TOC Reports Significant Increase In California Purses In 2021

Total money generated from pari-mutuel wagering for the benefit of California Thoroughbred purses increased to $118.4 million in 2021 from $99.8 million in 2020, according to data released Jan. 26 by the Thoroughbred Owners of California. This growth was supported in part by an increase in the total number of daytime Thoroughbred races run in California – from 2,469 in 2020 to 2,785 in 2021.

“These 2021 purse generation numbers are a great indicator of the power and resilience of California racing,” said TOC chairman Gary Fenton. “We are particularly excited to see the substantial increase of wagering on California races from both California residents and out-of-state handicappers, which grew from $1.48 billion in 2020 to $1.806 billion in 2021. The good news continues, as these purse generation figures do not include the $7 million in supplemental purse contributions TOC negotiated with TVG or the $28 million of 2021 Breeders’ Cup weekend purses, so the actual purses paid out in California were even higher. Even better,” Fenton concluded, “the horse population is going up again, and purse levels are also expected to rise again in 2022. It’s never been a better time to race in California.”

The purse data released by TOC is provided by the California Horse Racing Information Management System (CHRIMS Inc.) Click here to view the data. According to TOC, these purse generation numbers exclude purses generated on the two days of the Breeders’ Cup Championship weekend at Del Mar as those funds revert to Breeders’ Cup Ltd. in exchange for its funding of the purses for Breeders’ Cup Championship and undercard races.

For more information please contact Mary Forney, TOC executive director, at [email protected].