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[the little guy]

Originally Posted by BarchCapper

No - it wasn't 50K, and the comment after the attendance speaks somewhat to your point, but from a Russ Harris article in the Blood-Horse about 1986 Marlboro Cup day:

"Bettors in a crowd of 29,183, the largest of the meeting so far, had trouble deciding on a favorite."

I would hesitate to call 29K "tiny" - you could hide a lot of people in those cavernous stands and ample grounds!

More gleanings from the Harris article:

1986's Marlboro, which wound up with 7 entrants but scratched down to 5, didn't really feature any "big time" NY based horse that might have drawn more of a crowd. Turkoman was West Coast, Precisionist had shipped in for the Woodward and stayed on. One of the East Coast "big name" entrants, Ogygian - at that point 8-7-1-0 lifetime with 3 Gr Is - went in the $300K Pegasus at the Meadowlands the night before the Marlboro. (Santa Anita didn't deal with that kind of "local" competition for horses. ) Lady's Secret wasn't going to run if Precisionist did (and she didn't).

I was there that day. It was crowded. He's a lawyer. Accuracy and honesty are optional.