Derby Day handle down 5%, 8% on race

[philcski]

Much less of a drop relative to casino gambling.

By Beth Jinks
May 7 (Bloomberg) -- Las Vegas Strip casino gambling
revenue fell 12.3 percent in March from a year ago, less than in
previous months, as the industry reported signs business may be
stabilizing.
Casino proceeds in the biggest U.S. gambling center dropped
to $456.1 million in March, Nevada’s Gaming Control Board said
today on its Web site. Last year’s 11 percent drop was the
steepest since record-keeping started in the mid-1980s. Revenue
fell 23 percent in February and 15 percent in January.
The three biggest publicly traded Strip operators this week
reported signs Las Vegas may have stabilized. MGM Mirage , the
largest casino operator on the Strip, said that convention
cancellations had slowed and occupancy recovered in April. Wynn
Resorts Ltd. cited improving booking trends and stronger
weekends. Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chief Executive Officer Sheldon

Adelson said month-to-month performance had increased “and the
trend upward has been established.”

[Thunder Gulch]

Considering two of the horses expected to draw the most money scratched or pulled out within a week of the race, I'd say that the money wagered doesn't really represent a decline in interest. When Quality Road backed out, I went to a backup, which I bet with about half interest. The defection of QR and then the IWR scratch also meant my in race exotics were cut in half.