LEXINGTON, Ky. (October 31, 2015) \u2013 Racing fans could not be blamed if they were asking what took so long after a spectacular renewal of the Breeders\u2019 Cup World Championships, including Triple Crown winner American Pharoah\u2019s history-making win in the $5 million Breeders\u2019 Cup Classic, in its inaugural homecoming to iconic Keeneland Race Course, in the heart of the Thoroughbred industry in Central Kentucky.<\/p>\n
The Lexington track easily accommodated Breeders\u2019 Cup guests from around the world over the two days with 50,155 on hand Saturday, a record attendance for Keeneland, on top 44,947 on Friday, both a Keeneland record that stood for one day and a record attendance for a Breeders\u2019 Cup Friday.<\/p>\n
And the racing itself did not disappoint. Zayat Stable\u2019s American Pharoah became horse racing\u2019s first Grand Slam winner, ending his career by gliding to a six-length victory over Keeneland\u2019s main track for trainer Bob Baffert. Popular sprinter Runhappy set a new track record in the Twin Spires Breeders\u2019 Cup Sprint, and accomplished fillies Found (GB) and Tepin winning the Longines Breeders\u2019 Cup Turf and Breeders\u2019 Cup Mile, respectively, running against males.
\nTotal two-day common-pool handle for the Friday and Saturday race cards of the 32nd Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland was $150,574,656, representing a half percent decrease over 2014 common-pool total of $151,794,174.
\nCommon-pool wagering on Saturday’s 12-race Breeders’ Cup card was $105,625,491 a slight decrease over the 2014 handle of $105,979,062. The on-track handle for the two days at Keeneland was $20,611,114, up slightly over the $20,117,488 2014 on-track handle at Santa Anita.
\nThe two-day total attendance of 95,102 was a slight decrease over the prior year. Breeders\u2019 Cup officials said that ticket revenue for the event more than doubled over 2014 due primarily to the demand for high-end hospitality areas at Keeneland, many created especially for the Breeders\u2019 Cup.
\n\u201cThis was a day that people will look back on and tell people they were here and it\u2019s exactly why the Breeders\u2019 Cup was created, to showcase the very best of our sport,\u201d said Breeders’ Cup President and CEO Craig Fravel. \u201cWe\u2019re thrilled with the crowd over both days, the strong business levels and our gracious hosts here at Keeneland and the greater Lexington area.\u201d
\n\u201cThe Breeders\u2019 Cup at Keeneland has been a tremendous success in every way,\u201d Keeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason said, \u201cfrom the brilliant performances of the Breeders\u2019 Cup champions, both equine and human, to the huge crowds on track and the unprecedented way in which the Central Kentucky community embraced this great event. I couldn’t be prouder of the Keeneland team who executed operations at the highest levels to provide guests with an incredibly memorable two days of racing.\u201d
\nBreeders\u2019 Cup will release total handle, including separate pools, early next week.<\/p>\n
Breeders’ Cup Two-Day Attendance and Handle (common-pool) history:
\n2015, Keeneland Race Course \u2013 95,102; $150,574,656
\n2014, Santa Anita Park \u2013 98,319; $151,794,174
\n2013, Santa Anita Park \u2013 94,628; $160,704,877 (includes separate pools)
\n2012, Santa Anita Park \u2013 89,742; $144,272,332
\n2011, Churchill Downs \u2013 105,820; $161,512,867
\n2010, Churchill Downs \u2013 114,353; $173,857,697
\n2009, Santa Anita Park \u2013 96,496; $153,271,176
\n2008, Santa Anita Park \u2013 86,588; $155,740,328
\n2007, Monmouth Park \u2013 69,584; $129,197,262<\/p>\n
About Breeders\u2019 Cup<\/p>\n
The Breeders\u2019 Cup administers the Breeders\u2019 Cup World Championships, Thoroughbred racing\u2019s year-end Championships. The Breeders\u2019 Cup also administers the Breeders\u2019 Cup Challenge qualifying series, which provides automatic starting positions into the Championships races. The 2015 Breeders\u2019 Cup World Championships, consisting of 13 grade I races and purses totaling $26 million, will be held October 30-Oct. 31 at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., and will be televised live by the NBC Sports Group. Breeders\u2019 Cup press releases appear on the Breeders\u2019 Cup Web site, www.breederscup.com. You can also follow the Breeders\u2019 Cup on social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube #BC15<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LEXINGTON, Ky. (October 31, 2015) – Racing fans could not be blamed if they were asking what took so long after a spectacular renewal of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, including Triple Crown winner American Pharoah’s history-making win in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, in its inaugural homecoming to iconic Keeneland Race Course, in the heart of the Thoroughbred industry in Central Kentucky.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5020,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[97,52,2044],"tags":[523],"class_list":["post-5056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english-events-magazine","category-events-magazine","category-magazine","tag-breeders-cup-world-championships"],"yoast_head":"\n