The historic 150th running of the Kentucky Oaks (G1) May 3 saw record betting levels despite intermittent showers in Churchill Downs EQUAL Thorpedo Anna splash to win the lily vine.
Rain in the morning and throughout the day resulted in an early turf race being run on dirt.
Betting from all sources on Oaks Day’s full race card reached a record $75.3 million, up 0.5% from last year’s record $74.9 million.
All sources betting on the $1.5 million Kentucky Oaks this year fell 3.1% to $21.7 million from last year’s $22.4 million. The record is $24.3 million set in 2022.
“Congratulations to Thorpedo Anna’s connection on today’s victory,” Churchill Downs race president Mike Anderson said in a statement. “The 150th Kentucky Oaks will be remembered as a historic day as we celebrate our longstanding traditions with our fans, sponsors, horsemen and equestrians.”
The crowd of 107,236 was up 0.8% from last year’s 106,381. The record set in 2016 was 124,589.
When placing early bets on the Kentucky Derby (G1) through Friday 7:30 p.m. ET, severity is a 3-1 favorite, followed by Sierra Leone at 9-2.
Fierceness is popular in Derby betting after Oaks day
TwinSpires.com as of 7:12 p.m. ET showed $4,024,803 in the win pool, $957,890 in the place pool and $913,168 in the show pool, for a total of nearly 5.9 million dollars, about $3 million more than at the same time last year. That’s a percentage of the money that will end up in each group that attracted $89.2 million last year. Oaks-Derby Double bets $3 million compared to $2.9 million last year.
