Positive Results for Churchill Spring Meet

[Wandering Eyes]

The Churchill Downs spring meet saw positive results with record purses, large fields and bigger payouts for bettors. Purses were raised to a record $32.2 million during the 38-day meet that ran from April 27 to June 29, which was a 44.7% or $9.9 million increase from last year’s $22.2 million.

Spring Meet prize-money for horsemen averaged $846,393 daily compared to $584,796 in 2018. When excluding the lucrative Kentucky Derby week purse offerings, $601,408 was paid daily over the final eight weeks of the meet versus $408,796 last year. The average purse per race was $86,459 compared to last season’s $59,737.

“As promised, our investment into Derby City Gaming is paying immediate dividends and directly benefiting the city of Louisville and Commonwealth of Kentucky,” said Kevin Flanery, President of Churchill Downs Racetrack. “We’ve improved our state’s valuable horse racing and agriculture industry with lucrative rewards for horsemen. The result was a thriving and ultra-competitive racing product with more entries and high-quality horses that appealed to bettors and horseplayers nationwide.”

Churchill Downs lured 3,148 starters for its 372 races for an average of 8.5 horses per race, an 8.8% increase from the 7.8 starters-per-race average at the 2018 Spring Meet.

With increased purses, quality and field size, all-sources wagering on the spring meet races soared to $499.8 million, a $51 million jump from 2018’s $448.8 million.

The average $2 win payoff during the spring meet was $13.52 compared to $10.92 in 2018, a 23.8% increase. Also, there were double-digit profit gains for bettors in most all other betting pools, including average $2 exacta payouts, which were up 49% from $72.62 in 2018 to $108.22 this year.

Corey Lanerie topped all jockeys with 43 wins, while Steve Asmussen led the trainer standings with 28 victories. The owner title was a three-way tie between Ken and Sarah Ramsey, Calumet Farm and Maggi Moss, who each had six wins.

 

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