All-sources handle on the weather-impacted Black-Eyed Susan Stakes card at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore on Friday declined slightly compared to last year, according to an analysis by Daily Racing Form, but per-race handle inched up due to the cancellation of the last race on the card.
Pimlico ended up cancelling the last contest on the 14-race card after the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes was delayed an hour due to a powerful late-afternoon thunderstorm. Still, the total all-sources handle on the card was down only 3.1 percent, to $26.22 million, while per-race handle jumped 4.4 percent, to $2.02 million, according to the analysis.
A total of 121 horses ran in Friday’s 13 races, compared to 127 runners in 14 races last year. Average field size was 9.31 horses per race, compared to 9.07 horses last year.
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Handle on the Black-Eyed Susan card has been static for the past four years, inching up a few percentage points since handle was $26.54 million in 2022. Handle this year would have exceeded that number if the last race had been run.
The Black-Eyed Susan card is the prelude to Pimlico’s biggest race day, Saturday’s Preakness card. The forecast on Saturday morning called for abundant sunshine and highs in the mid-80s. The Saturday card features 14 races, with first post at 10:30 a.m. Eastern and the Preakness scheduled to go off at 7:01 p.m.
Handle on the Maryland circuit this year started off slow, but the numbers have picked up substantially since the start of April.
This year’s Preakness does not feature the Kentucky Derby winner from two weeks ago. The absence of the Derby winner in the race usually augurs for lower handle and television ratings compared to editions of the race that includes the Derby winner.
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