SPORTS

Betting on the Kentucky Derby | A big deal then, now

Gregory A. Hall

@gregoryahall

One of the fun parts about a 140-year-old annual event is comparing today to yesteryear. Sometimes around the arrival of the next Kentucky Derby, television channels air past Derbys, as ESPN Classic did last year re-airing the 1975 ABC broadcast.

Broadcaster Chris Schenkel gives the odds on the 1975 Kentucky Derby broadcast.

Legends of broadcasting abounded: Chris Schenkel, Howard Cosell and, of course, ABC's biggest fan of racing Jim McKay.

Early on, Schenkel, who died in 2005, gave an accounting of the wagering taking place at Churchill Downs, before the era of Internet wagering and simulcasting. All the wagering took place at the track: 1,300 tellers, 600 "sellers" and "400" cash windows (remember, windows either sold or cashed tickets, not both).

Today, 1,100 tellers attend to 950 manned wagering windows, in addition to 300 BetPro terminals and 150 machines that accept bills.

In 1975, patrons at Churchill wagered $7.7 million on Derby Day, including $3.37 million on the Derby.

Last year, wagering from all over totaled $184.6 million, including $130.5 million.