It’s official, and it’s not close. Cherokee Casino Will Rogers Downs has finished the spring meet with drastically improved wagering numbers that leave previous years in the dust.

In its fifth year in operation, Will Rogers Downs earned $14 million in live racing, with a majority coming from off-track wagering on the Claremore track.

Overall, the track had a 93 percent increase in off-track wagering and a 12 percent increase in on-track wagering. In 2010, the track pulled in $7.5 million from on-site wagering.

“Really, this is an unbelievable increase that you don’t see very often, if ever,” said Kelly Cathey, racing secretary for Cherokee Casino Will Rogers Downs. “This just goes to show what happens when you work hard and believe in what you’re doing. There aren’t many tracks in this day and age that will ever see anything like these results.”

This spring, Will Rogers Downs had 12 of 32 race days surpass $500,000 in total wagering. On April 4, the track had a record one-day total of $958,163. The previous best was on April 5, 2010, when the total was $516,455 — the first time the track had broken $500,000.

Cathey said the biggest reason for the financial success comes from a growing relationship with numerous wagering supporters like TVG, which is the leading horse racing network for broadcasting live racing at tracks across the country. The network aired all of the Monday and Tuesday races this spring.

“We’ve worked really hard to build our program, and a big part of that is the partnership we’ve established with multiple groups, including the Elite Turf Club, Maryland Jockey Club, Racing and Gaming Services, and Twin Spires,” Cathey said. “We’re also extremely thankful for Justin Cassity with the Thoroughbred Racing Association of Oklahoma, who was instrumental in helping create our partnership with TVG.”

Cathey said that as spectacular as the off-track wagering was this spring, no one should discount the 12 percent growth of on-track betting.

“Twelve percent is really good. That’s another indication of growing support from the local communities,” Cathey said. “If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t have the program we have today.”

While the track’s financial numbers were different, Will Rogers Downs jockey standings finished with the same rider at the top of the list for the third consecutive year.

Jockey Curtis Kimes earned top honors this spring after finishing in the money 50 percent time of the time and winning 45 races in 251 attempts. In 2010, he finished with 47 victories and finished in the money 47 percent of the time.

Kimes’ highlight of the year came on May 7, when he rode Tin Top Cat to victory in the Wilma Mankiller Memorial Stakes race.

“Curtis has been so good, it will be a surprise when his name isn’t at the top of the standings, and it might take him retiring for that to happen,” Cathey said. “He’s obviously a really good jockey because his competition was tougher again this year and he had a little better year.”

The 28-day fall meet for quarterhorses begins Sept. 9