Warrnambool Racing Club chief executive officer Peter Downs said was a record-breaking amount for the carnival.

He said it represented a 3 per cent increase on the overall betting from 2018.

"Our on-course betting was slightly down due to people betting on their phones, which is a trend," Mr Downs said. "The off-course betting was up significantly with all betting operators, which is a great result."

Despite this record, patron numbers for the carnival were slightly down.

Mr Downs said 28,543 people attended the carnival, a 7 per cent reduction from the previous year's crowd of 30,696 people.

He said the decline in attendance was disappointing, but overall the carnival was an outstanding success.

"We were hoping for another record crowd this year but unfortunately we're slightly down," Mr Downs said. "I suppose you can't break records every year. It was still an excellent carnival."

Mr Downs said there was a 2 per cent decrease in pre-sold packages to the carnival, but cash sales increased by almost 5 per cent.

"There was a greater spread of money and patrons across different areas of the course," he said.

"I've got to give credit to all our hard-working staff for their contributions on making the carnival such a wonderful event."

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