Churchill Purses Down Slightly

{Louisville, Kentucky}...Churchill Downs says its average daily purses and horse fields were down slightly during its just-ended spring meet. Officials say the Louisville track's effort to present a strong daily racing product was made more difficult by competition from tracks in other states where purses are padded by casino revenues. Kentucky lawmakers have refused to allow slot machines at the state's tracks. Churchill Downs track President Kevin Flanery says the track continues to compete on a playing field that is far from level, and the impact of that competition becomes more evident with each racing meet. Daily purses for Churchill's racing program during the spring meet averaged $549,759. That's down 1 percent from a year ago when the daily average was $555,242 during the spring meet. The track drew an average of 7.7 horses per race during this year's spring meet, down slightly from a year ago. This year's spring meet was highlighted by record attendance and betting for the Kentucky Derby. All-sources wagering on the Derby was up nearly 19 percent. Wagering from all-sources on the Derby race card was up 13 percent from last year.