California racing produced 5,012 races, $169,694,557 in gross purses, 7,877 starters, 37,672 starts, and more than 738 race days in 2005. By 2014, the same statewide measures were 3,900 races, $172,627,195 in gross purses, 6,195 starters, 28,768 starts, and more than 552 race days. These figures come from the California Fact Book 2025 and describe California racing by calendar year; they should be read as historical reported figures rather than independently verified legacy data.
Contents
- The decade at a glance
- Race volume and race days
- Purses across the period
- Starters and starts
- The 2005–2008 high point
- The 2009–2014 contraction
The decade at a glance
The California Fact Book 2025 reports five useful measures for each year: total races, gross purses, starters, starts, and race days. Together, they show both the scale of racing and the amount of competitive activity behind each season. The geography is California statewide, not one individual circuit, and the period covered here is 2005 through 2014.
The first four years were comparatively strong in race volume. California recorded 5,012 races in 2005, 5,094 in 2006, 5,055 in 2007, and 5,076 in 2008. Gross purses rose over the same opening stretch from $169,694,557 in 2005 to $177,135,584 in 2006, $179,231,621 in 2007, and $198,311,069 in 2008. The 2008 figure was the highest gross purse reported in this series.
The later years show lower activity totals. California recorded 4,782 races in 2009, 4,403 in 2010, 4,184 in 2011, 4,064 in 2012, 4,117 in 2013, and 3,900 in 2014. Race days also moved down from more than 690 in 2009 to more than 552 in 2014. The reported series therefore contains a broad early plateau followed by a smaller annual racing schedule.
| Year | Races | Gross purses | Starters | Starts | Race days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 5,012 | $169,694,557 | 7,877 | 37,672 | Over 738 |
| 2006 | 5,094 | $177,135,584 | 8,223 | 39,000 | Over 742 |
| 2007 | 5,055 | $179,231,621 | 8,438 | 40,045 | Over 731 |
| 2008 | 5,076 | $198,311,069 | 8,357 | 39,945 | Over 733 |
| 2009 | 4,782 | $174,432,359 | 7,694 | 36,972 | Over 690 |
| 2010 | 4,403 | $132,541,382 | 6,651 | 32,412 | Over 618 |
| 2011 | 4,184 | $140,521,016 | 6,537 | 31,272 | Over 578 |
| 2012 | 4,064 | $170,539,513 | 6,455 | 30,303 | Over 581 |
| 2013 | 4,117 | $171,303,718 | 6,345 | 31,446 | Over 578 |
| 2014 | 3,900 | $172,627,195 | 6,195 | 28,768 | Over 552 |
Source for every row and measure: California Fact Book 2025.
Race volume and race days
Race volume peaked at 5,094 races in 2006. The next two years remained close to that level, with 5,055 races in 2007 and 5,076 in 2008. The 2005 total was 5,012 races. This makes 2005–2008 the most concentrated part of the reported series for scheduled race activity.
After 2008, the annual race count fell to 4,782 in 2009 and 4,403 in 2010. It then reached 4,184 in 2011 and 4,064 in 2012. There was a small increase to 4,117 races in 2013, before the series reached its lowest reported total of 3,900 races in 2014.
Race days followed a similar pattern. California ran over 738 race days in 2005 and over 742 in 2006, the highest reported race-day figure in the series. The totals were over 731 in 2007 and over 733 in 2008. In 2009, the figure was over 690 race days.
The 2010 figure was over 618 race days, followed by over 578 in 2011 and over 581 in 2012. California then ran over 578 race days in 2013 and over 552 in 2014. Because the source describes these values with “over,” they are best treated as lower-bound-style reported quantities rather than exact day counts.
The relationship between the two measures is useful for reading the schedule. The largest race-day figure, over 742 in 2006, occurred in the same year as the largest race count, 5,094. The lowest values in the series also arrived together in 2014: 3,900 races and over 552 race days. The data therefore presents a consistent directional picture of a smaller statewide schedule by the end of the period.
Purses across the period
Gross purses were highest in 2008 at $198,311,069, according to the California Fact Book 2025. The reported total was $169,694,557 in 2005, $177,135,584 in 2006, and $179,231,621 in 2007. Each of those first four years carried a higher gross purse than the preceding year.
