Churchill Downs Spring Meet Handle Increases
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Boosted by record wagering on the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) card, Churchill Downs registered a 2.46% increase in pari-mutuel handle during its 38-day spring meet, reversing an 11.5% decline a year ago.
According to statistics obtained upon request from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission—Churchill Downs Inc. does not disclose handle numbers for any of its tracks except on major racing days—pari-mutuel handle totaled $377,870,880, compared with $368,808,994 a year ago.
Average field size for the spring meet was 7.82 horses per race, up 7.2% from 7.29 for the comparable meet in 2014, according to The Jockey Club Information Systems. Handle last year was down in part because of a boycott from some players over Churchill's decision to raise pari-mutuel takeout rates.
The meet was highlighted by the record $194.3 million wagered on the Derby card in which Zayat Stables' American Pharoah launched his successful bid for the Triple Crown. That figure represented a gain of 4% over the 2014 Derby say handle of $186.6 million. Churchill also set an attendance record of 170,513 for the Derby.
Churchill also received a lift from American Pharoah's appearance on the June 13 "Downs After Dark" card as the crowd of 28,968 wagered $6,486,594.
"While American Pharoah's Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown heroics provided an emotional lift to all Churchill Downs racing fans, our team, and the entire horse industry, the spring meet got off to a strong start with a record Kentucky Derby and Oaks week schedule and continued with good news and solid business levels throughout the meet's 38 days," Kevin Flanery, president of Churchill Downs, said in a release following the final spring-meet program June 27.
Churchill Downs also reported that purses increased for the spring meet.