A near-record $139.8 million was wagered during Keeneland’s recently
concluded fall race meeting, according to final figures released Monday. Track
officials ascribed the positive numbers to FallStars Weekend, an average field
size of 10.08 starters per race, and strong weekday crowds during the 17-day
meet, which ran from October 5 through Saturday.
The all-sources handle, which comprises on-track, off-track and whole-card
simulcasts conducted at Keeneland, totaled a near-record $139,816,830, just 0.4
percent short of last fall’s record $140,456,180. Wagering conducted at
Keeneland on live racing and whole-card simulcasts rose 4.5 percent to
$27,396,663, the third-highest on-track handle in fall meet history.
Keeneland established a single-day fall meet wagering record of $14,135,204
on FallStars Saturday, October 6. The figure topped the previous record of
$12,733,860 set on Saturday, October 7, 2006.
Purses averaged $627,640 per day during the fall, attracting many of the
nation’s top stables and jockeys, and a large contingent of Breeders’ Cup-bound
horses.
“The fall meet was very strong throughout, and it speaks well for our
horsemen and our fans,” Keeneland President and CEO Nick Nicholson said.
“Horsemen supported us with full fields and great racing the entire meet.
Despite unusually hot fall weather and smaller Saturday crowds, our fans
responded enthusiastically to our efforts to promote weekday racing, resulting
in record attendance.”
As was first reported on Saturday, on-track attendance for the meet was a
fall record 239,296. That represents an increase of 2.6 percent from last fall’s
record of 233,218, and ranks as the second-largest attendance in track history,
just behind the 244,145 posted in the 2006 spring meet. A fall meet Friday
record crowd of 20,024 was set on College Scholarship Day, Friday, October 12,
and nearly was broken the following Friday when 19,039 people attended the
races.