The total handles for Saturday's Kentucky Derby and its supporting 14-race card at Churchill Downs "were both records." The Derby, won by favorite Always Dreaming, drew a crowd of 158,070, "well off the record" of 170,513 set in '15. The Derby handle was $137.8M, and the handle for the full card was $207.5M, the "first time that handle on a single card" in North American history broke the $200M mark (DRF.com, 5/6). Based on betting and attendance, Churchill Downs Inc. "expects to add" $4-6M in "increased profitability" (BLOODHORSE.com, 5/6). The crowd, which was the "seventh-largest in Derby history," endured "rain early in the day but cheered loudly during a sun-drenched post parade and race" (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 5/7).
Always Dreaming is "owned by a group that includes" NHL Panthers Owner Vincent Viola and former NYRA Chair Anthony Bonomo (Baltimore SUN, 5/7). Viola said, "This is the greatest feeling. We represent everybody who went to the racetrack for the first time with their dads and were astonished by the brilliance of these equine athletes and never fell out of love with the sport" (USATODAY.com, 5/6).
