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Thursday, October 17, 2019

GIANT PICK-5 POOL EXPECTED FRIDAY AT BIG M


Meadowlands Media Relations
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – When the second week of racing at the Meadowlands’ Fall Meeting begins Friday (Oct. 18), there will be plenty of big-green buzz as a giant pool figures to be up for grabs in the track’s 50-cent Pick-5 that kicks off with the first race at 7:15 p.m.
Last Saturday (Oct. 12), longshots ruled at the mile oval, as six times on the 13-race program, winner’s odds were at least 13-1. During the Pick-5 sequence, two 30-1 shots reigned supreme and no one cashed a winning ticket on the wager (those who correctly selected four winners walked away with $2,324.80), creating a carryover of $20,922.81.
That has led to this Friday’s anticipated pot of gold, where, instead of the usual $25,000 guaranteed pool, the Pick-5 will offer a $75,000 promise, in partnership with the United States Trotting Association’s Strategic Wagering initiative.
The last time the Pick-5 sported a carryover ($30,928), the result was a total pool of $208,763 on June 8, and those holding winning tickets after some shrewd selections walked away with better than $72,000.
In total this weekend, the Big M will offer $200,000 in guaranteed money: $100,000 on both the 50-cent Pick-4 and 50-cent Pick-5 during this Friday’s and Saturday’s programs. As always, both wagers offer a low 15 percent takeout and free program pages for the multi-leg puzzles are available – courtesy of TrackMaster – at both ustrotting.com and playmeadowlands.com.
QUICK LEARNERS: The Friday (Oct. 18) program at the Big M features four divisions of the fifth leg of the Kindergarten Classic for 2-year-olds. The four big-money finals – with purses totaling more than $700,000 – take place on Nov. 2.
IT ALL COMES DOWN: Woodbine at Mohawk Park will host the 2019 edition of the Breeders Crown. Eliminations take place Friday (Oct. 18) and Saturday (Oct. 19) with the finals scheduled for one week later. The 2-year-old championship events will take place on Oct. 25 while all 3-year-olds, as well as the older horses, will battle on Oct. 26.
Both weekends of Breeders Crown action will be simulcast to the Meadowlands.
DRINK FROM THE CUP: In two weeks, Santa Anita Park will be the center of the Thoroughbred racing universe as the 2019 edition of the Breeders’ Cup will take place with five races on Day One and nine more on Day Two, featuring the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.
On Friday, Nov. 1, post time at Santa Anita is 1:45 p.m. EDT while the first Breeders’ Cup event takes place at 4:12 p.m. On Saturday, Nov. 2, post time for the first race is 1:07 p.m. The first Cup race is at 2:55 p.m. with the Classic scheduled for 8:44 p.m.
Watch and wager on the Breeders’ Cup at the Meadowlands.
BET THE ALCS: The American League Championship Series, which pits the Houston Astros against the New York Yankees, continues Thursday (Oct. 17) evening at 8:08 p.m.
The Yankees will start Masahiro Tanaka, who sports a 2-0 record and 0.82 ERA in the postseason, against Houston’s Zack Greinke (0-2, 8.38). The Astros lead the best-of-seven series two games to one.
Baseball fans can watch and wager on the ALCS in the Meadowlands’ FanDuel Sportsbook or in Victory Sports Bar. The winner of the ALCS will advance to the World Series and take on the National League champion Washington Nationals.
The Yankees-Astros series will continue with games on Friday (at 7:08 p.m.), Saturday (if necessary, 8:08 p.m.) and Sunday (if necessary, 7:38 p.m.).
FOOTBALL SUNDAY (AND MONDAY): As always, the FanDuel Sports Book is the place to be on Sunday (Oct. 20) to watch and wager on every National Football League game.
Local fans can catch the Giants hosting the Arizona Cardinals at 1 p.m. On Monday (Oct. 21) Night Football, the Jets welcome the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots in an 8:15 p.m. kickoff.