Churchill Downs posts record online handle for Kentucky Derby
Derby attendance drops while online wagers increase 23% on previous year
Churchill Downs’ online advance deposit betting arm TwinSpires recorded $48.4m in handle on all of its Kentucky Derby races last week.
The figures marked a 23% increase on the previous year, with the handle on the Kentucky Derby race reaching $30.2m.
$4.1m was wagered in Japan with this being the first year that betting on the meeting was offered in the offered.
Overall handle was up 10% year-on-year to $343 million despite attendance during the week dropping 4% on the year before.
Churchill Downs CEO Bill Carstanjen said of the Derby’s overall revenues: “We expect the Kentucky Derby Week Adjusted EBITDA to reflect another record with $4.5-to-$6.0 million of growth over last year.”
TwinSpires announced on Twitter it would refund up to $10 of win bets placed on winner Maximum Security after the horse was disqualified for interference in the final turn.
The online reported flat revenues of $63.4m in Q1 2019, although active players were up 2.4%.