Primetime Oaks fuels record $487M Derby Week at Churchill Downs

Churchill Downs reported that the Kentucky Oaks attracted an $88.5 million handle after the race was moved to an 8:40 p.m. ET post time, and the track recorded $487 million wagered across Derby Week.

Track officials reported the $88.5 million came across 13 races on Friday, a 17.5% increase from the $75.3 million wagered on the Oaks card in 2024. The later start placed the fillies’ race in a larger national television window and coincided with higher off-track and online betting. Attendance for Friday was announced at 103,290, and some local restaurants reported lost business as patrons left before the Oaks to attend evening events.

On Saturday, the Kentucky Derby drew $225 million in wagers on the race itself, the second-highest single-race handle in the event’s history and down 3.8% from last year’s $234 million. The 14-race Derby Day card produced $340 million in total wagers, about $9 million less than the prior year. Derby Day attendance was announced at 150,415.

Golden Tempo won the 152nd Kentucky Derby by a neck over Renegade. Trainer Cherie DeVaux became the first woman to saddle a Derby winner.

Wagering on Derby Day was disrupted when Great White was scratched shortly before post time after flipping backward while loading into the starting gate. Because that horse had similar odds to the eventual winner, millions of dollars in bets were refunded and many bettors did not have time to place replacement wagers before the race began. This was the first Derby card since 2021 not to set a single-day handle record; the 2021 totals were limited by attendance restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Churchill Downs reported $487 million wagered across the week, a $13 million increase from last year. The track added a Sunday racing card this year, bringing the total to seven race cards over eight days. The company’s online wagering platform handled a record $129 million of the track’s Derby Week bets, up $7 million from the prior year. Of that online total, $89 million was wagered on Derby Day races and $57 million of Derby wagers passed through the track’s advance-deposit wagering system.

Company executives said Derby Week activity is expected to produce record adjusted EBITDA and forecast an increase in earnings of up to $18 million beginning in 2025. Churchill Downs also secured removal of Derby contracts from one prediction market platform; a second exchange briefly listed the race, then canceled the market and issued refunds after internal discussions. A company spokesperson noted the track did not contact the second platform directly.

The primetime Oaks produced the largest single-day handle for the Oaks card and was included in the weeklong totals that produced the record $487 million wagered during Derby Week.