Churchill Downs Incorporated announces the victory of the Kentucky Derby
According to Churchill Downs Incorporated, 147,294 spectators flocked to the Churchill Downs Racecourse on Saturday to watch Rich Strike win the 148th running of the Kentucky Derby in an unexpected fashion.
According to the Louisville-based company's official press release, the winner's eventual odds of 80-1 were only surpassed by the 91-1 of 1913 champion Donerail. The victory for the Eric Reed-trained animal was the second-longest in the history of the prestigious horseracing extravaganza.
highest accomplishment:
The Daily Racing Form newspaper said on Saturday that the race also set a record handle of almost $168.8 million. This year's Kentucky Derby was the first to be contested following the upheaval of the coronavirus outbreak. This total, which includes all multi-race wagers concluding with the featured event, represented an increase of 9.9% year over year and was impressively 5.8% higher than the previous ceiling established in 2019.
welcome resurgence
Despite the Daily Racing Form's disclosure that parimutuel future bets placed via Churchill Down Incorporated were not included in the handle total, the Kentucky Derby's return to normalcy after two years of interruption due to the coronavirus was still indicated. This claim allegedly received additional support from the fact that the total handle for the 14-race card increased by 13.9% year over year to surpass an all-time high of $263.2 million, an increase of 4.9% above the total observed in 2019.
Japanese excursion
Churchill Downs Incorporated said that bettors in Japan placed little more than $8.3 million on the Kentucky Derby in a separate pool, helping to raise the record handle amount even higher, in its press statement. The Kentucky operator pointed out that such enthusiasts are only allowed to wager on a specific number of simulcasts from other countries each year as long as a locally-trained horse is competing, which in this year's case featured 20-1 runner Crown Pride.
Online positivity
The press release stated that Churchill Downs Incorporated's TwinSpires-branded advance deposit wagering system saw its own aggregated Kentucky Derby handle increase by 8% year-over-year to a new record of $67.4 million. Bill Carstanjen, the company's chief executive officer, made this claim. The seasoned expert added that the final total for the individual race won by Rich Strike saw a similarly impressive 8% growth to surpass $44 million.
Read Carstanjen's statement...
"We owe a huge debt of gratitude to all of the Kentucky Derby supporters who turned the event into yet another fantastic and unforgettable occasion. We anticipate that the Kentucky Derby Week's adjusted profits before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation will set another record in 2019, increasing by $7 to $9 million.
