5/27/11
Last updated: 5/26/11 3:42 PM
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The Preakness helped boost attendance numbers at Pimlico
(Jeff Snyder/Maryland Jockey Club) |
The Maryland Jockey Club concluded its spring meeting at Pimlico Race
Course last weekend, posting average wagering figures which were 22
percent lower than the 2010 spring meet. The average daily handle fell
from $6.26 million to $4.87 million. The meet featured 29 live racing
dates, nine more than a year ago, and 21 simulcast days.
Rain forced racing officials to move turf races to the main track on
11 live racing days, significantly reducing field size.
“When you lose more than a third of your turf racing because of
weather during a brief meeting the disappointment is played out in the
numbers,” Maryland Jockey Club President Tom Chuckas said. “It is
a given, grass racing equals bigger fields and a larger handle.”
Attendance was up nearly 10 percent at Pimlico as the Preakness
S. (G1) day crowd
increased from 95,760 to 107,398. Performances by Grammy Award winners Train and
Bruno Mars in the infield and a 14-horse field for the middle jewel of racing’s
Triple Crown contributed to a festive event.
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“It is a positive outcome that the inventive strategies we have employed
worked on Preakness day,” Chuckas added. “Finding a way to get the folks who
come out on the third Saturday in May to come back this fall is a major focus as
we move forward to build our business.”
Live racing will return to the major Maryland tracks on September
10 at Laurel Park for the fall meeting, which follows a two weekend stand at the
Timonium State Fair.
