Bay Meadows figures mixed

Bay Meadows showed increases in ontrack attendance and handle for its just-concluded 55-day spring meeting, although the overall handle fell from last year's meet.

Attendance rose 7.7 percent to 3,587 fans per day from 3,331 in 2003, thanks in part to 11,004 fans, the largest single-day crowd since 1993, coming to the races on Memorial Day.

The ontrack handle increased 2.6 percent from a daily average of $789,090 at last year's 55-day meet - a total of $43.4 million - to a daily average of $809,090, totaling $44.5 million this year. The gain was caused in part by a record single-day handle of $10,536,789 on Kentucky Derby Day.

The overall handle, however - including the northern California simulcast network, out-of-state money, and advance deposit wagering - fell by 4 percent to $4,243,636 daily ($233.4 million total), compared with a daily average of $4,423,636 ($243.3 million total) at last year's spring meeting.

Advance deposit wagering and northern California network wagering decreased by 1.5 percent daily, from $1,678,181 in 2003 to $1,654,545 in 2004, the total dropping from $92.3 million to $91 million. Overall northern California handle, including ontrack, simulcast network, and account wagering, fell 0.3 percent.

Out-of-state wagering declined 8.8 percent from $107.4 million, a daily average of $1,952,727, to $97.9 million, $1,789,000 daily.

On the track, Jerry Hollendorfer and Russell Baze continued their domination.

Hollendorfer saddled 64 winners for his 28th straight training title, Hollendorfer horses earned $1,421,161. Baze won his 31st riding title with 90 victories, good for $1,391,016 in purse money. Art Sherman finished second to Hollendorfer in the trainer standings, sending out 37 winners at the meet. Chad Schvaneveldt was second among riders with 51 victories to to his credit.

Hollendorfer, who during the meet became the sixth trainer in history to win 4,000 races, won seven of the 14 stakes, running one-two in four of them.

Baze was the meet's leading stakes rider with four stakes wins.