Keeneland Concludes Spring Meeting With All-Time Wagering Record
April 27, 2007
Keeneland closed its 2007 spring season on Friday with record total wagering for the 15-day race meeting, held April 6 -27.
It was the first spring meeting conducted over Polytrack, and the popular racing surface attracted full fields of quality horses, which drove record handle levels. Though final handle figures are not yet confirmed, total all-sources wagering will exceed $158 million, substantially over the previous record of $143,479,802 set last spring.
The record handle was achieved despite unseasonably cold, inclement weather ? which saw accumulating snow on opening weekend ? throughout much of the race meet.
?Mother Nature won this one,? said Keeneland President Nick Nicholson. ?When the weather was good, the fans came out in record numbers. And, through it all ? the snow, the rain and the cold ? the new Polytrack surface held up well and there were full, competitive fields which resulted in a record all-sources mutuel handle. In many ways, the Polytrack was the star of the meet.?
The cold, rainy weather impacted on-track attendance, which totaled 215,030 for the meet, a decrease of 11.9 percent from last spring?s record of 235,220. Average daily attendance was 14,335. A single-day attendance record of 33,821 was set on Saturday, April 21, which featured the $325,000 Coolmore Lexington Stakes (G2), won by Slew?s Tizzy. The previous record was 33,621 set on April 16, 2005, for the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G1).
For the second consecutive meet, the team of Patrick Biancone and Julien Leparoux earned Keeneland?s leading trainer and jockey titles, respectively.
|
World Casino Directory 
Gambling Forums 
