Recession? What recession?
Santa Anita track officials had to be beaming Saturday when an on-track crowd of 50,915 wagered more than $5.6 million on Santa Anita Derby Day -- a 10 percent hike over last year when 50,358 turned out for the Derby. This marked the fourth consecutive year that the Derby has drawn more than 50,000 -- topped by the 56,810 who showed up to see Tiago win the race in 2007.
The news, however, wasn't as bright concerning the overall betting handle. Counting all sources, there was more than $20 million wagered on Saturday's 11 races -- a decline of 6 percent from 2008.
Overall, a very good day for Santa Anita during trying times.
Thanks for sharing the good news Art.
Whether trying times or not, I think parimutuel
wagering provides a good example of how to increase the
velocity of money. The states that allow wagering
should experiment with ways to increase the volume and
velocity of money flow even more! Affluence means
circulation!