Horse Racing Question

June 13, 2019 10:50 AM

I know nothing about horse racing, I am writing about a racetrack for non-bettors, and I cannot find a simple and fast definition for "average daily handle" despite my search chops. Is it the amount of money bet in a single day? Many thanks for speedy responses, I'm on a deadline.
posted by Bella Donna to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (5 answers total)

Best answer: **cough cough** I happen to know a little bit about horse racing. I know a lot more about losing betting on horses apparently. Yes, average daily handle is the amount bet at the track. I do not know if it includes off track betting, but in my day, before all the internet ways to bet, ADH was what the track took in for bets.
posted by AugustWest at 10:55 AM on June 13, 2019 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I, too, happen to know a little about horse racing. Enough so that I actually made money betting on the Kentucky Derby this year. $6! Which is millions more than most bettors made.
Average Daily Handle is what the track takes in for bets from all sources except off-shore bets.
posted by Floydd at 11:02 AM on June 13, 2019 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Bless you both! I am now off to the, er, races to finish this article.
posted by Bella Donna at 11:37 AM on June 13, 2019

Defined under NY law here: "total and average daily handle shall have the same meaning as total and average daily wagers or bets"
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 12:03 PM on June 13, 2019 [1 favorite]

Also note that "handle" is not exclusively a horse-racing term but is used generally in the gambling (or, as they say, gaming) industry (with the same meaning: total amount wagered).
posted by mhum at 12:17 PM on June 13, 2019 [3 favorites]