Handle, TV strong for non-Crown Belmont

[Kasept]

Belmont business healthy for non-Crown year
By David Grening

http://www.drf.com/news/article/104473.html

Given the circumstances of not having a Triple Crown at stake nor having Preakness winner Rachel Alexandra in the field, both track and television officials were pleased with the numbers generated from Saturday's 141st Belmont Stakes.

• Saturday's attendance of 52,861 was down 44 percent from last year's 94,476, but up 12.7 percent from the 2007 crowd of 46,870.
  
  
• The ontrack handle of $9,021,196 was down 31.8 percent from last year's $13,323,071, but was up 2 percent from the 2007 figure of $8,843,720. (2008 figure was 2nd highest ontrack handle in the history of the Belmont Stakes.)
  
  
• Belmont Park's total all-sources handle of $89,705,994 was down 10.2 percent from last year's $99,943,516, but up 18.6% from the 2007's $75,657,986. The 2009 figure also represented the biggest on Belmont Stakes Day in a non-Triple Crown year.
  
  
• Saturday's late pick-four pool of $2,243,069 was a Belmont Park record, eclipsing the old mark of $1,983,864 set on Belmont Stakes Day 2006.

ABC officials reported on Monday that the overnight rating for the Belmont from the 5:30-7 p.m. time frame was a 5.0, down from 9.4 a year ago, but up from 3.8 when compared to 2007. National ratings won't be out until Thursday.

"Given the circumstances, this is a good indication for both the Belmont and for horse racing," said Mark Mandel, a spokesman for ABC/ESPN. "Even in a year where the Derby and Preakness winners weren't racing against each other, it still did a healthy rating; a lot of interest."