HandleTrak: Region's handle rallies after down weekend * The Racing Biz

Mid-Atlantic handle rose this past weekend versus the prior weekend, and four of the region’s five operating tracks experienced gains. The region’s eight cards averaged more than $1.9 million in handle, according to our HandleTrak report.

Charles Town, Delaware, Monmouth, Parx, and Penn National collectively handled more than $15 million on their live product, an increase of about five percent from the prior weekend. That made the weekend the region’s second busiest in the last five, trailing only Haskell weekend. Regional tracks hosted four stakes this weekend; Monmouth had two, including the G3 Monmouth Oaks, with Charles Town and Delaware holding one each.

Penn National saw the biggest increase in terms of percentage. The more than $840,000 wagered on the track’s Saturday card represented a 36 percent increase over the prior weekend, and it was the track’s best Saturday handle since June 22. Delaware also saw a significant increase, with handle rising by about a quarter, to a bit over $1 million. On Wednesday, the track enjoyed its strongest day of the meet with more than $2.4 million pushed through the windows.

Monmouth — bouncing back after a post-Haskell hangover — and Parx also saw increases in business. The lone track with a decrease was Charles Town, whose nearly $1.4 million in weekend handle was about a quarter less than the prior weekend. That was predictable, however, since the prior weekend had included a $1.3 million Saturday which broke the track’s record for one-day handle in August.