All-sources handle on two days of Breeders' Cup declines almost 7 percent

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LEXINGTON, Ky - All-sources handle on the two-day Breeders’ Cup programs held Friday and Saturday at Keeneland was $167,930,278, down 6.7 percent from last year’s two-day figure of $180,036,799 when the event was held at Del Mar in Southern California.

Total handle on Saturday’s 12-race card at Keeneland was $114,303,297, down 3.1 percent from last year’s figure of $118,028,444. There were 129 betting interests on Saturday, compared to 137 on the 12-race program at Del Mar.

Handle on the 14 Breeders’ Cup races held over the two days was $146,431,783, down 1.2% from 2025. Friday’s total handle was corrected to $53,626,981 up $382,760 from what was originally reported. Total Breeders’ Cup betting interests were 101 this year compared to 102 last year.

The two-day total handle was the lowest since $160,028,444 was handled at Keeneland during the 2020 Breeders’ Cup, which had limited attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, the last time the event was held at Keeneland, two-day handle was $189,060,373.

Total attendance for the two days was 81,604, a 25 percent increase from last year, when attendance for the two days was 65,232.

In 2027, the Breeders’ Cup returns to Belmont Park for the first time since 2005. The two-day event will be held Oct. 29-30.

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