Despite the vast majority of the Meadowlands drivers being
north of the border for The North America Cup eliminations and despite the
Meadowlands program being filled with young and lower-level condition horses,
the total handle for the card was $3,039,973.
When evaluating the reasons for the success of the Saturday card, all arrows point in one direction, full fields. After scratches, a total of 122 horses went to the gate for the 13-race Saturday card, for an average of 9.4 horses per race. While stakes races often provide the most exciting racing of the meet, there are times when those fields are shorter than one would hope. As an example, the first race this past Saturday was a non-winners of 1 race for three year old pacers, with 10 horses. The race handled $210,108. One week earlier, the first race was a division of The Golden Girls, featuring the best pacing mares in the country. That stakes event contained a field of six horses, with a handle $195,216.
In addition, this past Saturday the 11th Race was
the opening leg of the Summer Survivor Series for three year old pacers meeting
the non-winners of two condition. The race handled $239,844. The
week earlier, the 11th Race was the $150,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes
Final for three year old filly pacers, with a field of seven. The race
handled $195,236.
“Coming into this racing season, it was a goal of The
Meadowlands not only to post strong numbers, but to learn and understand what
it is that our customers want the most,” said Director of Racing Operations,
Darin Zoccali. “In a perfect world, every race would be 10 of the
best horses in racing. As an example, the Meadowlands Maturity Trot in
May handled $375,000 for one race. If we could duplicate that race 13
times, we would handle nearly $5 Million per card. On days like
Meadowlands Pace and Hambletonian, we will provide a full card of the very best
horses with full-fields. But it is apparent that 10 horses lining up
behind the gate, regardless of class, is the most important factor for our
customers and we thank our horsemen for supporting us and giving us the
opportunity to provide these larger fields.”
While the Meadowlands Racetrack takes great pride in
providing the best stakes program in all of harness racing and recognizes the
importance of putting forth such a program, these figures point out the most
important factor in driving handle, full fields. Regardless of caliber of
horses, or who is in the sulky, putting ten noses on the gate is clearly the
most important component in driving handle. With the best part of the
racing season on the horizon, the Meadowlands will be rolling out a combination
of both the best horses in training with full-fields. It should make for
a memorable summer at The Big M.
