Betting turnover on US horse races has shown consistent growth in 2018, even as racing interests mull the possibility of adding sports betting to their offering.

On Thursday, Equibase reported that total wagering handle at US thoroughbred tracks – including worldwide commingling – hit just under $3.24b in the three months ending June 30, a 5% improvement over the same period last year.

The gain is all the more impressive considering there were 2.45% fewer race days in the most recent quarter than in Q2 2017. Average wagering per race day in Q2 was up 7.6% to $2.63m. (See what a good Triple Crown run can do?)

The positive Q2 momentum helped push total race wagering handle during the first half of 2018 up 5.56% to $5.87b. Factor in the 2.9% fewer race days over that span and horsemen’s purses are up 3.8% to $515.6m in H1 2018.