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2009 Run for the Roses Wagering Handle Down

Derby Ratings Up, Betting Participation Less As Favorite Scratches

May 8, 2009 BarbaraAnne Helberg

Regardless of wagering ebbs and flows, injuries continue on the national Thoroughbred racing stage even after the industry boasts of its best efforts to contain them.

Excellent Thoroughbred friendly decisions were made on Kentucky Derby weekend. Filly Justwhistledixie and colt I Want Revenge were scratched on their race mornings, from the Kentucky Oaks May 1 and the Kentucky Derby May 2, respectively. Both three-year-olds were determined to have extremity difficulties.

Kentucky Derby Handle Down

Total handle for the Kentucky Derby was down from 2008 by 5.3 percent, according to a report filed in The Blood-Horse magazine issue May 9,2009/No.19, "Derby Handle Continues Decline," by Ryan Conley. It was the third straight year that wagering fell off, but officials for Churchill Downs were reported to be in sinc overall with its figures due to the national economic circumstances affecting Derby day betting.

Bill Carstanjen told The Blood-Horse the day's racing "produced solid overall handle figures". A gathering of 153,563 watched the Derby on site. Although that was the lowest on-track attendance since 2004, television audience ratings for Derby day 2009 were at 10.2 overnight and a 22 share, representing the highest TV marks in the last 17 years. Derby 2008 rated at 9.5/21.

Kentucky Derby Wagering Figures

  • 2009 Derby Race -- all sources totaled $104,563,501 ----- 2008 Derby Race -- all sources totaled $114,557,364.
  • 2009 Derby Day -- all sources totaled $155,969,770 ----- 2008 Derby Day -- all sources totaled $164,668,176.
  • 2009 Derby Race off-track wagering -- $92,679,748 ----- 2008 Derby Race off-track wagering -- $102,438,837.
  • 2009 Derby Day off-track wagering -- $133,193,637 ----- 2008 Derby Day off-track wagering -- $140,392,312.
  • 2009 Derby Race on-track wagering -- $10,164,997 ----- 2008 Derby Race on-track wagering -- $12,118,527.
  • 2009 Derby Day on-track wagering -- $21,191,305 ----- 2008 Derby Day on-track wagering -- $24,275,864.

Justwhistledixie and I Want Revenge Weren't "Right"

Justwhistledixie and I Want Revenge weren't "right" on Kentucky Derby weekend by all that could be surmised by their connections. Neither was cleared to go in their big races.

Oaks entry Justwhistledixie was scratched when it was discovered she was suffering from a hoof abscess. I Want Revenge was showing a swollen left front ankle that trainer Jeff Mullins hadn't gotten to the bottom of and couldn't ignore. He pulled the Derby favorite out.

Over the course of the second half of the 2008 season, the Thoroughbred racing industry instituted several safety and welfare measures to better protect its animals against the risks of injury and breakdowns.

Churchill Downs Reports Seven Deaths

Senior director of communications at Churchill Downs Darren Rogers reported seven Thoroughbred deaths have occurred at the track since Derby 2008.

The on-track death of filly Eight Belles following her second place finish in the 2008 Kentucky Derby and the eventual loss of Barbaro eight months after his breakdown in the 2006 Preakness Stakes were highly publicized events that catapulted the Thoroughbred racing industry into the spotlight and demanded better safety measures for the sport's animals.

Safety Measures Encouraged Since Fall 2008

  • continuing the study (and developing laboratory testing procedures) to determine if synthetic racing surfaces can cut down on the risks of racing and workout breakdowns and injuries to horses and jockeys
  • banning the use of toe grabs of more than two millimeters
  • banning steriod use -- was banned for the 2009 Kentucky Derby and forward for that event
  • installation of inner safety rails at tracks
  • developing placement programs for Thoroughbreds no longer racing
  • uniform medication rules in all states
  • uniform penalties for drug violations
  • mandatory reporting of on-track and non-racing injuries
  • consideration to install a racing commissioner to monitor rules and enforce violations

During June 2008 United States Congressional hearings, the Thoroughbred industry was encouraged to create its own central agency to monitor its own concerns, or risk governmental intervention.

(Reporting resources: The Blood-Horse magazine and The Toledo Blade newspaper.)

The copyright of the article 2009 Run for the Roses Wagering Handle Down in Horse Racing is owned by BarbaraAnne Helberg. Permission to republish 2009 Run for the Roses Wagering Handle Down in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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