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BC two-day attendance rises while total handle falls; Velazquez wins Bill Shoemaker Award A crowd of 61,114 was on hand at Santa Anita Park on Saturday for the second day of the 31st Breeders' Cup World Championships, bringing the two-day total attendance to 98,319, 4 percent higher than the 2013 two-day attendance of 94,628. The total attendance is a Breeders' Cup record at Santa Anita since the expansion to a two-day event. Saturday's crowd was also 4 percent more than the 2013 Saturday crowd of 58,795. Total two-day common-pool handle for the Friday and Saturday race cards of the Breeders' Cup was $151,794,174, representing a 5.5 percent decrease from the 2013 figure of $160,704,877. Wagering on Saturday's 12-race Breeders' Cup card was $105,979,291, down 3 percent from the 2013 handle of $109,184,432. Saturday's all sources handle was adversely impacted when two races on the Breeders' Cup undercard were shifted from the turf to the main track. The two-day wagering total on the 13 Breeders' Cup World Championship races was $128,215,643. Handle on last year's 14 Breeders' Cup races was $136,549,714. Wagering on this year's Breeders' Cup Classic was $28,776,535, a 15 percent increase over the 2013 Classic betting of $25,116,192. "Our Championships once again provided amazing performances and incredible drama and we congratulate all of the winners," Breeders' Cup President and CEO Craig Fravel said. "We're thrilled with the crowd over both days, strong wagering levels and our gracious hosts here at Santa Anita, Arcadia, and the greater Los Angeles area. We're looking forward to going home to central Kentucky next year and returning to Santa Anita again in 2016" Breeders' Cup Two-Day Attendance and Handle (common-pool) history: 2014 Santa Anita Park -- 98,319; $151,158,815 Propelled by five top-three finishes, including a victory in the Breeders' Cup Turf on Main Sequence, two-time Eclipse champion jockey John Velazquez won his third Bill Shoemaker Award as the most outstanding jockey of the 31st edition of the event. In addition to his aforementioned victory, the 42-year-old native of Carolina, Puerto Rico, was second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile aboard Carpe Diem and runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf on Stephanie's Kitten, while also third in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint with Undrafted and in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint while piloting Thank You Marylou. The victory on Main Sequence was his 13th Breeders' Cup win. The Hall of Famer's 26-point total edged Javier Castellano and Rosie Napravnik by six points in a 10-5-3-1 scoring system based on the first- through fourth-place finishes in the 13 Breeders' Cup races. The Bill Shoemaker Award is named in honor of one of the greatest jockeys in the history of Thoroughbred racing. Shoemaker, a four-time winner of the Kentucky Derby, won more than 8,800 races in a career that spanned more than 40 years. In 1987, at age 56, Shoemaker won the Breeders' Cup Classic aboard Ferdinand. Bill Shoemaker Award winners: 2003: Alex Solis Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com
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