U.S. Wagering, Purses Climb in February

[Wandering Eyes]

Total wagering on U.S. races topped $911 million and purse money exceeded $75 million in the month of February, according to statistics released Friday by Equibase.

Compared to the $840.5 million wagered on U.S. races in 2021, the current figure represented a healthy gain of 8.39% while purse money rose by a whopping 22.09%. The number of U.S. race days and number of races run each increased by double digits, though average field size and the average wagering per race day declined modestly. Average purses per race day were $295,009, an increase of 4.04% over 2021.

When compared to February 2020, weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic began to wreak havoc on North American racing, wagering this year was ahead by 1.09%, while U.S. purses were down by about 2%.

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