Citing Attendance and Handle Drops, Arlington Cuts Purses

Citing declines in average daily attendance and handle, officials of Arlington International Racecourse announced Thursday cuts in the value of five graded stakes races.

They also announced the cancellation of the $25,000 Perrault Handicap on Oct. 8, the final day of Arlington’s 134-day meeting.

Three $100,000 races--the Equipoise Mile, the Arlington Matron and the Arlington Oaks--were lowered to $75,000. The $150,000 Washington Park Handicap was cut to $100,000, while the $75,000 Swoon’s Song Handicap was downgraded to $50,000.

Several weeks ago, Arlington officials cut the value of several other stakes races by a total of $120,000.

A 5% across-the-board overnight purse cut was put into effect at that time, and track president Ken Dunn said Thursday that another purse cut was being considered.

Through the first 74 days of the meeting, Arlington averaged 10,196 in on-track attendance and $2,501,232 in overall handle.

During 1989’s 95-day meeting, daily attendance averaged 12,616 and the average handle was $2,572,584.

Many explanations have been offered for the decline. They include the opening of two dog tracks that are running concurrently in neighboring Wisconsin, major roadwork on highways near Arlington and the overall lackluster performance of the economy.