Record breaking numbers for Saratoga Race Course 2015 season
At some point large numbers just become... numbers. You know, how often do we ever encounter a million of anything? So, it's easy to see some large figure quoted in a news story and just be like... yeah, sure, whatever.
We were thinking about that today while looking over the numbers for the Saratoga Race Course season that ended Monday. Because it involved some very big numbers.
NYRA reported that the "handle" for this year's season -- that is, the amount of money bet on races -- was $648,272,805, a record. (The previous record was $590,187,876, set in 2012.)
Think about that for a second. That's more than half a billion of dollars that people, both here and elsewhere, put down on horse races over the season's 40 days in Saratoga Springs. When you take a second to think about the total, it's kind of astounding. (By the way: NYRA says almost $50 million was bet on Travers Day races this year.)
Paid attendance for this year's meet was also high: 1,065,625. That's a new seasonal record total, though it comes with an asterisk. The old record -- 1,049,309 -- was set in 2003, the season for which only had 36 days.
Here are a few quick tables and charts with some more recent context for this year's Track numbers...
Chartage is above in large format -- click or scroll all the way up.
Earlier on AOA: American Pharoah? Really? Please explain.
Say Something!
We'd really like you to take part in the conversation here at All Over Albany. But we do have a few rules here. Don't worry, they're easy. The first: be kind. The second: treat everyone else with the same respect you'd like to see in return. Cool? Great, post away. Comments are moderated so it might take a little while for your comment to show up. Thanks for being patient.
Comments
Of all the years for Tom Durkin to have retired before, it had to be the record breaking, American Pharaoh/Triple Crown winner-visiting, 2015 season.
Arrrrr!!!!
PS. That said, the new guy does not seem to be a slouch. Just a little less personal flair, IMO.
... said Alex on Sep 8, 2015 at 7:15 PM | link
Does anybody talk about the 11 horses that died at the track this year?
... said Dave on Sep 9, 2015 at 4:54 AM | link
Well, you do.
... said Ron on Sep 9, 2015 at 8:31 AM | link
How much of that $648,272,805 is returned to the bettors as winnings and how much is taken by NYRA?
... said Questioner on Sep 9, 2015 at 12:16 PM | link
Does anyone talk about the amount of litter and garbage people leave behind in the picnic area and lawn seats? People are fricking pigs.
... said Tom on Sep 9, 2015 at 3:00 PM | link
Well, Tom, you do.
NYRA's take out is about 17%, depending on the type of bet (win, place, show, extacta, trifecta, superfecta, pick 3, pick 4, pick 6, grand slam, etc)
... said Ron on Sep 14, 2015 at 1:17 PM | link