|
|
Keeneland handle, attendance rises As Keeneland concludes its 75th anniversary racing season on Saturday, the historic track posted a record for attendance and strong gains in all-sources handle buoyed by large average field sizes. During the 17-day meeting, attendance totaled a record 250,163, for an average of 14,715 per day. The first two weekends -- which included a record opening Friday crowd of 19,026 -- each drew more than 60,000 in attendance. The previous meet attendance record was 244,145, set in the spring of 2006 for a 15-day meeting. "This was a strong meeting in so many ways -- from attendance, to wagering, to quality of racing" Keeneland President and CEO Nick Nicholson said. Key facts and figures from the fall meeting include:
Julien Leparoux, Ken McPeek and G. Watts Humphrey Jr. captured leading jockey, trainer and owner titles, respectively. A multiple Eclipse Award winner, Leparoux dominated the jockey standings this fall, burnishing his credentials in the Keeneland record books by earning his third fall riding title (2006 and 2010) and seventh title overall (spring 2006 [first apprentice to win a Keeneland title, tying with Rafael Bejarano], 2007, 2009, 2011). Leparoux, who won the Grade 1 First Lady Stakes aboard Never Retreat and the Grade 2 Fayette Stakes with Wise Dan, accumulated 33 victories during the meet, catapulting him to sixth place among Keeneland's all-time winning jockeys by races won. Twice during the meet -- on October 21 and October 29 -- he recorded five wins on a single card, becoming only the ninth rider in track history to accomplish that feat. "The whole meet has been very good," Leparoux said. "Keeneland is a great track so it's fun. It's very good to be successful here." James Graham finished second in the rider standings with 17 wins, followed by Robby Albarado with 15 victories. Trainer Ken McPeek earned his third consecutive Keeneland title and fourth overall (fall 2009 and 2010; spring 2011) with 10 wins, just edging out Rusty Arnold with nine victories. Graham Motion finished third with seven wins. G. Watts Humphrey Jr., both solely and in partnership, won seven races during the meet to record his third fall leading owner title (fall 2004 and 2006) and seventh Keeneland title overall (spring 1989, 2003 [tie], 2008 [tie] and 2010 [tie]). Humphrey, who attended the races at Keeneland on Saturday, was at Busch Stadium on Friday night to watch the St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series in Game 7. Humphrey is part of the Cardinals ownership group. "I think that winning (the World Series) with the Cardinals is just a wonderful thrill, but the horses are our first love and running at Keeneland is the place we love to win," he said. "This is a very special year because we've won it with most of the horses which we've raised." Ken and Sarah Ramsey finished second with five wins, including two stakes -- the Grade 1 Alcibiades Stakes with Stephanie's Kitten and the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes with Holiday for Kitten. Both horses are scheduled to race in the upcoming Breeders' Cup at Churchill Downs. "It is very rewarding that 75 years after our first meet, we continue to be blessed with racing at the highest level possible," Vice President of Racing Rogers Beasley said. "We are fortunate to have a top-notch stakes program, led by a number of Breeders' Cup prep races. We also had a large contingent of Breeders' Cup contenders electing to race and train here. On behalf of the entire team, we wish to thank the jockeys, trainers, and fans for supporting us this racing season."
 Send this article to a friend
|
|
