On-track and all-sources handle showed double-digit increases on Met
Mile Day at Belmont
Park, which featured
victories by Shackleford in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap, Contested in the
Grade 1 Acorn, It’s Tricky in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps Handicap, and Better
Lucky in the Grade 2 Sands Point.
On-track handle was $2,296,972 up 13 percent from last year’s
on-track total of $2,031,127. An additional $325,931 was wagered via
simulcasting at Aqueduct Racetrack, up 64 percent from the $198,701 wagered at Aqueduct
last year on Met Mile Day.
All-sources handle on NYRA races was $14,444,665, up 10.7 percent from
last year’s figure of $13,046,748.
This year’s attendance of 10,577 was a 15.7 percent increase from
last year’s attendance of 9,144.
Met Mile Day featured 11 races this year, the same as last year. This
year’s card had 87 betting interests, compared to 88 betting interests
last year.
Last year Met Mile Day featured two graded stakes – the Met Mile
and the Sands Point – while this year’s card featured four graded
stakes.
Fans wagered $776,388 into the $500,000 Guaranteed All Graded Stakes
Pick 4, the first time this wager was offered on Met Mile Day.