Attendance Marks Fall at Keeneland Stand

(from Keeneland release)
Keeneland established record total and average daily attendance figures during its 2006 spring race meet held April 7 to 28.

The track did not provide final figures for handle during the brief meet.

Total attendance for the 15-day meet was 244,145, eclipsing the previous record of 235,220 set during last year's 16-day spring meet.

Average daily attendance of 16,276 surpassed the 15,522 set in 2004's 15-day spring meet.

The total included a single-day attendance record for a Friday of 23,882, set on April 14. Daily attendance fell below 10,000 on only two days during this year's 15-day stand.

Leading trainer and jockey standings literally came down to the final race of the meet.

Trainer Nick Zito captured his fifth Keeneland trainer title, winning 12 races, including the Commonwealth Breeders' Cup (gr. II) with Sun King and the Ben Ali (gr. III) with Wanderin Boy. Todd Pletcher finished second with 11 wins, including stakes victories in the Doubledogdare with Pool Land and Forerunner with Up an Octave.

Apprentice Julien Leparoux and Rafael Bejarano tied for leading jockey, each finishing the meet with 17 wins. Leparoux becomes the first apprentice jockey to win a leading rider title at Keeneland. (Earlie Fires won the Keeneland riding title in 1966 with 22 victories; however he lost his apprentice status before the meet ended.) Bejarano won leading rider titles at Keeneland in the fall of 2004 and 2005.

Ken and Sarah Ramsey were the meet's leading owners with six wins.