Despite trepidation regarding this year’s betting handle being compared to last year’s record-setting $210 million, Saturday’s Run for the Roses produced the largest handle in the history of the event.
Historic Numbers
Several records were shattered this year despite attendance dropping from 156,710 in 2024 to 147,406 this year. But the numbers that count showed $234.4 million in all-sources wagering, breaking last year’s record of 2024’s $210.7 million.
More records were set when this year’s Kentucky Derby card generated $349 million in wagers, a 9% increase over last year’s Derby Day program. As for Derby Week, that too revealed record-setting betting with $473.9 million this year, an increase of over $27 million from 2024.
The Kentucky Derby’s online betting partner, TwinSpires, also reported record-setting numbers with $108 million in digital wagers on the entire Derby Day card, a 17.2% increase over 2024, and $73 million on the Derby itself, up $12.1 million from last year’s $60.9 million.
But the expectations for a banner day were tempered in a conference call by Churchill Downs CEO Bill Carstanjen, who told analysts and investors during a conference call that he felt the numbers would be comparable to 2024 but fell short of predicting those records would be broken.
After the call, Citizens analyst Jordan Bender wrote in a note to his clients, “The company faces a tough comp with the running of the 150th last year, and we get the sense, speaking with management, that consumer ‘hesitancy,’ which was mentioned seven times on the call, could be viewed as a negative driver of pricing in the month leading into the Derby.”
Those fears were proven wrong by the historic wagering turnout on the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby.
Sovereignty Wins the Run for the Roses
Journalism broke out of the gate as the 3-1 favorite, but it was Sovereignty at odds of 7-1 that crossed the finish line first and gave jockey Junior Alvarado his first Kentucky Derby victory. It was Alvarado’s sixth Derby mount, and he made it count for acclaimed trainer Bill Mott, 71, who secured his second Kentucky Derby win after Country House was elevated to first after Maximum Security was disqualified in the 2019 Derby.
In what appeared to be a foreboding omen, Alvarado escaped uninjured after being thrown from his horse, Caramel Chip, who stumbled out of the gate during the ninth race at Churchill Downs just two days before he would find glory on Saturday.
Sovereignty and Journalism dueled down the home stretch, but the former drew away on the sloppy track and won the jewel of racing’s Triple Crown by 1.5 lengths.
“Mr. Mott, I was so confident the whole week. If I had to thank someone, it’s Mr. Mott. We’ve been a team for a while,” he said after his career-defining win.
The order of finish was as follows:
- Sovereignty paid $17.96 to win, $7.50 to place, and $5.58 to show.
- Second-place Journalism paid $4.94 and $3.70.
- Third-place Baeza paid $8.38.
“We congratulate the connections of Sovereignty on an impressive win over a very talented field of horses,” said CDI’s Carstanjen. “We are thrilled with our performance following the 150th milestone year in 2024, and we will grow the Kentucky Derby in the years to come.”
