Belmont Stakes betting capped horse racing’s Triple Crown season, which saw all three races post year-over-year handle gains.
According to figures from the New York Racing Association (NYRA), Belmont Stakes betting reached $60.9 million on Saturday’s race. Bettors wagered $125.7 million across the 14-race program, a more than 6% increase over last year’s Belmont Stakes Day handle of $118.3 million.
This year’s race was held at Saratoga Race Course, with Belmont Park under construction. The 50,000 people on track contributed $14.9 million to the wagering pools.
Belmont Stakes betting boost
More than 120,400 fans visited Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York for four days of racing last week, Thursday through Sunday.
The four-day racing festival generated a total handle of $197.4 million. Betting was up nearly 24% from last year’s three-day total of $159.6 million, which saw 62,800 fans at Belmont Park outside New York City.
- Thursday: $18.2 million
- Friday: $38.6 million
- Saturday: $125.7 million
- Sunday: $14.9 million
NYRA executives anticipated an increase in attendance and betting, as they brought their two strongest brands, the Belmont Stakes and Saratoga, together for the first time.
Triple Crown betting trifecta
All three Triple Crown races saw increased betting interest this year. The Kentucky Derby set a record with $210.7 million bet on the race last month, up from the previous record set last year at $188.7 million.
Preakness Stakes betting rebounded this year, too, with $57.9 million bet on the race after handle hit a three-year low last year.
The $60.9 million bet on the Belmont Stakes this year was a bump from last year’s $56.5 million total.
Beyond Belmont Stakes betting
According to track executives and industry analysts, the next step is determining how well horse betting can integrate with sportsbooks.
Several tracks already have partnership deals with sportsbooks for the summer racing season.
DraftKings and DK Horse will be present at Saratoga Race Course, while Caesars plans to host high-dollar customers at Del Mar near San Diego.
Sportsbooks investing in horse betting tech
Tech enhancements to improve the horse betting user experience are also in the works.
DraftKings and Caesars are both actively working on shared wallet technology across their sports and horse betting verticals.
FanDuel and NYRA also plan to incorporate advanced data into their horse betting apps to increase customer education and betting strategies.
