Monmouth Park sees record handle for Haskell Stakes

A record $21,359,642 was bet on Saturday's Grade 1 Haskell Stakes, a record for Monmouth Park's biggest race.

Catena Media's PlayNJ website reported that $1,717,876 was bet at the track and $19,641,766 was bet off-site.

Geaux Rocket Ride prevailed over a field that included Kentucky Derby winner Mage and Bob Baffert's Arabian Knight.

The total topped the previous Haskell record by about $880,000, according to the report. That was set in 2020, when there was no attendance and little on-track betting because of COVID restrictions.

PlayNJ noted that Momouth Park's biggest betting day came during the 2007 Breeders' Cup, with $12 million in on-track handle and about $111 million in total.

Attendance at this year's Haskell was 35,286, the most since 2018 and 13,000 more than last year. The record for a Haskell attendance was in 2015, when 60,983 people were at the track to see American Pharoah get another win after his Triple Crown victories.