Betting handle from the Virginia Equine Alliance’s (VEA) three partner Advance Deposit Wagering (ADW) companies —TVG, Twin Spires and XPressBet — continued to show increases in the month of April over the same time period in 2015.
Traditionally one of the best months for wagering, April did not disappoint as tracks around the country hosted major Kentucky Derby prep races for three year old horses. Tracks like Aqueduct, Keeneland, Oaklawn, Gulfstream, Turfway and Santa Anita filled the first three Saturdays of the month with major preps in which the top Derby contenders all participated.
TVG, which has led the way in betting each month in 2016, handled $3,370,427 and is now 12.5% ahead of last year’s figures. In the first four months this year, they have handled $11,265,863 compared with $10,014,087 a year prior.
Twin Spires was next with an April tally of $2,256,170, bringing their 2016 total to $8,152,923 thus far. That is a 7.6% improvement over 2015, when their comparative four month total was $7,575,431.
XPressBet handled $1,274,130 in April, and even though it has ranked third among the trio of providers each month, its 2016 total so far is up an impressive 28% over last year — $4,418,960 versus $3,438,929.
The overall handle for the year though is down 18% over 2015 because Colonial Downs’ ADW — EZ Horseplay — was still operational from January through early April last year. Moving forward from May, 2016 on, a better year-to-year comparison will be available since the three current ADWs were the only active ones in Virginia from May 2015 through year’s end.
