USA Horse Race Wagering Down on Previous Year.

[Chief Stipe]

According to the annual Thoroughbred Economic Indicators report released Monday by Equibase, the total figures for two of the sport's most important categories declined in 2025.

Thanks in part to handle being down 7.32% in December, handle for the year was down 2.10% when compared to 2024 figures. A total of $11,028,652,933 was wagered in the U.S. as compared to $11,265,666,064 in 2024. Handle peaked in 2003 at $15.18 billion. When factoring in inflation, betting handle has fallen about 57% over the last 22 years.https://bitofayarn.com

The year 2025 marked the sixth time in the last seven years that handle has fallen. The outlier was 2021, when handle figures rose by 11.8%. This was expected because the 2021 numbers were being compared to 2020 figures, a year in which COVID caused the sport to lose a multitude of racing dates.

“There are two ways of looking at it, one of which is certainly worrisome,” said Marshall Gramm, an economics professor at Rhodes College and a professional horseplayer. “The increased competition with other gambling ventures is hurting the sport. The fact that many tracks have not resolved the issues with the odds fluctuations and the computer wagering is another factor. The way we price our sport for the recreational player in a way that is not comparable to other gambling options is, I believe, another reason this is happening. We don't know any more than what they reported in those raw numbers, but, anecdotally, I would guess we are losing more from recreational players and the real meat-and-potatoes horseplayers. They are disappearing from our game, and that is a problem.”https://bitofayarn.com

Gramm continued: “The flip side is that purses are more and more funded by alternative gambling. The industry seems to be content to spend more lobbying politicians than focusing on their core customers. Maybe if they can finance a sport without needing horseplayers, they will continue to go on and do so.”

The figure for “Wagering on U.S. Races” includes worldwide commingled wagering on U.S. races.

In the category of “Average Wagering Per Race Day,” there was some positive news, as the figure rose by 3.27%, from $2,974,826 to $3,072,048. But fewer races were run during the year–29,401 versus 30,852 in 2024.

Perhaps the more surprising news revealed by Equibase Monday was the decline in the total amount of purse money paid out in the U.S. in 2025. Thanks in large part to an https://bitofayarn.cominflux of casino, slot machine and HHR money that has poured into the sport in places like Kentucky and Arkansas in recent years, purses have been holding relatively steady. But the amount of purse money paid out in 2025 was $1,220,644,640, which represents a 2.53% decline from the prior year. In 2024, purses paid out rose by 0.5% and reached an all-time high for the industry.https://bitofayarn.com

Though the increase was a very small one, the fact that average field size increased was another piece of good news. The average field size in 2025 was 7.47 starters per race, up 0.37% from 2024.