Meadowlands Media Relations
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The
early returns are in, and so far – as the Meadowlands driver colony is
concerned – it’s been all Andrew McCarthy, all the time.
The 32-year-old native of
Australia has 14 wins in just 50 starts through the first five weeks of the
2018-2019 Big M meeting. A pair of not-so-familiar-names – Dexter Dunn and
Michael Merton – sit tied in the second spot with nine victories apiece.
“The trainers that I drive
for,” said McCarthy as to why he’s done so well to this point. “I’ve had some nice
horses to drive. They make it a heck of a lot easier when you’ve got the best
horse in the race.”
McCarthy has driven some of
the stronger stock at the meeting thus far. He guided Muscle Diamond in the
$20,000 Preferred Handicap for trotters to a 1:52.2 score on Nov. 2,
Escapetothebeach to victory in the $173,800 Kindergarten Classic for 2-year-old
pacing colts and geldings on Nov. 3 in 1:51.3 and Caviart Ally to the winner’s
circle on Nov. 9 in the $20,000 Preferred Handicap for pacing fillies and mares
in 1:50.2.
“Caviart Ally is really good
right now,” said McCarthy. “She’s at the top of her game heading into the (Nov.
24) TVG final.”
McCarthy is listed to drive
more talented stock during the upcoming race week at the Big M. He will team up
once again with Muscle Diamond in Friday night’s Preferred Handicap for
trotters and will guide New York Sire Stakes champion Reigning Deo in an
elimination for the Governor’s Cup for 2-year-old colt pacers Saturday.
As usual, racing will be
conducted on Friday and Saturday with a first race post time of 7:15 p.m.
JUMP IN THE POOL: The track’s signature wager, the 50-Cent Pick-4, took
plenty of green into its pools last weekend (Nov. 9-10). On Friday night,
$67,610 was poured into the pot, while Saturday saw $76,382 in action.
One Big M wager that
continues to pay off well week in and week out is the 20-Cent Survivor Pick-10,
which returned $4,810 (8 of 10) on Friday and $4,451 (6 of 10) Saturday.
Both bets feature low 15
percent take outs.
Free track program pages are
available at both www.playmeadowlands.com
and www.ustrotting.com.
FOILED AGAIN COMING TO BIG
M: On Saturday, Nov. 24, Foiled
Again, the richest Standardbred of all time, will be at the Meadowlands, but
instead of racing, he’ll be visiting with all of his fans.
The
veteran superstar will be posing for selfies in the Backyard during the live
card. In addition, there will also be a special commemorative Foiled Again
poster giveaway to all guests, which is available at the Players Club Desk
beginning at 6 p.m.
Foiled Again’s visit comes on
a huge night of racing, as the Big M will host both the Fall Final Four and TVG
finals that evening.
TWO PAIR A STRONG HAND: Last Saturday, driver Yannick Gingras and trainer Ron
Burke teamed up to win four times on the program while McCarthy made four winner’s
circle visits over the course of the weekend.
