In addition, on-track handle nearly
doubled, increasing 95-percent from $209,066 to $407,897 and the per-race
on-track handle increased 69-percent as well.
The total handle of $3,775,943 was the
third highest-handling program since the Breeders Crown of 2014, trailing only
Meadowlands Pace and Hambletonian Day of 2015.
Bushwacker Ships and Scores at The Meadowlands
Coming into the $25,000 Open Handicap
on Saturday night at The Meadowlands, Bushwacker’s Meadowlands resume was short
and select. He sported just seven starts
at the East Rutherford oval, with five of the seven races coming in stakes
events. While Bushwacker had never won
at The Meadowlands, he is stakes-placed in races like The Graduate and New
Jersey Classic. On Saturday night, he
found The Big M winner’s circle.
Getting plenty of support at the
betting windows, Bushwacker, the 8/5 favorite at post time led at the first
point of call, a 26.1 quarter, before yielding to the pocket behind the
brushing Kingofthejungle. Bushwacker sat
the pocket past the half-mile in 53.3 and three quarters in 1:22.3 as
Kingofthejungle blazed the way.
In the stretch, Bushwacker found a
seam up the pylons and powered through to the lead. Doctor Butch, off a three month layoff
rallied boldly down the center of the track, but Bushwacker was long gone and
he would score in 1:50.1. Ontario
Success was even off cover, finishing third.
Winning driver Corey Callahan said in
a pre-race interview that Bushwacker, “hits a knee at Dover and should like the
bigger track.” He was right, as
Bushwacker won for the 13th time in his career, with earnings of
$367,612. Bushwacker is trained by Chris
Ryder for Henderson Farms.
Bettorthanyou Impresses in Sale Audition
Bettorthanyou, who is January Mixed Sale-bound
on the 18th of the month, scored in the $17,500 upper level
condition pacing event.
Released as the 7/2 second-choice in
the wagering, Bettorthanyou assumed command early in the mile and was
well-rated throughout, putting up fractions of 28.1, 56.3 and 1:24.2 before
sprinting home in 27-second to score the victory for Yannick Gingras. Sunfire Blue Chip, 3/2 choice, was locked in
the pocket for much of the stretch as Gingras made sure to keep his gelding glued
to the pylons and didn’t have clear sailing until the shadow of the wire. Mr. Franklin, who went a tough first over
trip, held on gamely to finish third.
Bettorthanyou is HIP #200 in the
January Mixed Sale presented by Tattersalls at The Meadowlands Racetrack on
Monday, January 18th. He is owned
by Burke Racing Stable L.L.C. and Weaver Bruscemi L.L.C.
The win was the 13th in the
career of Bettorthanyou, whose earnings went past $350,000 for his career.
Campbell Wins Four
John Campbell closed out his 2015
season with a five win night at The Meadowlands, the last of which pushed
Campbell past $5 Million on the year. He
opened his 2016 season in similar fashion, winning four races on the Saturday
program, including a 27-1 upset with Mudslide.
Campbell has now won nine of his last
27 races at The Meadowlands. If you had
wagered $2.00 on John Campbell in each of those races, your total investment of
$54.00 would have realized a return of $260.80 an Return On Investment of just
shy of $10.00 for every $2.00 wagered.
Bongiorno With a Hot Start
On the heels of the most successful
season of his young career, Joe Bongiorno began 2016 much like he ended 2015,
winning races at The Meadowlands. He
scored a driving triple on the card, including the 14-horse race at one and
one-eighth miles. The 2015 season saw
Bongiorno win 192 races for earnings of $1,973,758. Both career highs for the 22 year old
reinsman. His Meadowlands numbers
included 46 wins and earnings of $659,784, the highlight of which was the
dead-heat victory in The Valley Victory Final with Make Or Miss.
Friday racing returns on January 8th,
with post time returning to 7:00 P.M. The Meadowlands racing schedule returns
to each Friday and Saturday through Hambletonian Day, Saturday, August 6th.
