Horse racing continues to decline

Posted: January 5, 2025, 09:24 pm.

Last updated: January 5, 2025, 09:24 pm.

The horse racing industry is looking for a comeback. It was not 2024.

Betting on Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States declined for the third consecutive year in 2024. Thoroughbred racing is the most popular form of the sport, including the Triple Crown Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. Along with the three major races, the Grand Slam of Thoroughbred racing also includes the Travers Stakes and the Breeders' Cup Classic.

According to Ray Paulick polik report And Equibase, the industry's official database, estimates bets on Thoroughbred breeds in the U.S. were worth about $11.26 billion last year. This represents a decline of 3.35% from 2023 when betting reached more than $11.65 billion.

The disappointing December for America betting on Thoroughbred horse racing is the exclamation point on the worst year for the industry since 2020, when businesses across the country were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Paulik wrote.

There were 3,787 fewer race days nationwide, 2.4%, and the total number of races declined 2.8% to 30,852. Parimutuel betting reached a record high in 2003 when total bets exceeded $15.1 billion, or an inflation-adjusted $25.7 billion.

Trying to save the gaming industry

Several states, including Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania, direct substantial tax revenues generated from their commercial casinos to their horse racing industries.

While most of the state tax benefits will be used for property tax relief, the thinking is that casinos will bring patrons back to Nebraska racetracks. Many casinos are building new racecourses and grandstands on part of their resort sites.

In Virginia, lawmakers legalized historical horse racing (HHR) machines, slot-like terminals that are actually parimutuel wagering devices, in 2018. Gaming expansion saved Colonial Downs Racetrack, with players betting more than $4 billion annually on the machines.

HHR has gained support in recent years in other states, including Kentucky and Alabama, which have pari-mutuel betting but not commercial casinos. But while gaming profits allowed horse racing purses nationwide to tip the scales at more than $1.3 billion in 2024, an increase of nearly half a percent, Equibase data shows that casino gamblers are not converting to horse racing bettors. Recent scandals, including one involving famed trainer Bob Baffert, certainly haven't helped.

storey track shutter

As casino.org As last reported, New Jersey's Freehold Raceway officially closed on December 28. Believed to be the oldest horse racetrack in the country, Freehold traces its roots to the 1830s. Harness racing became the main race on the half-mile dirt oval in 1854.

Penn Entertainment and Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment jointly own the freehold. Penn operates four casinos in Pennsylvania – Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, Hollywood Casino York, Hollywood Casino Morgantown and Hollywood Casino at The Meadows. Owns and operates Greenwood Parks.

Penn Entertainment began as a horse racing company and remains the owner of Penn National Race Course.