Several wagering records were set during the 23rd Breeders’ Cup at Churchill
Downs on November 4, including total handle and simulcast handle.
Total all-sources handle for the 10-race card rose 13.1 percent to
$140,332,198 compared with the $123,978,241 record set at last year’s Breeders’
Cup, which was held at Belmont Park. A Breeders’ Cup on-track record was set
when the crowd of 75,132 at Churchill wagered $18,259,971 on the full, 10-race
program and $17,184,919 on the eight Breeders’ Cup races. The full-card,
on-track total breaks the previous Breeders’ Cup record of $16,346,688 set at
the 2003 Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita.
A record total of $26,692,697 was wagered on the Breeders’ Cup Classic
(G1), 44 percent higher than last year’s Classic wagering total of $18,533,279.
More than $2.4 million was wagered on Classic runner-up Bernardini (A.P. Indy).
In addition, a record total of $134,357,846 was bet at Churchill and at
simulcast outlets around the world on the eight Breeders’ Cup races. That figure
is 15.4 percent higher than the old mark of $116,465,923 set a year ago.
A record of $122,072,227 was established for total simulcast handle,
accounting for 87 percent of the total all-sources handle.
“We are delighted with our record-setting wagering performance at this year’s
Breeders’ Cup,” said Greg Avioli, president and chief executive officer of the
Breeders’ Cup. “We salute our fans at Churchill Downs and elsewhere, whose
support made this year’s event one of the greatest in Breeders’ Cup history.”
In addition to the wagering milestones, a record 104 horses started in this
year’s Breeders’ Cup, one more than the old mark set at the 2000 Breeders’ Cup,
which also took place at Churchill Downs.