Betting on sporting events is an age-old tradition followed in all parts of the world. Equestrian sports undoubtedly take the top spot when it comes to it. However, betting records were smashed into a thousand pieces at the recently held Grade 1 Haskell Stakes. The event was organized at the Monmouth Park racetrack and saw the largest total generated via bets made by people.

The Grade 1 2023 Haskell Stakes was held on 22nd July. The Monmouth Park dirt track measured 1 ⅛ miles. The equestrian event was open for male horses aged three years and above. In fact, most of the racing participants were rookies. Despite this fact, the racing event broke all betting records for a racing event on a single day. 

Equestrian event surpasses all records

The total money deposited by the people who made a bet was $21,359,642. The people who attended the race pooled a total of $1,717,876, and $19,641,766 was collected via off-site channels. This is the highest amount of money received via bets for the Grade 1 Haskell Stakes. The racers included veteran equestrian trainer Bob Baffert’s Arabian Knight and this year’s Kentucky Derby winner, Mage. However, Geaux Rocket Ride came in first position as it crushed the competition and won its third race of the year. 

The previous betting record for the Grade 1 Haskell Stakes got beaten by a margin of $880,000. The attendance in the stands was also huge. A total of 35,286 participants attended the equestrian event. This number surpassed the 2018 record and last year’s attendance by a margin of 13,000 spectators. However, the record of Monmouth Park’s most betting money deposited on a single day still remains intact, according to Horse Racing Nation. That record is held by the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup of 2007 when a record $111 million got deposited via bets placed by the people.

The dominance of rookie horse Geaux Rocket Ride

The victor of the race, Geaux Rocket Ride, started its career in the 2023 season. It has already captured a total of three victories so far out of four starts. In fact, it came second in the only race it did not win. This victory paid the perfect ode to the record attendance of the 2015 Grade 1 Haskell Stakes. 

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Back in 2015, the stands of Monmouth Park contained 60,983 spectators. People had arrived in great numbers to watch the favorite of the race, American Pharoah, take the victory. Pharoah was an in-form racehorse that had registered a Triple Crown victory before winning the Haskell Stakes. Richard Mandella, the trainer of Geaux Rocket Ride, immediately took him back to his barn to prepare it for its next possible objective, the Grade 1 Pacific Classic.

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