The 20th thoroughbred and quarter horse racing season ended on November 23 with a healthy outlook on the 123-day meet. While Indianapolis Horseshoe pending final information from some uncombined locations, the total hand is estimated to be nearly $235 million in signal sales from all sources, showing a 5.2% increase over 2021 figures. This is despite that it ran 27 fewer races than in 2021, resulting in a per race increase of over 9%.
“Despite challenging weather conditions, with rain for most of May and a streak of 100+ heat index days forcing us to either cancel or remove our heat stations in June, we arrived to show a solid business season in 2022,” said Eric Halstrom, vice president and general manager.
“We have to thank the horsemen’s organizations and the Indiana Horse Racing Commission for their partnership in achieving these numbers last season, which was strong to begin with. It is definitely a group effort to advance the levels of business in racing at the Horseshoe Indianapolis.”
Included in the $235 million from all sources was a 6.2% increase in track betting. Halstrom noted that Horseshoe Indianapolis is still waiting for more handle sources from international venues that received the signal this year, and those numbers should come in next month.
“If you look at our estimated value of $235 million, that number is one of the strongest in the country right now,” said Joe Morris, senior vice president of racing for Caesars Entertainment. “And it also marks a fourth year in a row that we have achieved a record. I applaud our riders and our race team led by Eric for a job well done and their hard work throughout the season.”
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A total of 1,192 races were run, with an average field of 8.06 horses per race, which was a significant improvement on 202.1 when the average was 7.35. The 2022 Quarter Horse Novice average per race was 9.0, while the Thoroughbred figure was 7.83.
“This is a great way to end our racing season,” Halstrom added. “It certainly gives us incentive and momentum to head into 2023 with a strong racing product that has shown growth every year. We are already working on next season. We are excited to be back racing in April pending IHRC approvals.”
The 21st season of live thoroughbred and quarter horse racing is expected to resume on April 18 for a 123-day meeting. The Indiana Horse Racing Commission is scheduled to review the 2023 proposal at its next meeting on Thursday, Dec. 1 at Harrah’s Hoosier Park.
This press release has been edited for content and style by the BloodHorse staff.