Attendance and handle, both ontrack and all-sources, were up substantially from 2011 figures for the Aug. 25 running of the $1 million Travers Stakes (gr. I) at Saratoga Race Course.
A crowd of 46,528, up 8.1% from 43,050 in 2011, witnessed Alpha and Golden Ticket deliver a historic dead heat for a win in the 143rd edition of the 1 1/4-mile "Midsummer Derby."
Ontrack handle for Saratoga's races was $8,741,773, up 7% from last year's total of $8,172,452. An additional $1,193,435 was wagered downstate at the Belmont Café and Aqueduct simulcast center for a combined ontrack handle of $9,935,208, an increase of 12.4% from $8,839,281 last year.
All-sources handle was $36,597,173, up 10.8% from last year's total of $33,017,384.
The pool for the day's $1 million guaranteed all graded-stakes Pick 4 was $1,837,082, up 11.3% from the 2011 pool of $1,650,587.