All-sources handle at Keeneland up 8.65 percent from last year

All-sources handle at the Keeneland spring meet that concluded on Friday jumped 8.65 percent over wagering during the weather-challenged spring meet last year but declined slightly when compared to the spring meet of 2024, according to figures distributed by the track on Friday night.

All-sources handle for this year’s spring meet was $209.3 million, compared to $192.7 million last year, when the track’s opening Friday and Saturday cards had to be moved to Monday and Tuesday due to torrential rains on opening weekend. The rescheduled Tuesday card featured the Blue Grass Stakes and its supporting stakes, typically the highest-handling day of the spring meet.

Handle during the spring meet in 2024 was $219.0 million, but that comes with a caveat as well – Easter in 2024 occurred in March, rather than April. Keeneland does not race on Easter Sundays, which gave the 2024 meet an extra day of racing compared to the spring meets in 2025 and 2026.

Not surprisingly, on-track handle during the spring meet spiked considerably, jumping 28.6 percent to $17.1 million.

Average field size was 8.3 horses per race, a strong number considering the decline in field sizes across the industry. In the first quarter of this year, average field size nationally was 7.54 horses per race.

On the track, Irad Ortiz Jr. landed his third Keeneland riding title with 22 wins, five better than Flavien Prat. The wins included a dominating Blue Grass score on Further Ado, one of the leading contenders for the May 2 Kentucky Derby.

Further Ado’s trainer, Brad Cox, scored his ninth trainer’s title at Keeneland with 17 wins from 43 starts. Godolphin was leading owner for the seventh time, with four wins.

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