Dollars & Sense: Breeders' Cup Brings Positive Impact

With the Triple Crown races just around the corner, it seems like as good of a time as ever to clean out the Dollars & Sense notebook. Breeders' Cup Impact With many of its fans arriving from out of state—and a percentage from out of the country—the Breeders' Cup World Championships continues to be a significant economic engine for the regions that welcome the event. READ: Breeders' Cup at Del Mar Has $125M Economic Impact According to a newly released independent study conducted by the Sport Management Research Institute, last year's two-day event Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 at Del Mar generated an estimated $125 million in total industry output economic impact for the San Diego region. Out-of-town visitors played a major role in driving economic activity, accounting for 61% of 43,705 unique attendees, with 82.5% citing the Breeders' Cup as the primary purpose of their trip to the area. Applicable visitor spending totaled $38.7 million across hotels, dining, retail, transportation, and entertainment. "We're incredibly proud to have hosted the 2025 Breeders' Cup at Del Mar," said Del Mar president Josh Rubinstein. "The prestige of the event, combined with our iconic seaside setting, made for a truly special weekend of racing. Just as important, it delivered meaningful impact for our community—generating nearly $125 million for the San Diego region and supporting more than 1,000 jobs. The success of the 2025 Breeders' Cup speaks to how strongly San Diegans have embraced horse racing, especially the World Championships. We're proud to partner with Breeders' Cup to bring this level of competition, visibility, and economic benefit to our city, and we're excited to continue building on its success." Visitor spending included $11.5 million on entertainment, recreation, and attractions apart from the World Championships. The average visiting party stayed 2.5 nights and spent approximately $5,455 for their trip, reflecting the high-value audience the World Championships attract. Beyond immediate economic impact, the report emphasizes the event's lasting value as 66.5% of attendees indicated they plan to return to the San Diego area within the next year and 69.7% reported a more favorable impression of the region after attending. Handle Decline A deeper dive is needed, but obviously, the 7.1% decline in pari-mutuel handle during the first quarter of 2026 compared with the corresponding quarter of 2025 is concerning. There are some ready-made explanations—only four Saturdays in March this year compared with five last year and some impactful weather cancellations—but ultimately that 7.1% decline occurred despite just a 2.5% reduction in race days. Average handle per race day was off 4.7% during the quarter. Prediction Market Problems For all of the problems that can be associated with many different forms of gambling, prediction markets have found a new one: national security. Earlier this month, The Associated Press and other news outlets reported that federal lawmakers are calling for investigations of such sites, specifically Polymarket, following instances of anonymous traders profiting off of well-timed wagers on developments involving conflicts in Iran and the Middle East as well as United States actions in Venezuela. The AP story noted that researchers at Harvard University released a paper in March where, using public blockchain data, they estimated that $143 million in profits have been made on Polymarket by individuals who potentially had insider information about events ranging from Taylor Swift's engagement to the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize last year. The study's results serve as a reminder that these sites offer few protections for participants when compared with regulated forms of gambling such as pari-mutuel wagering and sports wagering.