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Record Handle For 39th Breeders’ Cup

Total all-sources global common-pool handle for the two-day Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland was $189,060,373, establishing a new record. That represents a 3.4% increase over the previous mark of $182,908,409 set last year at Del Mar and an 18% increase from the $160,472,893 at Keeneland during the COVID-impacted 2020 championships.

The total common-pool handle on Saturday's live 12-race program was a record $122,918,607, while the corresponding figure from Friday's 12-race card was $66,141,766, also a record for a Breeders' Cup Friday. For the fifth consecutive year, Breeders' Cup staged all five juvenile races on Friday.

“We witnessed a spectacular two days of racing capped by Flightline's absolute brilliance in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, once again showcasing the best Thoroughbreds from around the world and we want to thank our partners here at Keeneland, who did a phenomenal job, and the greater Lexington community,” said Breeders' Cup president and CEO Drew Fleming. “The Breeders' Cup is truly an international championship event and the very best our sport has to offer.”

On-track handle for the two days was $28,326,478. Saturday's attendance was 45,973 and the two-day on-track attendance was 85,824.

The Breeders' Cup World Championships will return to Santa Anita Park in 2023 for its 40th running.

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Derby Day Handle Up

A crowd of 147,294 witnessed Rich Strike's (Keen Ice) 80-1 upset in the 148th running of the GI Kentucky Derby Saturday at Churchill Downs.

Wagering from all-sources on the Kentucky Derby Day program totaled $273.8 million, a 17% increase over 2021 and up 9% from the previous record in 2019 of $250.9 million. Wagering from all-sources on the Kentucky Derby race totaled $179.0 million, up 15% over 2021 and up 8% from the previous record of $166.5 million set in 2019. This year's wagering record includes $8.3 million of handle wagered in Japan.

“We are deeply grateful to all of the fans of the Kentucky Derby around the world who once again made this an amazing and memorable experience,” said Bill Carstanjen, CEO of CDI. “We expect the Kentucky Derby Week Adjusted EBITDA to reflect another record with $7 to $9 million of growth over the prior record in 2019.”

All-sources handle for Derby Week rose to a new record of $391.8 million, up 25% from 2021 and up 14% from the previous record of $343 million set in 2019.

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Keeneland Spring Meet Concludes with Record Handle

Keeneland closed its 2022 Spring Meet Friday with all-sources handle in excess of $219 million to establish an all-time meet wagering record for the track, and a third consecutive season of record handle. The Lexington oval offered record average daily purses of $1.147 million, attracting an average of 9.1 starters per race.

“This Spring Meet was unmatched in many measures, most of all the fact that everyone seemed to revel in the energy of having fans back in full force on race days,” said Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin. “Keeneland is a special place because of the support we receive from the Central Kentucky community, our horsemen, handicappers, sponsors, fans and employees. This spring season sets the stage for a huge racing year that continues with the Fall Meet in October and the return of the Breeders' Cup World Championships on Nov. 4-5.”

All-sources wagering (not including whole-card simulcasting at Keeneland) for the Spring Meet totaled $219,284,979, eclipsing the previous record of $181,009,626 set during last year's 17-day Fall Meet. The total represents a 33.16% increase over last spring's record $164,680,229. Average daily all-sources handle was $14,618,999.

A number of individual handle records were also set during the Spring meet. Record single-day all-sources handle of $28,137,728 was set on GI Toyota Blue Grass Day, Saturday, Apr. 9, which featured 11 races including five graded stakes. Wagering on the 11-race card the following Saturday, Apr. 16, totaled $27,304,001 to be the second-highest single-day handle in Keeneland history. Record Pick 4 and Pick 5 wagering also was realized on Apr. 16. The Pick 4 handled a record $1,357,298, exceeding the previous mark of $1,065,002 set on Blue Grass Day 2018. The Pick 5 handled a record $1,539,098 to surpass the $1,485,090 established on 2021's Blue Grass card.

On-track wagering this spring totaled $16,190,832, up 75.52% from last spring's $9,224,273 when COVID-19 limited attendance for the meet. Average daily on-track wagering this spring was $1,079,389.

The Keeneland Turf Pick 3, a wager on the final three turf races each day that was inaugurated last fall, handled a total of $1,543,399, for an average of $128,617 per day.

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New Jersey Racing Commission Rescinds Whip Ban

Monmouth Park jockeys will once again be allowed to use their whips to encourage their mounts when the meet kicks off May 7.

The change was made during a special hearing held Friday by the New Jersey Racing Commission, which voted to rescind rules that were put in place prior to the 2021 Monmouth meeting that allowed whipping only in cases where it was needed for safety reasons. New Jersey was the only state in the country where whipping was banned.

Monmouth's whipping rules were set to change July 1, when the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) goes into effect. At that time, HISA rules will replace state racing commission rules throughout the country and the HISA whip rules allow for six overhand strikes. In addition, jockeys may tap the horse on the shoulder unlimited times if both their hands are on the reins.

Monmouth management went to the racing commission and asked it to overturn the whipping ban, arguing that it did not make sense to have the rules change in the middle of the meet.

The commission agreed, voting by a 5-1 margin to go with the HISA rules starting with opening day. Lawrence DeMarzo was the only commissioner not to vote to end the whipping ban.

“This is better than it was,” said Terry Meyocks, the president of the Jockeys' Guild, which had been staunchly against the whip ban, arguing that it raised safety concerns for the riders. “It's a safety issue. It's not subjective. They have to take into consideration what the jocks have been saying.”

As part of its argument, Monmouth cited handle figures for the 2021 meet in which daily average handle fell by 17.13%, which raised concern that some bettors stayed away from Monmouth because they weren't comfortable with the new rules.

To enforce the HISA whipping rules, Monmouth will establish a three-person committee of racing officials who will review races to make sure the jockeys are in compliance. If they are not, the penalties will be severe. First-time violators will forfeit their share of the purse, will be fined $500 and receive a three-day suspension. Second-time offenders will lose the purse money, be fined $2,500 and suspended for seven days. Anyone violating the rule a third time will lose the purse money, be fined $5,000 and banned for the remainder of the meet.

It was revealed during the hearing that the racing commission received more than 80 telephone calls asking it to keep the whip ban in place. Many of the callers told the commission they received texts or emails from PETA asking them to call the commission.

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