The 2009 total was $174,432,359, lower than the 2008 peak. Gross purses then fell to $132,541,382 in 2010, the lowest purse figure reported in the decade. The series rose to $140,521,016 in 2011 and then to $170,539,513 in 2012.
The final two reported years were $171,303,718 in 2013 and $172,627,195 in 2014. Those totals were both above the 2010 and 2011 figures, even though race volume and race days were lower. That contrast matters: the number of races alone does not describe the entire financial scale of a racing season.
The purse record also separates the early peak from the later activity pattern. The 2008 season had the highest gross purse and 5,076 races, while 2014 had the lowest race count at 3,900 but a reported gross purse of $172,627,195. These are descriptive comparisons from the source; the figures do not establish why purses changed or how they were distributed among races.
Starters and starts
The California Fact Book 2025 lists 7,877 starters and 37,672 starts in 2005. In 2006, the corresponding figures were 8,223 starters and 39,000 starts. The series then reached its highest starter total in 2007, with 8,438 starters, while starts reached their high point at 40,045. In 2008, California had 8,357 starters and 39,945 starts.
The 2009 figures were 7,694 starters and 36,972 starts. Both measures declined again in 2010, when the state recorded 6,651 starters and 32,412 starts. In 2011, the totals were 6,537 starters and 31,272 starts. The 2012 figures were 6,455 starters and 30,303 starts.
The starter count continued lower in the final two years: 6,345 starters in 2013 and 6,195 in 2014. Starts moved differently in 2013, rising to 31,446, before falling to 28,768 in 2014. Thus, 2013 had fewer starters than 2012 but more starts, while 2014 had the lowest reported totals for both measures.
| Measure | Highest reported year | Highest value | Lowest reported year | Lowest value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Races | 2006 | 5,094 | 2014 | 3,900 |
| Gross purses | 2008 | $198,311,069 | 2010 | $132,541,382 |
| Starters | 2007 | 8,438 | 2014 | 6,195 |
| Starts | 2007 | 40,045 | 2014 | 28,768 |
| Race days | 2006 | Over 742 | 2014 | Over 552 |
Source: California Fact Book 2025. Race-day values retain the source’s “over” wording.
The 2005–2008 high point
The first four years form the strongest cluster for most operating measures. Races stayed above 5,000 in every year: 5,012 in 2005, 5,094 in 2006, 5,055 in 2007, and 5,076 in 2008. Starters also remained above 7,800, reaching 8,223 in 2006, 8,438 in 2007, and 8,357 in 2008 after the 7,877 recorded in 2005.
Starts were above 37,000 throughout this opening period. The annual totals were 37,672 in 2005, 39,000 in 2006, 40,045 in 2007, and 39,945 in 2008. Race days were reported at more than 738, more than 742, more than 731, and more than 733, respectively.
Gross purses rose each year in that same four-year window. The reported sequence was $169,694,557, $177,135,584, $179,231,621, and $198,311,069. This is the only uninterrupted year-by-year increase shown by the purse figures in the supplied historical series.
The 2009–2014 contraction
The second half begins with 4,782 races in 2009, below every year from 2005 through 2008. The decline continued to 4,403 races in 2010, 4,184 in 2011, and 4,064 in 2012. A modest rise to 4,117 races appeared in 2013, but the count fell to 3,900 in 2014.
Race days moved from over 690 in 2009 to over 618 in 2010, over 578 in 2011, over 581 in 2012, over 578 in 2013, and over 552 in 2014. Starters fell from 7,694 in 2009 to 6,195 in 2014. Starts declined from 36,972 to 28,768 across those same endpoint years.
Gross purses did not move in lockstep with those operating measures. After $174,432,359 in 2009, the reported purse total dropped to $132,541,382 in 2010, then recovered to $140,521,016 in 2011, $170,539,513 in 2012, $171,303,718 in 2013, and $172,627,195 in 2014. The final figure was below the 2008 peak but above the 2005 total.
For readers comparing tracks, seasons, or racing markets, the main lesson is to keep the measures separate. Races describe event count, race days describe the calendar, starters and starts describe participation, and gross purses describe the reported purse pool. The California Fact Book 2025 provides all five historical series for 2005–2014, with race-day figures explicitly reported as “over” amounts.