view raw text
371,386 Patrons Wager Total Of 9,770,583 Memorial Day Thoroughbred racings great popularity in the United States a popularity which has made it the nations no. 1 spectator sport is reflected by figures covering attendance and mutuel play at 14 courses on Memorial Day. A survey by Daily Racing Form reveals record and near -record crowds and wagering at virtually all of the tracks in operation on holiday, traditionally one of the "big" days of the year in American racing. A total of 371,386 fans attended the races in 12 states, pouring the staggering sum of 9,770,583 through the mutuel machines. The attendance figure surpassed by almost 200,000 that recorded by Major League baseball, which, attracted 190,354 fans to seven ball parks. Racing was conducted at 15 tracks on Continued on Page Thirty-Nini 371,386 Patrons Wager Total Of 9,770,583 Memorial Day Continued from Page One Memorial Day, with the figures from Memorial Park at Brush, Colo., still to come; Hollywood Park attracted the largest crowd of the day, 64,622 fans turning out to watch the races at the California oval. The gathering was the largest of the 1954 season in the U. S. and the second greatest in the history of the track. The mutuel handle reached ,354,103. Belmont Park recorded the largest mutuel play of the day, with 56,736 patrons wagering ,973,750. In New Jersey, Garden State Park set new track and betting records with a crowd of 44,569 betting ,336,-093. Following is a table of Memorial Day attendance and wagering statistics at 14 tracks in the United States: Track Attendance Handle Belmont Park, N. Y. 56,736 $ 3,973,750 . Hollywood Park, Calif. 64,622 -3,354,103 Garden State Park, N.J. 44,569 . 3,336,093 Delaware Park, Del. 28,829 1,453,781 Suffolk Downs, Mass. 29,216 1,448,992 Lincoln Fields, 111. - 30,043 1,443,568 Detroit Race Cse, Mich. 27,383 1,323,069 Rockingham Park, N. H. 15,249 702,353 Ak-Sar-Ben, Neb. 18,149 624,196 Waterford Park, W. Va. 13,659 507,935 Fairmount Park, 111. 14,571 486,475 Beulah Park, Ohio 11,092 482,722 Ascot Park, Ohio 9,173 406,402 Portland Meadows, Ore. 8,056 227,144 Totals 371,386 9,770,583
