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CAW Handle Decreases By 6.7 Percent During Del Mar’s Summer Meet

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Computer-assisted wagering (CAW) handle on the 2026 Del Mar summer meet decreased by 6.7 percent while non-CAW handle increased by 6.6 percent, accounting for an overall increase, according to figures issued by the track in a press release on Wednesday.

Handle during the meet rose to $366.8 million–a 3.1 percent increase over the prior year.

Del Mar officials said the track raised its host-fee rates on major CAW operations. The track also continued its policy of post time restrictions that were instituted in late July 2025.

“After analyzing our wagering pools and receiving public feedback, Del Mar, in partnership with the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC), took steps last year to limit CAW access to the win pools, effectively cutting them off at two minutes to post,” said Josh Rubinstein, President of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. “That change addressed the late odds shifts that had frustrated many players. This year, in collaboration with the TOC, we also increased host fees for CAW operators, partly to encourage greater participation by retail bettors in our wagering pools.”

The track’s current CAW policies will remain in effect for its Bing Crosby fall meeting, Nov. 6-29.

“Addressing CAW has been a major priority for California, and from the outset we believed the best path forward was to create a better balance between sophisticated wagering operations and the everyday horseplayer,” said President and CEO of the TOC Bill Nader. “These encouraging results show that we are moving in the right direction.”

Del Mar officials noted that the track also benefitted from competitive racing and large fields, averaging 8.6 starters per race, among the highest average field sizes in North American racing.

The post CAW Handle Decreases By 6.7 Percent During Del Mar’s Summer Meet appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Kentucky Downs To Continue $5 Minimum Wagers In WPS Pools

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The decision by Kentucky Downs to set the minimum wager on win, place and show bets at $5 for this year’s meet didn’t move the needle either way. But the management team saw enough positives with the experiment that the plans are for it continue at next year’s meet.

“With the $5 win-place show, it was kind of like much ado about nothing,” Kentucky Downs Vice President of Racing Ted Nicholson said. “Our handle in those pools was more or less flat compared to last year. As far as percentage of handle goes, I think we were up overall, but less than one percent, right at eight-tenths of one percent. The win pool was actually down a point and a half, but we saw a little bit of a shift, and this is splitting hairs to be honest with you, but the only thing we could see is maybe there was some shifting from win to place and show. These may have been  $2 players shifting to place and show. But overall, it was nothing. Honestly, we put signs up at every mutuel line we have on the grounds addressing the fact that we are now $5 win-place-show so that there weren’t any issues. I went around to every teller on a daily basis just asking, ‘Is anybody complaining?’ And I will tell you there was not a peep.”

Part of the reason why Nicholson and his team came up with the concept was that they felt that seeing larger numbers pop up on the toteboard might be something that appealed to bettors, particularly younger ones.

“They go to the races and they bet two bucks on a horse that’s 3-1 and if they win they’re not collecting a whole lot of money,” Nicholson said. “They’re saying, ‘Well, I just collected $8.’ To them, that’s not a lot. If you make a $5 bet, you’re collecting $20. It’s just a psychological thing. I just love the way it shows up on the screen and it does resonate. I talked to a bunch of people during our seven days and everybody was saying, ‘This is great. I love it.’ They like seeing that bigger score, especially when somebody throws a bomb in there, and you know how we tend to have a lot of longshots crop up over our seven days. All of a sudden, we have horses winning and it pops up on the screen that they paid $190.”

According to Nicholson, the $2 minimum wager was the Matt Winn’s idea in 1911. Adjusting for inflation, that same $2 is now worth about $70.

“At that time, coffee was four cents,” he said. “Now, you’re hard-pressed to find a $5 coffee.”

Though the larger minimums didn’t result in noticeably larger handles in the win, place and show pools, Nicholson said that he sees no reason to scrap the experiment.

“We did not find any resistance at all to the $5 win-place-show bets,” he said. “I think we will continue. I liked looking up at the screen and seeing a 10-1 shot pay $50. Maybe it’s just me. It’s a psychological thing. I want people to look up, especially younger fans, to look up and go, ‘Oh my God, that horse paid $50.’”

Overall, it was a tough meet for Kentucky Downs when it came to handle, no surprise since it competed against Saratoga on six of the seven days of the meet. Typically, the meet has started later and has overlapped with Saratoga on just three of the days.

“In 2025, we had a record $107 million meet over seven days, and this year we were just over $89 million,” Nicholson said. “That’s a 17% differential. We took one for the team. At least for the 12 years I have worked here, we’ve never run more than three days up against Saratoga. And for us to take on Travers Day was just one of those things where you just are like, ‘Oh my God, I don’t want to do that.’ We have almost always opened either the Thursday before Labor Day weekend or that Saturday of Labor Day weekend.  This year we opened on Aug. 29. But it was one of those things where we needed the calendar to work overall for Kentucky racing because Keeneland is hosting the Breeders’ Cup. That’s basically what happened. It is what it is. We took our lumps, but we will move on.”

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