Bettor Knowledge: Kentucky Derby leads booming Triple Crown handle

The Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs (Photo by Coady Photography/Churchill Downs)

March 1st, 2024

Kentucky Derby Day generates the biggest Thoroughbred racing handle in America, a whopping $288.7 million in 2023, and the five-week Triple Crown window yields a significant economic windfall for the sport.

A total of $507.15 million was wagered on the 2023 Triple Crown racedays — Kentucky Derby (Churchill Downs on May 6), Preakness Stakes (Pimlico on May 20), and Belmont Stakes (Belmont Park on June 10).

The primary source of revenue for racetracks, handle measures the total amount of money wagered and serves as the principal economic indicator for Thoroughbred racing.

Handicapping horse racing with a race program at Churchill Downs (Photo by Coady Photography/Churchill Downs)

Record Kentucky Derby handle

Enthusiasm continues to grow for the Kentucky Derby, which is held annually on the first Saturday in May and generates more than a quarter-billion dollars in business on a single afternoon. Churchill Downs has featured record handle for the 14-race program the last three years (2021-23), and the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby this spring promises to be another blockbuster.

As far as the race itself, the Kentucky Derby established a new all-sources wagering record of $188.7 million in 2023. It’s the standard-bearer for the North American Thoroughbred racing industry. No other race has the cache of the Kentucky Derby.

Business was strong for the entire Kentucky Derby Week, which featured a record $412 million handle in 2023, up from $391.8 million in 2022.

And the Kentucky Derby has become more of an international event, with three Japanese-based horses contesting the last two editions. Kentucky Derby handle from overseas is expected to keep rising steadily.

Kentucky Derby pools

More than 150,000 people are expected to attend the 2024 Kentucky Derby — it’s a bucket-list event — and bettors have a wide range of wagering opportunities at their disposal.

After scratches, 18 horses went to the starting gate for the 2023 Kentucky Derby, and handle for straight pools (win, place, and show) totaled $89,239,818.

More than $31 million was wagered on trifectas, $26.3 million on exactas, and $13.7 million on superfectas, staggering totals for a single race day.

Record $288.7 million in all sources handle for @KentuckyDerby 149, beating last year's record of $273.8 million.@ChurchillDowns Incorporated Business Wrap:https://t.co/ZsbbeRmnan pic.twitter.com/sfsJOghQCW
— Churchill Downs PR (@DerbyMedia) May 7, 2023

Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes betting

Betting is strong on the Preakness and Belmont.

A record $113.4 million was wagered on the 14-race Preakness program in 2021, including $68.7 million on the Preakness itself. Total handle reached $100.17 million in 2023.

The three biggest handle days in New York history, Belmont Day in 2014, 2015, and 2018, have come when a Triple Crown is on the line. That potential feat attracts massive interest.

The 2014 Belmont leads the way with $151.1 million on the 13-race card, including $90.3 million wagered on the race itself. The following year, which featured American Pharoah snapping a 37-year Triple Crown drought, produced $135.7 million and $82.7 million figures.

Business continues to boom for the Belmont. In 2023, Belmont Day established a new record handle for when a Triple Crown wasn’t on the line, with $118.28 million.

Don’t mess with Triple Crown dates

The Kentucky Derby opens the Triple Crown, a three-race series for three-year-olds over a five-week period, and the proximity of the racing dates benefits the Preakness and Belmont, the respective second and third legs in the series.

Triple Crown race days command the American Thoroughbred landscape during late spring.

In 2023, Pimlico and Belmont Park both exceeded $100 million in total handle for their respective days. Extending the time between races would push the Triple Crown into the summer, which would mean more competition from other tracks and lower handle for the Preakness Day and Belmont Day programs.

Only Breeders’ Cup Saturday, which generated $114.1 million in handle for its 12-race program in 2023, is on par with the handle presently generated by the Preakness and Belmont.

Thoroughbred racing has no incentive to change a Triple Crown format that works perfectly from a business sense.