NEWS
Belmont Stakes attendance, handle dip
Posted: Saturday, June 06, 2009 10:21 PM
With no Triple Crown on the line, attendance and handle declined on Saturday at Belmont Park for the 141st edition of the Belmont Stakes (G1).
Jockey Calvin Borel was attempting to become the first rider in United States Triple Crown history to sweep the three races in one year with two different horses—Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum Brands (G1) winner Mine That Bird and BlackBerry Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Rachel Alexandra—but the added intrigue did not equal a Triple Crown bid.
Attendance dropped 44% from 94,476 last year, when Big Brown was pulled up in the stretch of the 1 1/2-mile Belmont in his bid for the Triple Crown, to 52,861 this year. Total all-sources wagering handle for the Belmont Stakes card declined 10.2% from $99,943,516 last year to $89,705,994. Total on-track handle declined 27.2% from $13,233,071 last year to $9,637,091.
However, this year's figures compare very favorably to 2007, the last year a Triple Crown was not on the line, with handle up 18.6% from the year Rags to Riches defeated Curlin. In fact, this year's handle represents a record for a non Triple Crown year thanks in part to a NYRA-record handle of $2,243,069 on the all-stakes pick four culminating with Summer Bird's Belmont win.
“Today was a brilliant day of racing and I thank all of our customers and racing participants,” said Charles E. Hayward, president and chief executive officer of the New York Racing Association. “P. J. Campo, our vice president and director of racing, put together a tremendous racing card, and Director of Racing Services Glen Kozak did a superb job of getting the racing surface in tremendous shape. It was a great experience walking around the track today and seeing smiles on lots of faces.”
This year's attendance was up compared to 2007 when 46,870 attended but down versus '05 and '06.
