On-track handle and NYRA Rewards account wagering demonstrated huge gains during the 2011 Belmont Park fall meet and attendance also increased, while all-sources handle declined from last year.

On-track wagering on NYRA races during the Belmont fall meet totaled $41,656,097, up 45.4 percent over last year’s total of $28,656,204, while attendance increased 4.6 percent to 133,369 compared with 127,540 during last year’s meet, which was 35 days. The 2011 Belmont fall meet was scheduled for 37 days but only had 35 full days of racing, one day that was canceled after three races due to weather, and another that was canceled prior to the start of racing due to weather.

NYRA Rewards account wagering, including wagers made on simulcast races, also demonstrated tremendous growth, with Telebet phone wagering up 216 percent ($8,280,728 vs. $2,620,682) and internet wagering up 234 percent ($12,786,902 vs. $3,825,633).

All-sources handle, comprising all wagers made on NYRA races, fell 10.3 percent from last year’s meet, with $263,037,788 wagered this year as compared to $293,163,373 in 2010.

Simulcast wagering during the Belmont fall meet, comprising wagers made on non-NYRA races, increased 209 percent to $37,587,023, up from the $12,165,718 bet on simulcast races during last year’s meet.

There were 123 turf races run during the 2011 Belmont fall meet, down 8.2 percent from the 134 turf races run last year, with 66 races being taken off the turf in 2011 as compared to 38 taken off the turf in 2010.

Total betting interests during the meet numbered 2,756, a 2.0 percent drop from last year’s 2,812, and average betting interests per race dropped 2.6 percent, with an average of 8.25 this year compared to 8.47 last year. This year, 334 races were run during the Belmont fall meet compared with 332 last year.