On-track numbers were up at the 55-day meet at Oaklawn Park, which concluded
Saturday. The average on-track attendance of 12,842 rose 3.1 percent compared to
12,455 in 2004. It was the fourth consecutive increase in attendance and the
highest attendance average at Oaklawn Park since 1998, when the Hot Spring,
Arkansas, track averaged 12,992 during a 53-day meet.
Total mutuel handle, including live, simulcast and Instant Racing revenue
sources, achieved an all-time mark of $280,341,701, an increase of 2.5 percent
compared to $273,575,898 last year. The daily average handle was $5,097,122.
Instant Racing showed the greatest growth, taking in $38,681,732, a 134
percent increase compared to $16,523,932 in 2004. On February 21 and April 15,
Instant Racing total handle surpassed $1 million. The system generated nearly
$1.5 million for purses.
For the season, total purse distribution was up nearly $900,000, or 8
percent, over the 2004 record of $13,643,365.
On the other hand, total simulcast handle dropped 10 percent from
$180,941,453 to $162,633,350.
“It was a great year,” Oaklawn Mutuels and Simulcast Manager Bobby Geiger
said. “All of our numbers were positive with the exception of export simulcast.
“Integrity of wagering pools must take precedence over revenue,” he
continued. “We made the decision to remove those sites with alleged ties to
organized crime. We also removed sites that unite large rebates with computer
batch wagering. Studies conclude that those two advantages combined afford
participation in our pools at no risk. We believe it is unacceptable to expose
the fans in our grandstand to that sort of parasitic practice.
“We think that these decisions resulted in positive numbers from among our
grandstand players and will, over time, maintain confidence in the integrity of
what we’re doing at Oaklawn. It was really a very good year for us at Oaklawn.”
Cole Norman captured his fifth consecutive training title by saddling 62
winners from 232 starters. His stable also led the earnings list, with
$1,104,090.
Jeremy Rose secured the riding crown when he won the Arkansas Derby (G2),
breaking a tie with Calvin Borel. He rode two winners on closing day, defeating
Borel 49-48.
Gary Owens, who won the final race of the meeting, tied with Michael Gill for
leading owner. Both had 17 winners at the meet.