New Wagering Records Set On Kentucky Derby and Derby Day Card--Wet Track!

[Grandstand Handicapper]

Over $234 million was bet on the Derby...and almost $350 million was bet on the card!!!

https://paulickreport.com/news/the-biz/new-wagering-records-set-on-kentucky-derby-derby-day-card-despite-wet-conditions

I get that it's the Derby, one day a year, and so on. It's still horse racing. If you build it, they will come.

[JT]

Over $234 million was bet on the Derby...and almost $350 million was bet on the card!!!

https://paulickreport.com/news/the-biz/new-wagering-records-set-on-kentucky-derby-derby-day-card-despite-wet-conditions

I get that it's the Derby, one day a year, and so on. It's still horse racing. If you build it, they will come.

I also read that Oak Grove set a handle record on the Monday after the Derby. It helped that they had a decent pick 4 carryover, but without that the handle record still would have been broken

[John Moody]

Sadly it's a dead game guy's , that is just a sorry fact

[Brown jug]

you are right grandstand, appears there is life in horse racing
yes it is tbreds and yes it is  the derby
however perhaps thee are some learnings

1. its the first and biggest leg of the triple crown, do most of use even know what the current triple crown is in harness racing
2. as a comparative in harness what race could be in a similar position, i suggest the meadowlands pace become the kentucky derby of harness racing but how ??
3. it is held at the big m which is a good facility and in a very high density area with other attractions in the area to encourage people to travel and attend
4. set up a point system so the best current horses get in the race , set the field 2 weeks prior so you have time to promote the hell out of it and create stories about every horse
5. make the field 16 horses, 8 on the gate and 8 in behind to ensure movement and excitement throughout the race and also drive wagering higher based on more probabilities ensuring great payouts,
6. make the race 1.5 miles to minimize the importance of post position
7. make the race night an event not to be missed, get celebrities to attend, red carpet etc, concerts, big betting opportunities,  pools seeded if necessary to attract non harness bettors, charge an admission fee to all areas, $50.00 for general, up to $150 for premium seats , maybe include a betting voucher for 50% of the admission

just my thoughts , please add in some more, maybe someone of relevance will read and make some changes ,

[Bitter Truth]

Alas very few care and the others don't want to even sit and listen to an explanation of the premise
of the races, let alone sit and wait for them to walk round and round and round, hoping to maximize
their handle. Where would the $$ come from? Would the owners want to pay a higher entry fee and
risk drawing the second tier. Would they 'BE' 3 yr olds? Seems like the calendar bleeds together
quite a bit already now. People like us might appreciate the extra effort or spectacle but the vast majority
don't and won't EVER care. Bottom line, I believe just try and enjoy what's left while it's still around.

[The Exporter]

you are right grandstand, appears there is life in horse racing
yes it is tbreds and yes it is  the derby
however perhaps thee are some learnings

1. its the first and biggest leg of the triple crown, do most of use even know what the current triple crown is in harness racing
2. as a comparative in harness what race could be in a similar position, i suggest the meadowlands pace become the kentucky derby of harness racing but how ??
3. it is held at the big m which is a good facility and in a very high density area with other attractions in the area to encourage people to travel and attend
4. set up a point system so the best current horses get in the race , set the field 2 weeks prior so you have time to promote the hell out of it and create stories about every horse
5. make the field 16 horses, 8 on the gate and 8 in behind to ensure movement and excitement throughout the race and also drive wagering higher based on more probabilities ensuring great payouts,
6. make the race 1.5 miles to minimize the importance of post position
7. make the race night an event not to be missed, get celebrities to attend, red carpet etc, concerts, big betting opportunities,  pools seeded if necessary to attract non harness bettors, charge an admission fee to all areas, $50.00 for general, up to $150 for premium seats , maybe include a betting voucher for 50% of the admission

just my thoughts , please add in some more, maybe someone of relevance will read and make some changes ,

The Derby accomplished this incrementally, over 150 years.  You cant start at the top. There is a lot more work to be done before your product demands $150 admission. The other points are things that can be done now. Field size and distance in particular. Although, you will have to fight the traditionalist that place mile times as a defining of greatness.

