By Dave Little, Meadowlands Media
Relations
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – The curtain
came down on the Meadowlands’ 2019 Championship Meeting on Hambletonian Day
(Aug. 3), ending a seven-month run that would be the envy of any track
operator.
Total
handle on Hambo Day was up nearly 15 percent over the year before as $6.5
million was pushed through the windows, approximately $800,000 more than the
year before. The $6.5 million was by far the best single-day handle in the
entire sport in 2019. Next up was the $4.4 million bet by players at Woodbine
at Mohawk Park on March 30 when the track had a huge Super High-Five carryover
on a mandatory payout night. The only other $4 million-plus handle this year
was at the Big M on Meadowlands Pace Night ($4,044,303).
The
wagering trend was a positive one for the 62 Big M programs presented from the
first of the year through the first Saturday in August, as a total of $174.2
million was put in play, good for an average of $2,811,179 per card. Over the
same 2018 span, 58 race cards saw total wagering of $137.3 million, an average
of $2,367,260. Thus, total wagering was up 27 percent at the industry's handle
leader, while per-card betting increased 18 percent.
One of the
keys to increased handle is to card more races, and that was clearly the case
this year as compared to last. During 2018, a total of 671 races were contested
at the Meadowlands, an average per night of 11.56. This year, 790 races took
place, good for an average of 12.74, an increase of 10.2 percent. With the
additional races, there were 1,515 more starters in 2019 Big M races than there
were in 2018. The track averaged 8.92 starters per race in 2019.
The
Meadowlands’ faithful fan base bet with both hands on a consistent basis. Total
handle reached $2.5 million 47 times over the 62-card span. On 12 occasions,
the magic $3 million mark was achieved, while the Meadowlands Pace and Hambo
accounted for the two $4 million-plus cards.
“All of us at the Meadowlands are
appreciative of the purse appropriation earmarked for the horse racing industry
that was approved by New Jersey legislators, Gov. Phil Murphy, President of the
New Jersey Senate Stephen Sweeney and Speaker of the New Jersey General
Assembly Craig Coughlin,” said Big M Chief Operating Officer and General
Manager Jason Settlemoir. “With that money in our purse account, it created
more of a level playing field in the competition for horses from nearby
states.
"We appreciate how our horsemen
have supported our entry box – we couldn’t do it without them – and how our fans
played our races all meeting long. We’ve seen consistently bigger fields at the
Meadowlands, and big fields are what our fans like most when betting on our
product. Competitive racing with large fields and less winning favorites at the
sport’s top facility is a recipe for wagering success.”
On the
track, new fastest-ever Big M marks were established for horses of both gaits
on July 6. Atlanta, the 2018 Hambletonian champion, exploded home in :26.3 in
the Graduate Final for trotters on the way to stopping the clock in 1:49.1
while Lather Up set a new mark of 1:46 in the Graduate Final for pacers, and in
the process, equaled Always B Miki’s fastest mile ever in the history of the
sport.
Grabbing
headlines – as usual – was the superstar mare Shartin N, who became the fastest
female in harness racing history after taking the Lady Liberty on Hambo Day in
1:46.4.
It was
another great year for conditioner Ron Burke, as well as his go-to driver,
Yannick Gingras.
Burke took
his eighth straight Big M training title with 73 victories and earnings of
$1.85 million while Marcus Melander had the second-highest bank account at
$1.29 million.
Burke, 49,
also reached a remarkable milestone, becoming the first trainer in history to
record 10,000 lifetime wins after his student Crucial won a Jim Doherty
Memorial elimination on July 26 at the mile oval.
Gingras,
40, killed it all meeting long and used a fabulous February as the catalyst for
his fifth Meadowlands driving title. During those 28 days, Gingras established
meet highs for wins on a single program (seven, on the 1st) and in a month (33)
on the way to visiting the winner’s circle a total of 127 times. He was also
tops in earnings with $2.25 million.
Dexter Dunn
was nothing short of superb in his first full season of racing in the U.S., as
the New Zealand native opened many eyes with his 86 wins, which was easily
second best in the standings. Tim Tetrick’s earnings of $2.18 million nosed out
Dunn’s ($2.14 million) in the race for second-highest driver bankroll.
THE
SKED: Simulcasting from
Saratoga and a host of other tracks will continue every day, but there will be
no live racing at the Meadowlands for eight straight weekends, beginning Aug.
9-10. Monmouth Park will conduct thoroughbred racing over the Big M’s turf
course on Oct. 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 25 and 26.
The
Meadowlands will be back with live harness action on Oct. 11, and then conduct
racing on Fridays and Saturdays through Nov. 30 before adding Thursdays in
December. There will be both thoroughbred and harness racing on the same day on
Oct. 11, 12, 18, 25 and 26.
Post time
for harness racing is 7:15 p.m. Post time for thoroughbred racing will be
announced at a later date.
