The 2015-2016 standardbred
season at Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment gets underway on Friday,
November 13th. In addition to kicking off the season with a
flurry of stakes action, there are some changes to the overall racing program
we would like to make the bettors aware of.
First, post time has been
moved up to 7:00 P.M. Several factors contributed to this change.
The move up to 7:00 P.M. should help increase some of the pools on the
back end of the card, as the racing program will not conclude as late in the
evening. In addition, with the Woodbine Entertainment Group (Woodbine and
Mohawk) now offering a pick-five wager in their first race, it was determined
that it would be counter-productive to offer a pick-five just 10 minutes prior
to Woodbine and Mohawk’s wager. By moving post time up, there will be a
25-minute gap between the two wagers, which is in the best interest of the
bettors as well as both racetracks. “The pick-five at The Meadowlands is
a wager that has grown in average pool size every year since being added to our
wagering format,” said Director of Racing Operations Darin Zoccali. “Moving
post time further off Woodbine/Mohawk will help protect this pool, and
accommodate the bettors as this wager can continue to grow in popularity with
its low takeout of just 15-percent.” The pick five is offered in the
first race each night as a fifty-cent ($.50 cent) minimum wager with a
15-percent takeout rate.
When the meet begins the late
pick four will have a new home in the eighth (8th race) each night,
giving bettors a bit of a gap between the two pick four wagers on the
program. “We always would have liked to have had a race between our two
pick four pools,” said Zoccali. “But given that Woodbine and Mohawk
offered their late pick four in race 8, the two pools would have been just
10-minutes or so apart. However, by moving post time up, we can now put a
race between the two pick four wagers on our program without being too close to
Woodbine and Mohawk’s wager. Given that post time is fifteen minutes
earlier, this wager will begin at nearly the same time as in years past.
This will give the bettors a bit more time to handicap the sequence and
hopefully will contribute to the average pool size increasing. We
recognize W.E.G.’s strong presence in both product and wagering popularity and
feel it is important to work together with them to provide the most efficient
opportunities for the harness racing players.”
The Meadowlands will offer
two pick four wagers, the early pick four in race three and the late pick four
in race eight. Both wagers carry a fifty-cent ($.50 cent) minimum and are
offered with a 15-percent takeout rate.
Lastly, the takeout rate on
the jackpot super hi-five wagers will be 15-percent. “We certainly are
not a proponent of increasing takeout rates,” Zoccali said, “but due to the
extremely low takeout in 2015, close to half of the sites we export our signal
to, did not offer the wager due to the economics of low takeout and host
fees. The 15-percent takeout rate ensures that players all across North
America will be able to wager into the pool.” The jackpot super hi-five
will continue to payout 75-percent of the net pool each night and carry over
25-percent of the pool if there is more than one winning ticket. It will
be offered at a $.20 cent minimum on the fifth and last race each racing night.
For all information regarding
the upcoming Meadowlands standardbred season, visit playmeadowlands.com.
