Harsh Winter Shows in First Quarter Handle, Race Days

A particularly harsh winter took its toll on racing during the first quarter of year in the United States as indicated by declines in wagering, purses, and field size.

Statistics released April 6 by Equibase show race days from January through March dropped 2.5% and the number of races fell 3.2%. Average field size took a bigger hit, falling around 4.3% to 7.59 starters per race. 

Corresponding to these declines was a 7.1% drop in wagering to nearly $2.33 billion. 

Reflecting racetracks' ability to preserve or reschedule their bigger stakes races, purses paid for the quarter slid 1.5% to more than $242 million.

Late January and early February suffered the biggest changes in schedules with multiple racetracks throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic forced to cancel cards due to extreme cold. Oaklawn Park cancelled three days during Jan. 30-Feb. 1 and had to reschedule the Southwest Stakes (G3) to be run Feb. 6. Other tracks that cancelled programs included Aqueduct Racetrack, Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, Laurel Park, Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course, Parx Racing, and Turfway Park. 

Santa Anita Park also lost a day, having to cancel its Jan. 3 card due to heavy rain.

The metrics for purses and race days leveled off in March, but field size and wagering continued showing large declines. Just for the month, average field size dropped 7% to 7.1 starters and wagering fell a stiff 12.3% to nearly $816.2 million compared with nearly $931.2 million during March 2025.