The percentage of winning
favorites at the Meadowlands Racetrack currently stands at 32, one of the
lowest in the country for thoroughbred or harness race tracks, and last week,
the Pick 10 Survivor Wager, which is growing in popularity among fans given its
20-Cent base cost, returned $5,135 on Friday night and
$8,301 one night later.
Last weekend, the Pick 5
pool averaged almost $47,000 over Friday and Saturday night,
and on Saturday, $8,067 was the payoff on the bet, which has a 50-Cent
base. The Late Pick 4, which also has a base of a half-dollar, had its pool
reach almost $73,000 on Saturday night and sent one punter home with
a nifty payout of $20,607.
“We have set some pretty
lofty goals for 2018. I would like to see the nightly average on the Survivor
Wager grow to over $25,000, the Pick 5 $50,000 and the Pick 4 $75,000, but my
main goal is returning back to the basics,” said track chief operating officer
and general manager Jason Settlemoir.
“I think for too long we have tried to do
too much. We have to get back to understanding exactly what our core customers
want while trying new marketing ideas and initiatives to bring new customers
and groups into our building.
“As the horse shortage
continues to get worse over the coming years, we will keep trying our best to
field full cards. We may have to cut back on the number of races each night,
but we would like to give our customers the fullest and most competitive fields
possible. I also want to take this time to wish our customers, employees,
horsemen and women – along with our loyal supporters – a very happy holiday
season.”
Post time at the
Meadowlands this Thursday remains at 7:15 p.m. and will switch
to 6:35 p.m. (EST) on Friday, December 22. The new earlier post time will
be in effect through Saturday, February 24.
