The Butler was the outstanding feature of one of the most remarkable wagering weeks in American racing. The total yesterday, a, record for the track, brought the Empire betting for the week to $4,510,- 898.
The only week to surpass this was the one which included Memorial Day with its record crowd of 41,000 at Belmont Park. That week at Belmont, which had been expected to stand all year far above any other week, saw betting aggregate ing $4,571,932.
However, there were eight races a day at Belmont, as against the seven a day at Empire City. The Week's average amount bet per race at Empire was $107402, which probably will stand as a record for the year.
For the Memorial Day week the per race average was $97,062. The only other week which póssibly can these two big holiday s is that this Fall at Aqueduct, which will include Labour Day.
The betting yesterday exceeded the Fourth of July total by $10,311, even though there were present about 9,000 fewer patrons. This appears to confirm what mutuel managers frequently have asserted, that too large a crowd prevents heavy betting because of congestion at the mutuel windows.
Well-known racing men present included George Widener, owner of Eight Thirty.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.