News Releases

Tuesday, February 05, 2002Contact: Bob Curran Jr. (212) 521-5326
2002 Fact Book Available on the Jockey Club Web Site

Gross purses and pari-mutuel handle in the United States in 2001 again reached record levels, according to statistics contained in the 12th edition of “The Jockey Club Fact Book,” released online today and accessible through the “Statistics and Resources” icon on The Jockey Club home page, located at http://home.jockeyclub.com.

US purses reached $1,067,490,193 last year, an increase of 3.6 percent against 2000. Once again, however, most of the increase was derived from just a couple of states, including West Virginia where expansion of video lottery terminal (VLT) operations at the state’s tracks helped boost combined purses at Mountaineer Park and Charles Town Races by $21.6 million.

US handle meanwhile increased 1.6 percent to $14,550,065,505 (including separate pools first reported in 2000). Since last declining in 1993, pari-mutuel handle on US racing has grown at a 6.4 percent annualized rate.

Statistics in the Breeding and Sales Sections demonstrate the impact of Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome, which terminated the pregnancies of a significant portion of the mare population in Kentucky during the spring of 2001 and was also responsible for several hundred stillborn foals. MRLS was a primary cause for the projected decline in foal crop size for 2002, and was a major contributing factor to last year’s precipitous declines in auction sales results for broodmares and weanlings. Gross sales for broodmares fell 40.7 percent in 2001 while weanlings dropped 37.3 percent. The average price for broodmares and weanlings declined 34.7 percent and 23.9 percent respectively.

The Fact Book, published annually as a statistical guide to the North American Thoroughbred industry, summarizes national statistics for the previous year. In the online Fact Book, some tables have been expanded to include multi-year reports; others include state-by-state analysis. Statistics in the Breeding Section, which by their very nature change constantly, will be updated monthly.

The Breeding Section includes: Annual Foal Crop and its Distribution by State; and Distribution of Stallions and Mare Bred by State.

The Racing Section includes: Number of Races; Gross Purses; Pari-Mutuel Handle; Distribution of Races by Purses and Distance; Size of Field and Starts per Horse; Two-Year-Old Racing; and the Relationship of US Race, Purses and Foal Crops.

The Sales Section includes: Gross Sales in All Categories; Average and Median Price per Yearling; and the Foal Crop/Auction Yearling Percentage.

Also updated are Thoroughbred Racing and Breeding Worldwide in 2000; the International Calendar of Events which includes all Grade 1 races for which dates are known; and the Directory of National, State and International Organizations, listings for which are hot-linked where known.

The printed version of the Fact Book will be published in its traditional late April/early May time period.