Weather continued to wreak havoc with the racing schedule at Parx this past weekend, but the mid-Atlantic’s other three operating tracks all enjoyed solid wagering Saturdays — all up at least 23 percent, according to our HandleTrak. The three cards contested averaged more than $1.2 million in handle.
Weather forced Parx Racing to cancel both Saturday and Sunday, and when the track also canceled on Monday, it ran its streak of cancellations to eight.
Elsewhere, though, the news was positive. Penn National handled more than $1.3 million on Saturday, its highest Saturday total since its big card the first Saturday of June. Its haul was more than 42 percent more than the track had handled on December 7, the most recent Saturday on which the track was open.
Similarly, Laurel Park and Charles Town also enjoyed strong days. For Laurel, the $1.4 million it handled was 66 percent higher than its December 14 handle and 30 percent above its December 7. Charles Town, which carded the final two stakes of its year, saw handle increase by more than 23 percent over December 7. One of Saturday’s races, the Holiday Handicap, took in $126,000 in the win-place-show pool — well above the other races and mostly focused on 2-5 Fearsome.
For the weekend ahead, Laurel has the final two stakes of its year on the docket — the Maryland Juvenile Championship for state-breds and the Willa on the Move — which are the only two stakes in the region.
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