Meet handle rises at autumn meet

ARCADIA, Calif. – Santa Anita concluded its 22-day autumn meeting Sunday with a gain in average daily handle compared to a 19-day meeting in 2017.

According to figures provided by track officials, average daily all-sources handle rose 7 percent, while average daily ontrack handle increased 3 percent. Officials said attendance was “flat.”

Last year, Santa Anita ended its meeting on the weekend prior to the running of the Breeders’ Cup races at Del Mar. This year, Santa Anita’s final weekend included simulcasting of the Breeders’ Cup races from Churchill Downs.

This year, there was a decline in average field size. In 2017, the track ran 171 races that averaged 8.69 runners per race. This year, there were 205 races held with an average of 7.94 runners per race.

The focus of Sunday’s program was a mandatory payout in the Rainbow 6.

Handle on the Rainbow 6 reached $6,745,114 on Sunday, and the bet paid $601 to 10,466 ticketholders. The bet was hit by multiple ticketholders through the first 21 days of the meeting, leading to a carryover of $1,143,194 for Sunday.

The autumn meeting was the first time Santa Anita offered a Rainbow 6.

On the track, Flavien Prat led all riders with 20 wins, three more than Rafael Bejarano, who was second. Peter Miller and Jerry Hollendorfer tied for the trainer’s title with 15 wins, one more than Doug O’Neill.