Churchill Downs posts gains in handle at spring meet

Total handle for 27 days of live racing at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., was $240.5 million, the track announced Thursday, for an average of $8.9 million per day.

Churchill, which closed its meet Sunday, said that the total handle figure was a 53 percent increase over the total handle at the track last year for the 33 days it ran after Kentucky Derby week. The average was an 82 percent increase over post-Derby week average betting of $4.9 million last year, the track said.

Churchill did not hold the Derby on its traditional date this year due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has rescheduled the race for Sept. 5. Churchill also is planning to run four dates of live racing prior to Derby Saturday, including the Kentucky Oaks on Sept. 4.

The total handle figure of $240.5 million for this year’s abbreviated meet is nearly $4 million short of the total handle that Churchill Downs drew for last year’s Kentucky Derby card alone. Last year, total handle on 14 races on Derby Day was $244.1 million, with the Derby drawing $160 million of that amount.

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Average field size during the meet this year was 9.5 horses per race, up from 8.4 horses last year, the track said. Average daily purse distribution was $576,000, just short of the average of $601,000 on post-Derby days last year.

Churchill conducted its recently concluded meet without any spectators. The track has announced plans to allow a limited number of spectators for the Oaks and Derby in September.