Total commingled betting on the nine Breeders’ Cup races held on Saturday at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Southern California was up 6 percent compared to wagering on the same nine races last year, when the event was also held at Del Mar, according to charts of the races.
The jump in Saturday betting reversed a nearly 11 percent decline in handle on the five Breeders’ Cup races held on Friday, which was Halloween. Total handle on the Saturday races was $113.16 million, compared to Saturday handle last year of $106.76 million.
The race order of the Saturday Breeders’ Cup races was modified somewhat by running the Breeders’ Cup Classic as the ninth race on the 12-race card, rather than as the eighth race last year. Breeders’ Cup has placed the Classic near the middle of the slate for the past two years to secure a broadcast television window on NBC.
Total betting on the Classic, including all multi-race bets ending in the race, was down 6.6 percent this year to $22.1 million, a strong result considering this year’s Classic had a nine-horse field, compared to a 14-horse field last year. The Classic this year had a post time of 3:27 p.m. local time, or 6:27 Eastern. It was run approximately 45 minutes earlier last year.
While betting was down only marginally in the Classic’s win, place, and show pools, and exacta betting dropped 6.4 percent, wagering in the trifecta pool was down 13.3 percent and the superfecta pool dropped 18 percent, consistent with the much smaller field.
A total of 102 horses ran in the nine Breeders’ Cup races on Saturday this year, compared to 100 runners last year. In total, the 14 Breeders’ Cup races this year attracted total wagering of $153.96 million, up 1 percent over total handle of $152.49 million last year, according to charts.
According to Breeders’ Cup, the total handle for the entire 12-race Saturday card was $118.03 million, while total handle on Friday's 10-race card was $62.01 million for a total of $180.04 million, the third-highest total in the event’s history. The record of $189.06 million was set in 2022, when the event was held at Keeneland.
Attendance on Saturday was 35,173, according to Breeders’ Cup. Attendance on Friday was 30,059 for a two-day total of 65,232. Last year, total attendance was 67,418.
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