Considering there were 13 fewer race days during the month of November compared to 2011 due to several track power outages in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, pari-mutuel handle was down slightly with purses showing a small increase, according to the Thoroughbred Racing Economic Indicators released Dec. 5 by Equibase.

Hurricane Sandy, which hit the mid-Atlantic and Northeast Oct. 28, had a significant effect on the Nov. 2-3 Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Santa Anita Park, which took place at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., as some northeast tracks were unable to offer wagering on the races due to damage and power outages. The two-day wagering total of $144,272,332 was down 10.67% from the 2011 event held at Churchill Downs, in Louisville, Ky.

Equibase reported worldwide comingled wagering on United States races of $867,928,453, down less than 1% from $874,137,205 in November 2011. Purses in the United States totaled $104,460,953, an increase of 2.55% from last November.

Meanwhile, the number of race days–individual programs at each track–fell 3.32% from 392 last November to 379 this year