BC two-day attendance rises, total handle falls; Velazquez wins Shoemaker Award

BC two-day attendance rises while total handle falls;

Velazquez wins Bill Shoemaker Award

A crowd of 61,114 was on hand at Santa Anita Park on Saturday for the second day

of the 31st Breeders' Cup World Championships, bringing the two-day total

attendance to 98,319, 4 percent higher than the 2013 two-day attendance of

94,628. The total attendance is a Breeders' Cup record at Santa Anita since the

expansion to a two-day event.

Saturday's crowd was also 4 percent more than the 2013 Saturday

crowd of 58,795.

Total two-day common-pool handle for the Friday and

Saturday race cards of the Breeders' Cup was $151,794,174, representing a 5.5 percent decrease from the 2013 figure of

$160,704,877.

Wagering on Saturday's 12-race Breeders' Cup card was

$105,979,291, down 3 percent from the 2013 handle of $109,184,432. Saturday's

all sources handle was adversely impacted when two races on the Breeders' Cup undercard were shifted from the turf to the main track.

The two-day wagering total on the 13 Breeders' Cup World

Championship races was $128,215,643. Handle on last year's 14 Breeders' Cup races

was $136,549,714.

Wagering on this year's Breeders' Cup Classic was

$28,776,535, a 15 percent increase over the 2013 Classic betting of $25,116,192.

"Our Championships once again provided amazing performances

and incredible drama and we congratulate all of the winners," Breeders' Cup

President and CEO Craig Fravel said. "We're thrilled with the crowd over both

days, strong wagering levels and our gracious hosts here at Santa Anita,

Arcadia, and the greater Los Angeles area. We're looking forward to going home

to central Kentucky next year and returning to Santa Anita again in 2016"

Breeders' Cup Two-Day Attendance and Handle (common-pool)

history:

2014 Santa Anita Park -- 98,319; $151,158,815

2013 Santa Anita Park -- 94,628; $160,704,877

2012 Santa Anita Park -- 89,742; $144,272,332

2011 Churchill Downs -- 105,820; $161,512,867

2010 Churchill Downs -- 114,353; $173,857,697

2009 Santa Anita Park -- 96,496; $153,271,176

2008 Santa Anita Park -- 86,588; $155,740,328

Propelled by five top-three finishes, including a victory in the Breeders' Cup Turf on Main

Sequence, two-time Eclipse champion jockey John Velazquez won his third Bill

Shoemaker Award as the most outstanding jockey of the 31st edition of the event.

In addition to his aforementioned victory, the 42-year-old

native of Carolina, Puerto Rico, was second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile aboard Carpe Diem and

runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf on Stephanie's Kitten, while also third in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint

with Undrafted and in the Breeders' Cup Filly &

Mare Sprint while piloting Thank You Marylou.

The victory on Main Sequence was his 13th Breeders' Cup

win. The Hall of Famer's 26-point total edged Javier Castellano and Rosie

Napravnik by six points in a 10-5-3-1 scoring system based on the first- through

fourth-place finishes in the 13 Breeders' Cup races.

The Bill Shoemaker Award is named in honor of one of the

greatest jockeys in the history of Thoroughbred racing. Shoemaker, a four-time winner of

the Kentucky Derby, won more than 8,800 races in a career that

spanned more than 40 years. In 1987, at age 56, Shoemaker won the Breeders' Cup

Classic aboard Ferdinand.

Bill Shoemaker Award winners:

2003: Alex Solis

2004: John Velazquez

2005: Garrett Gomez

2006: Frankie Dettori

2007: Garrett Gomez

2008: Garrett Gomez

2009: Julien Leparoux

2010: Garrett Gomez

2011: John Velazquez

2012: Mike Smith

2013 Mike Smith

2014: John Velazquez

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