A non-Derby day record total of $10,752,315.15 was put through the windows on last Saturday's 11-race card Oaklawn Park, anchored by the GII Rebel S. won by TDN Rising Star Malagacy (Shackleford) and two other black-type events. Of that amount, $8.54 million was bet off-track.
The previous record for a non-Derby program at Oaklawn was set Apr. 5, 2003, when bettors wagered just over $10.4 million on a 12-race program called “Million Dollar Saturday,” featuring an appearance by the reigning Horse of the Year Azeri in the GI Apple Blossom H. and Medaglia d'Oro in the GI Oaklawn H. Those two marquee names accounted for a large amount of show betting, especially off-track, as Oaklawn still offered a minimum payout of 1-10 on show bets at the time.
Bobby Geiger, Oaklawn's director of gaming and wagering, said that off-track wagering last weekend was bolstered by the track's new Pick 5 wager, which replaced the CLASSIX (6-race sequence) this year. Pick 5 wagering was reported as $301,092, of which better than $280,000 was wagered off-track. Pick 6 wagering on Million Dollar Saturday, which included the Apple Blossom, but not the Oaklawn H., was a shade over $13,000.
“That's your margin,” Geiger said.
Rebel day has fast become the second-biggest day of racing at Oaklawn, as last Saturday's card yielded meet-high attendance of 36,0000 and on-track handle ($2,208,272). WPS wagering alone on the Rebel totaled $1,292,653, marginally lower than the record set in 2015.
“Rebel Day has become huge,” Geiger said. “They were good wagering races, the stakes were. And the Pick-5 has performed magnificently.”
Attendance and on-track mutuel handle increased 2.9% and 4.1%, respectively, over last year. Off-track handle and total handle were up 22% and 17.8%, respectively, over 2016.
Estimated attendance for last year's Rebel Day was 35,000. Total handle was $9,124,971.68, with $7,002,869.98 wagered off track.
Oaklawn's daily record handle of $14,536,965 was set April 15, 2000 (Arkansas Derby Day).
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