Hollywood Park concluded its 63-day Spring/Summer Meet on Sunday with large
gains in on-track business compared to the 61-day meeting in 2006. Handle jumped
8.9 percent to a record
daily average of $11,335,575, which eclipsed the mark of $11.1 million set
in 2002. On-track, the daily average handle increased 1.3 percent to $1,697,597. On-track attendance
rose 4.8 percent to an average of 6,443. On-track per capita wagering was $263.
“I was pleased by our on-track efforts where the average daily attendance and
handle figures were up, especially when, unfortunately, those figures were down
off-track in Southern California,” Hollywood Park President Jack Liebau said.
“The
increase in advance deposit wagering (27 percent) was certainly important to the
overall success of our meet. All and all, we are very pleased with the results.”
Friday night on-track business surged, led by CashCall Mile Night when an
on-track crowd of 14,683 helped generate total handle of $11,080,256. On-track
attendance for the 11 evening programs averaged 9,689, an increase of 32.7
percent from the figure of 7,300 a year ago. On-track Friday night handle
averaged $1,469,767, a 12.7 increase, while total Friday night handle increased
by 13.6 percent to an average of $8,733,971. Friday night per capita wagering
was $152.
The increase in business spiked when a Kentucky Derby Day record $27.7
million was wagered on May 5, shattering the mark of $26.7 million — the largest
single-day handle in California in 2006. The Derby Day handle is the highest in
California to date in 2007. The per capita wagering of $349 helped generate the
second-highest handle in Hollywood Park’s 68-year history, surpassed only when
the track was host to the Breeders’ Cup in 1997. A record $20,774,020 was
wagered on Preakness Day, breaking the mark of $19,178,524 set in 2005.
LAVA MAN’s (Slew City Slew) successful bid to match legendary Native Diver with his third
consecutive Hollywood Gold Cup S. (G1) victory generated a Gold Cup record handle of
$22,058,795, a 44 percent increase from the figure of $15,292,324 in 2006. The
previous record of $18,272,223 was set in 2003.
The biggest non-holiday weekday handle in track history came on Monday, July 2,
when a record four-day Pick 6 carryover of $3,274,505.48 generated a
single-day record Pick 6 handle of $7,596,347.12 and a record Pick 6 pool of
$10,870,852.60. Total handle was $18,407,581. Thirteen perfect tickets were
worth $576,064.40 each, while 807 consolation tickets with five winners each
were worth $2,240.40. A single winning ticket would have paid a record $7.4
million.
Eight of the tickets were purchased in California with investments ranging
from $2 to $14,400. A father/daughter team had two perfect tickets at Los Alamitos
— one on a $2 ticket and one on a $4 ticket. There was a $24 winning
ticket at Victorville and a $432 winning ticket at Santa Anita. At Hollywood
Park, one player cashed twice, once with a $768 ticket and once on a $960 wager.
The previous record Pick 6 pool of $7,303,848 was set on March 3, 2004, at
Santa Anita Park when a three-day carryover of $1,413,136.14 generated an
additional Pick 6 handle of $5,889,712. The former single-day North American
record Pick 6 pool of $6,494,193 was set when there was a $5-million guarantee
on Breeders’ Cup Day in 1998.
Purses at the meet averaged a record $448,343, breaking the mark of $418,769
set in 2002. Field size was on par with an average of 8.1 starters per race. On
Cushion Track, fields averaged 8.4 starters per race compared to an average of
8.05 per race on the main track a year ago.
Lava Man, who won the Gold Cup by a nose over A. P. Xcellent (A.P. Indy), was voted Horse
of the Meet in the annual media poll, while Michael Baze was leading jockey with
73 wins and Jeff Mullins and Doug O’Neill tied for leading trainer with 26 wins
each.