Attendance up on first day of Cup

ARCADIA, Calif. - Ontrack attendance and common-pool wagering rose compared to last year on Friday's Breeders' Cup races at Santa Anita, according to figures released by the Breeders' Cup.

The ontrack attendance of 37,651 marked an increase of 20 percent over the 31,257 who attended the corresponding program at Santa Anita in 2008.

According to the Breeders' Cup, common-pool handle reached $48,439,458 for a nine-race program, a 1 percent increase over a 10-race card in 2008. The Breeders' Cup reported that bettors in France handled $1,159,007 in a separate pool, and that Betfair handled $8.8 million through its betting exchange, which is based in the United Kingdom and not available to U.S. bettors.

Ontrack handle at Santa Anita rose 3.6 percent, to $7,097,789.