A total of $111,903,685 was wagered from all sources on the 11-race Breeders' Cup World Championships card at Monmouth Park Oct. 27, according to preliminary data, a decline of 20.3% from the all-time record set at Churchill Downs last year.
The preliminary totals do not include an estimated $5 million in separate pool wagering from Hong Kong, Australia, France, and other countries, a Breeders’ Cup news release said.
The preliminary all-sources total with the separate pool added in would place it in the neighborhood of the $116,059,574 wagered at the 2002 Breeders' Cup at Arlington Park. Handle had increased in each of the last four years.
Unofficially, $99,177,063 was wagered off-track on the Breeders’ Cup card, while $12,726,622 was wagered by the announced crowd of 41,781 on a mostly drizzly day that eventually gave way to clearing skies.
Breeders’ Cup president and chief executive officer Greg Avioli said in a statement that the inclement weather associated with the first two-day World Championships event hampered wagering.
“The weekend combined stunning athletic performances and solid business results. The severe weather and resulting track conditions, though, clearly affected overall wagering handle,” he said.
“We believe the results of this year, while preliminary, show the merits of expanding to two days and we look forward to the 25th Breeders’ Cup World Championships next year at Oak Tree at Santa Anita.”
The attendance figure was the lowest recorded since 37,246 attended the 1995 Breeders’ Cup event at Belmont Park, and fell well short of the all-time record of 80,452 at Churchill Downs in 1998.
Common pool wagering on the 11 Breeders’ Cup races contested totaled $125,287,556, while the figure for all 21 races was $142,700,099.
