First-Day Cup Attendance and Handle Slide

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Photo: Courtney V. Bearse

The Breeders' Cup World Championships reported an attendance of 40,677 and total handle of $50,053,505 for the 10-race Nov. 4 card at Churchill Downs.

Attendance was down 2% from the day-one crowd of 41,614 reported in 2010, which was a year of record attendance and handle driven by the popularity of Zenyatta. The common-pool handle was down 5.6% from $53,010,625 bet on the Friday card of 2010.

For the six Breeders' Cup races, the handle declined 6.4% to $42,490,444 from $45,393,976 a year ago. The ontrack handle dipped 4% to $7,765,183 from $8,109,443. The handle does not include $562,284 wagered on the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic/Classic double.

"We're off to a very strong start with an amazing day of racing and outstanding performances on the track," said Craig Fravel, Breeders' Cup president and CEO. "Racing fans around the globe supported day one of our championships, and we're looking forward to a great day two."

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