[Harness racer]

All betting indicators are down...not sure how you are putting a positive spin on any of this.  I wish the game was in better shape...just not the case.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS ON U.S. RACES
May 6, 2025: $4,077,549
2025   2024   % Change
Total Wagered   $451,546,289   $525,751,241   -14.11%
Per Race avg.   $50,673   $55,354   -8.46%
Per Betting Interest   $6,334   $6,914   -8.39%
Purses   $101,509,293   $104,706,372   -3.05%
Race Days   713   766   -6.92%

[Yonkers1A]

I wonder how the Preakness handle will perform

[Scooteroo]

The Preakness handle is nowhere near what the Derby is. It's a smaller field, smaller venue in not a great neighborhood at a track ready to fall apart and torn down. Having the Derby winner skip the race doesn't help either.

[Grandstand Handicapper]

Look, there's no way #'s like that can ever get duplicated. The Derby is the Derby. It's an anomaly. Maybe the Breeders Cup can equal that, but that's about it. However, like I said, if you build it, they will come. I cringe when I hear things like marketing. Market what? A damaged sport with a broken business model? No, not yet. Clean up the sport, give people reasons to be interested, learn, watch, etc., and this business will do more than survive; it will thrive. Yes, less tracks. Yes, less races. Yes, less on-track handle. But the bottom lines in each line of business don't lie.

[JT]

you are right grandstand, appears there is life in horse racing
yes it is tbreds and yes it is  the derby
however perhaps thee are some learnings

1. its the first and biggest leg of the triple crown, do most of use even know what the current triple crown is in harness racing
2. as a comparative in harness what race could be in a similar position, i suggest the meadowlands pace become the kentucky derby of harness racing but how ??
3. it is held at the big m which is a good facility and in a very high density area with other attractions in the area to encourage people to travel and attend
4. set up a point system so the best current horses get in the race , set the field 2 weeks prior so you have time to promote the hell out of it and create stories about every horse
5. make the field 16 horses, 8 on the gate and 8 in behind to ensure movement and excitement throughout the race and also drive wagering higher based on more probabilities ensuring great payouts,
6. make the race 1.5 miles to minimize the importance of post position
7. make the race night an event not to be missed, get celebrities to attend, red carpet etc, concerts, big betting opportunities,  pools seeded if necessary to attract non harness bettors, charge an admission fee to all areas, $50.00 for general, up to $150 for premium seats , maybe include a betting voucher for 50% of the admission

just my thoughts , please add in some more, maybe someone of relevance will read and make some changes ,

Some of these are great ideas, some not so much, a little to gimmicky. I've always said that harness racing needs to emphasize the triple crown. Tbreds do this but harness doesn't. I've never understood that. Unless you follow the sport does an average person watch and wager on The Travers as an example? The answer is no, but the average person does follow the triple crown races.

[Grandstand Handicapper]

I agree about the TC. Emphasize it, promote it, and get people interested. Takes work. There are just a lot of other things in the sport that need to be addressed as well. The sport can absolutely make the TC easy to be interested in, follow, etc. I think part of the problem is that the TC for pacers doesn't include "the biggest" races-----no Meadowlands Pace, no NA Cup, and the Messenger lost a lot of its stature when it moved around a bit. For trotters, while the Hambletonian is the premier event, the Yonkers Trot has lost a lot of stature, and the Kentucky Futurity never really had much outside the industry. It will take work, but it can be done.

[Brown jug]

appreciate the responses guys
what do you think or making the harness triple crown ( pacing) na cup , meadowlands pace, little brown jug
i know the jug on a half mile track etc but hey who said it should be easy and also like it or not the jug still does draw a crowd
give a serious incentive ( $) to a horse who wins the triple crown and they will come
can you imagine the lbj with a horse trying to win the new harness triple crown

[MIKE CAMPBELL]

The only way to ever get eyeballs on this joke of a sport is to combine all the purse money from several of the "marquis" races and put together a 10 Miilion Dollar winner take all race. With that kind of money, I am sure national TV will be interested in broadcasting it. Until then, you will continue to have to describe harness racing to someone who asks as the races with horses and buggys.

[Grandstand Handicapper]

appreciate the responses guys
what do you think or making the harness triple crown ( pacing) na cup , meadowlands pace, little brown jug
i know the jug on a half mile track etc but hey who said it should be easy and also like it or not the jug still does draw a crowd
give a serious incentive ( $) to a horse who wins the triple crown and they will come
can you imagine the lbj with a horse trying to win the new harness triple crown

Absolutely! Years ago, didn't Visa offer a $5 million bonus to a t-bred Triple Crown winner? Why am I thinking it was when War Emblem won the Derby. Or maybe that was the year they stopped offering it. Don't know/remember.