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Photo Credit: Jim McCue/MJC
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BALTIMORE, 05-27-09---The Maryland Jockey Club concluded its spring meeting at Pimlico Race Course last weekend, posting average wagering figures which were 8.9% higher than comparable dates from 2008. The spring meet featured just 20 live racing dates, 11 less than a year ago. When comparing the 41 days of the stand (20 live and 21 simulcast) to 2008, the average daily handle rose from $6.293 million to $6.854 million.
Increased wagering for the May 16 card headlined by Preakness® Stakes was the reason for the higher totals. Wagering on the 13-race card finished at more than $86.6 million, the fifth largest in the 134-year history of the event, up 18% from a year ago. Nearly $60 million was bet on the Preakness itself as superstar filly Rachel Alexandra defeated 12 colts and geldings in one of the most anticipated runnings of the Preakness in decades.
The race drew 10.9-million viewers on NBC Sports, up 38% from 2008 when 7.9-million viewers watched Big Brown dominate the middle jewel of racing’s Triple Crown against a field of overmatched runners. The race portion of the 2009 Preakness (5:56-6:50 p.m. ET) registered a national rating of 6.8, with a 16 share, the highest numbers since the Smarty Jones Preakness five years ago (7.7/19) and the second-highest since 1990 (7.9/23).
“The build up to the Preakness was nothing short of spectacular and the race lived up to the hype,” said Tom Chuckas, Maryland Jockey Club president and chief operating officer. “First we had a 50-1 longshot win the Kentucky Derby which didn’t scare away any of the major contenders leading into the Derby. Then it was the drama surrounding Rachel Alexandra. First, would she get into the field because her previous owners had not nominated her to the Triple Crown and then, could she beat the boys? The storyline generated national coverage from all the networks which heightened interest in the race.”
-MJC-