This is a listing of the top attended stakes race for thoroughbred racing in North America by year. This chart will list the paid attendance to the Kentucky Derby

Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...

 at Churchill Downs

Churchill Downs

Churchill Downs, located in Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, is a Thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby annually. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs...

 in Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

; the Preakness Stakes

Preakness Stakes

The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...

 at Pimlico Race Course

Pimlico Race Course

Pimlico Race Course is a horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of Olde Ben Pimlico's Tavern in London...

 in Baltimore, Maryland; the Kentucky Oaks

Kentucky Oaks

The Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers 1⅛ miles at Churchill Downs; the horses carry 121 pounds . The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Friday before the Kentucky Derby each year...

 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky; the Belmont Stakes

Belmont Stakes

The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...

 in Elmont, New York

Elmont, New York

Elmont is an unincorporated census-designated place located in the northwest corner of the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, along its border with the borough of Queens in New York City...

; and for Saturday of the Breeders' Cup World Championships whose location rotates annually.

Year	Kentucky Derby	Preakness Stakes	Kentucky Oaks	Belmont Stakes	Breeders' Cup Saturday	Breeders' Cup Friday
2011	164,858	118,356	110,122	55,779	65,143	40,677
2010	155,804	96,760 #	116,046	45,243	72,739	41,614
2009	153,563	77,850 #	110,336	52,861	58,845	37,651
2008	157,770	121,876	100,046	94,476	55,331	31,237
2007	156,635	132,221	100,175	46,870	69,584	27,803
2006	157,536	128,643	108,065	61,168	75,132	not run
2005	156,435	125,687	111,243	62,274	54,289	not run
2004	140,054	124,351	98,445	120,139	53,717	not run
2003	148,530	109,931	100,523	101,864	51,486	not run
2002	145,033	117,055	101,932	103,222	46,118	not run
2001	154,210	118,926	102,904	73,857	52,987	not run
2000	153,204	111,821	106,156	67,810	76,043	not run
1999	151,051	116,526	101,034	85,818	45,124	not run
1998	143,215	103,269	94,415	80,162	80,452	not run
1997	141,981	102,118	92,547	70,682	51,161	not run
1996	142,668	97,751	91,830	40,797	42,243	not run
1995	144,110	100,818	87,383	37,171	37,246	not run
1994	130,594	99,834	80,321	42,695	71,671	not run
1993	136,817	97,641	81,882	45,037	55,130	not run
1992	132,543	96,865	79,824	50,204	45,415	not run
1991	135,554	96,695	73,785	51,766	66,204	not run
1990	128,257	96,106	67,483	50,123	51,236	not run
1989	122,653	98,896	67,115	64,949	51,342	not run
1988	137,694	88,654	64,735	56,223	71,237	not run
1987	130,532	87,945	62,689	64,772	57,734	not run
1986	123,819	87,652	58,893	42,555	69,155	not run
1985	108,573	81,235	52,865	43,446	42,568	not run
1984	126,453	80,566	53,402	56,677	64,254	not run
1983	134,444	71,768	54,601	56,677	not run	not run
1982	141,009	80,724	52,430	46,050	not run	not run
1981	139,195	84,133	51,918	61,200	not run	not run
1980	131,859	83,455	49,556	58,883	not run	not run
1979	128,488	72,607	not avail.	59,073	not run	not run
1978	131,004	81,261	not avail.	65,417	not run	not run
1977	124,038	77,346	not avail.	71,026	not run	not run
1976	115,387	62,256	not avail.	58,788	not run	not run
1975	113,324	75,216	not avail.	60,611	not run	not run
1974	163,628	54,911	not avail.	52,153	not run	not run
1973	134,476	61,657	not avail.	67,605	not run	not run
1972	130,564	48,721	not avail.	54,635	not run	not run
1971	123,284	47,221	not avail.	82,694	not run	not run
1970	105,087	42,474	not avail.	54,299	not run	not run

a # signifies that Maryland Jockey Club President Tom Chuckas banned the BYOB policy in 2009-2010 that resulted in a significant decrease in attendance during those years.