A crowd of 167,227 packed in to Churchill Downs on a day that started perfectly, turned stormy for 15 minutes in the late afternoon hours and ended with near-record all-sources handle.
Derby day wagering from all sources totaled $192.6 million, just 1% off the previous record set last year, though all-sources wagering on the Derby alone was $124.7 million, off 10% from last year's record figure. On-track wagering on the Kentucky Derby Day program was up 2% to $23.5 million, just shy of the record $23.7 million in 2012. On-track wagering on the Kentucky Derby race totaled $11.3 million, a decrease of 6% from 2015. Officials at the track attribute the lower Derby numbers to the presence of a short-priced favorite.
Churchill Downs returned $151.8 million to bettors on the Kentucky Derby Day program. Additionally, purses earned from the Kentucky Derby Day program approximated $10.7 million that will be paid out to horsemen during the remainder of the 2016 race meets.
All-sources handle for Opening Night, Saturday, April 30, through Derby Day, Saturday, May 7, rose to a new record of $266.8 million, up 1% from 2015's previous record. Attendance for those five days was a record-breaking 376,980, up 3% from the previous record set in 2015.
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