23.31%
4th QTR 2022 vs. 4th QTR 2019
Indicator
4th QTR 2022
4th QTR 2019
% Change
Wagering on U.S. Races*
$2,569,665,204
$2,439,642,344
+5.33%
U.S. Purses
$327,833,091
$274,053,649
+19.62%
U.S. Race Days
881
910
-3.19%
U.S. Races
7,442
7,653
-2.76%
U.S. Starts
57,174
61,576
-7.15%
Average Field Size
7.68
8.05
-4.52%
Average Wagering Per Race Day
$2,916,760
$2,680,926
+8.80%
Average Purses Per Race Day
$372,115
$301,158
+23.56%
YTD 2022 vs. YTD 2019
Indicator
YTD 2022
YTD 2019
% Change
Wagering on U.S. Races*
$12,108,807,335
$11,033,824,363
+9.74%
U.S. Purses
$1,309,837,841
$1,167,920,667
+12.15%
U.S. Race Days
4,104
4,425
-7.25%
U.S. Races
33,453
36,207
-7.61%
U.S. Starts
244,133
272,553
-10.43%
Average Field Size
7.30
7.53
-3.05%
Average Wagering Per Race Day
$2,950,489
$2,493,520
+18.33%
Average Purses Per Race Day
$319,161
$263,937
+20.92%
* Includes worldwide commingled wagering on U.S. races.
