Kentucky Derby breaks records with $349m wagering handle

The 2025 Kentucky Derby has been a roaring success, with the amount of bets wagered totalling a massive $349.0 million.

This figure has set a new record for the event, with last year’s record being a total of $320.5 million.

The Kentucky Derby is one of the oldest major sporting events in the United States, with it being held on an annual basis. The 2025 edition marked the 151st, with it having taken place on May 3 with 147,000 fans in attendance.

“All-sources wagering on the Kentucky Derby race was a new record of $234.4 million, beating last year’s record of $210.7 million,” Churchill Downs Incorporated said in a press release. The Kentucky Derby is held at the Churchill Downs racecourse in south Louisville.

“All-sources handle for Derby Week rose to a new record of $473.9 million, beating last year’s record of $446.6 million.”

The official betting partner, TwinSpires, saw great success too as it handled a new record of $108.0 million in wagering on Churchill Downs races for the Kentucky Derby Day program, compared to last year’s record of $92.1 million.

The handle on the Kentucky Derby race was a new record of $73.0 million, which beat out last year’s $60.9 million.

It was Sovereignty, ridden by Junior Alvarado and trained by Bill Mott, which beat out the favorite Journalism over the weekend.

“We congratulate the connections of Sovereignty on an impressive win over a very talented field of horses,” said Bill Carstanjen, CEO of CDI. “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.”

Not only was it a weekend for horse racing fanatics, but the event had major coverage on social media as a number of popular influencers were in attendance on brand trips.

The weekend was laden with videos showing off outfits, with the event proving to be just as popular in-person as it was online. This influx of online content could have expanded its reach even further.

Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram

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