David Sweazy has worked behind the scenes at Churchill since 1968 and has been the vice president of operations since 1991, so he has a pretty good feel for what to expect on big days. Sweazy said the presence of Zenyatta is helping “considerably” to boost the prospective attendance for Saturday, when cold weather might otherwise limit the crowd.
“We’re geared up for 60,000 and up,” Sweazy said. “If not for Zenyatta, I’m sure we wouldn’t have that many.”
Sweazy said his projection for the Friday crowd was between 30,000 and 35,000.