One of the smaller crowds in the recent history of the Kentucky Oaks (G1) saw undefeated Good Cheer win the lilies May 2 in the 151st edition on a day when a mid-afternoon storm delayed proceedings and turned the track sloppy at Churchill Downs.
The crowd of 100,910 was the smallest since 100,118 in 2022 and, before that, 100,046 in 2008. In 2022, rain was forecast, but betting set records. The record crowd, set in 2016, is 124,589.
Wagering from all sources on the full Oaks day race card reached $73.9 million, down 1.9% from last year's record $75.3 million.
All-sources wagering on this year's $1.5 million Kentucky Oaks race was $22.7 million, up 4.6% compared to $21.7 million last year. The record from 2022 is $24.3 million.
"Today we honor and congratulate the connections of Good Cheer," Churchill Downs president Mike Anderson said. "We thank our many fans, sponsors, horsemen, and horseplayers who all contributed to making today's 151st Kentucky Oaks a remarkable celebration."
TwinSpires, the official betting partner of the Kentucky Oaks, handled a record $20.9 million in wagering on Churchill Downs races for the Kentucky Oaks day program, compared to last year's record of $20.3 million, including all settled future wagers and affiliate wagering.
In early wagering for the Kentucky Derby (G1) through 7:30 p.m. ET Friday, Journalism was a 7-2 favorite followed by Sandman at 9-2, Sovereignty at 9-1, and the rest of the field between 11-1 and 49-1. The highest prices were Admire Daytona at 41-1 and Neoequos at 49-1.
TwinSpires.com as of 7:12 p.m. ET showed $4,317,523 in the win pool, $1,011,075 in the place pool, and $1,067,984 in the show pool, for a collective total of nearly $6.4 million, about $500,000 ahead of the same point last year. That's a fraction of the percentage of the money that will ultimately be in each of those pools that drew $89.2 million last year.
The Oaks-Derby Double had $3.3 million bet compared to $3 million last year.
