Youbet Handle for Belmont Park Card Jumps 17.6%
biz.yahoo.com
Wednesday June 14, 9:25 am ET
United Tote Processes More Than $81.3 Million
WOODLAND HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 14, 2006--Youbet.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBET) said today that its online and phone wagering handle improved 17.6% over last year to nearly $2.1 million for the race card at Belmont Park last Saturday, the day of the 138th running of the Belmont Stakes. The total was another Triple Crown record for Youbet's advanced deposit wagering service, which previously handled record betting for both this year's Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.
In addition, Youbet's United Tote subsidiary, which processes wagers from all sources for Belmont Park, handled $81.3 million in merged Belmont wagers for the day, the second highest for a non-Triple Crown contending day. United Tote processed $9.5 million of Belmont's on-track wagers Saturday, the highest ever for a non-Triple Crown contending day. The company processed $41.1 million in merged wagers for the race itself.
Youbet's International Racing Group (IRG) subsidiary, the only domestically licensed phone rebate provider, does not carry races from Belmont Park.
On the day of the Belmont Stakes, Youbet customers wagered more than $3.8 million, 14% higher than 2005. Wagers for the Belmont Stakes race itself were up 24% at Youbet.
"The improvement in Youbet's handle is on par with what we have come to expect from our growing online and phone segments," said Youbet CEO Charles F. Champion. "We're effectively marketing the Triple Crown product to young adult racing fans and the results are showing up in the numbers as we see greater fan interest, higher deposit levels, and more wagering."
During the week preceding the Belmont, Youbet signed-on nearly 1,100 new customers, 53% of whom came from the company's play-for-points racing education website, Youbet.net. Deposits to Youbet wagering accounts during the week rose to $3.3 million compared to $3.1 million in 2005. |
