Many indicators regarding Saturday’s Kentucky Derby reinforced the overall vitality of Thoroughbred racing’s major events and one of them was web traffic.

Not only did 148,530 fans attend Churchill Downs, many more participated off-track at various simulcast locations and on the Internet and they established a number of records in the process.

Equibase Company reports that equibase.com, the web site for the Thoroughbred industry’s Official database, hosted a record 158,458 total visitors on Saturday, May 3 (Derby Day).

equibase.com provides a comprehensive array of racing information, including programs, entries, changes and result charts, as well as a variety of handicapping products.

“In this new age of racing where on-track figures reflect only a small piece of the total picture, Saturday’s Kentucky Derby provided additional proof of the overall popularity and appeal of major racing days,” said Equibase Company executive vice president and chief operating officer Hank Zeitlin. “While wagering records were shattered on- and off-track, this phenomenon was also clearly evident in the rapid growth rate of Internet activity on equibase.com in support of the Derby.

“The 158,458 Internet visitors we hosted on equibase.com on Saturday was a 24 percent increase over Derby Day 2002,” added Zeitlin. “Including activity on Kentucky Oaks Day, equibase.com hosted nearly 300,000 Internet users over the two-day period.”

Equibase Company LLC is a partnership between The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North America.