Mon, 12 May, 1997
Hi Al,
Well, this has been a year for records in Texas. Sam Houston (SHRP) just
finished their spring TB meet, and this meet saw some records. On April
5th, SHRP saw the record total handle of live SHRP races and money wagered
on other tracks from SHRP fall. The new record is $2,546,799. In fact,
SHRP has had 9 of their 10 highest handle days during this meet. It is
clear looking at the figures generated during this meet, that Houstonians
are learning how and where to bet :-). The averages are going up--average
off track wagering at SHRP is now $1.17M per day, up 6%. The average total
handle on SHRP races is up to $1.32M per day, which is a 14% increase.
Total handle on SHRP races is now up to $1.34M per day, an increase of 9%.
It looks to me like if we can keep the people rolling in and the handle
increasing, SHRP should do just fine. Provided, of course, the state
doesn't decide to take a bigger bite out of the revenue in the form of a tax
increase... Look for SHRP to reopen with QH's on July 3 through September
21st, with a return of the TBs November 27th.
SHRP isn't the only record breaker here in the Lone Star State. Lone Star
Park (LSP) had a big day on Kentucky Derby day. A new attendance figure was
broken--25,415 people turned the stiles in Grand Prairie in order to break
more records. The people that turned those stiles wagered an amazing
$640,556 on the Kentucky Derby ALONE!!! That is a new Texas single race
wagering record. Stop there? No Way!! Dallasites wagered $1,208,072 on
the live race card and another $1,176,123 on simulcast races. The total
handle (which also includes the money wagered on LSP races from other
tracks) was $4,301,900--and those are Lone Star Park records. Alright, I do
realize these are not all TEXAS records, but let's realize that for a new
track LSP is doing well. We will get better from here on in, as new people
come to the track and learn to wager.
It is our responsibility to create new fans for horseracing. Please do your
part and take some horseracing neophyte friends or co-workers to the track.
Let them see how wonderful a world it is.
OK, preaching aside. Lone Star seems to be carding alot of nice races. It
is nice to see Texas-breds pulling in some good money for their efforts.
And it is nice to see some higher caliber horses here. The combination seems to make a nice mix, and should be a good way to promote the upgrading of the stock we raise here. Ohhhh, I just love seeing the evolution in
progress!
Well, I need to get going now. Thanks, Al, for scanning some of those LSP
pictures and making them available to those not fortunate enough to have
been able to go yet. See you at the races.
Jill
The Running Horse (http://www.isd1.com/)