Numbers down at Arlington meet

Handle and attendance both decreased at the 95-day Arlington Park meet, which began on May 5

and concluded on Tuesday.

Total handle from all sources fell 8.5 percent, from $405,443,841 in 2005 to

$371,109,123 for this year's meet, while the average daily total handle of

$3,906,412 dropped 9.4 percent from last year's $4,313,232 average. On-track total handle decreased

14.5 percent, from $54,069,924 in 2005 to $46,215,951. The average daily

on-track wagering of $486,484 fell 15.4 percent when compared to last year's

average of $575,211.

Total attendance dropped from 715,023 to 655,788 for the 95-day meet, while

average daily attendance was 6,903, down from 7,607 in 2005.

"The inordinate amount of rain in Chicago this spring and summer had a

negative impact on our attendance during the meet," Arlington Park President Roy

Arnold said. "The cold and inclement weather on the big days during the early

part of our meet, especially for the opening weekend, Mother's Day, Father's Day

and on two of the Triple Crown races days, got us off to a slow start and

prevented us from gaining momentum. After the Fourth of July, when the weather

was better, the attendance improved but not enough to make up what we had lost

earlier."

Frank C. Calabrese earned his seventh straight title as the meet's leading

owner with 49 wins, 35 more than runner-up 2 Blondes Inc., who had 14 winners.

Trainer Wayne Catalano garnered a second consecutive title, and his fifth in the

last seven years, with 48 victories. Conditioner Frank Kirby was second with 31

wins. Chris Emigh added his first Arlington jockey title to his resume by

posting 110 scores, while Francisco Torres had 98 victories for the meet.