Meadowlands Media Relations
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – Dexter Dunn and
Andrew Harris were the leading driver and trainer, respectively, at the
recently concluded Fall Meeting at the Meadowlands.
Dunn, who was recently named the
United States Harness Writers Association’s Driver of the Year, topped all
pilots with 47 wins from just 199 starts, good for a gawdy win percentage of
24.
During the 28-night stand, Dunn – who
took a handful of programs off – registered three wins on six occasions while
scoring four times four times. On Dec. 15, the 30-year-old New Zealand native
had his biggest night of the meet by making five winner’s circle visits.
Yannick Gingras finished second in
the standings with 37 wins while Andy McCarthy, who scored 12 times last
weekend (Dec. 26-28), finished third with 34.
Harris, who teamed with McCarthy to
win three times on Dec. 27, finished at the top of the trainer standings with
18 victories. Ron Burke (14) and Nifty Norman (12) rounded out the top three.
BIG BETTING: The last weekend of racing in 2019 at
the Meadowlands (Dec. 26-28) brought vigorous action at the windows.
Meet-high handles were established
for a Thursday ($1,872,320), Friday ($2,907,339) and Saturday ($2,913,163) over
the three-card span. Total wager for the weekend was $7,692,822, an increase of
26 percent over the weekend before (Dec. 19-21) and 43 percent over the weekend
(Dec. 12-14) prior to that.
Last week’s 50-cent Pick-4 was
extremely popular, as just over $75,000 was bet on Thursday before Friday and
Saturday’s pools combined to total a little more than $200,000, good for an
average of $100,000 a night.
Free program pages for the Pick-4 –
which carries a $50,000 guaranteed pool on Friday and Saturday as well as a low
15 percent takeout – are always available at playmeadowlands.com and ustrotting.com.
MAKING A SCORE: One sharp 20-cent Jackpot Super
High-Five player hit big last Friday. The holder of the lone ticket bearing the
combination 10-6-5-3-9 walked away with $23,262. No doubt that bettor – and
many more – are looking forward to this Thursday’s JSH5 in Race 10. That’s when
they’ll be betting into a huge carryover of $84,186.
Once again, the Big M will offer big
fields this weekend when racing takes place Thursday, Friday and Saturday at
7:15 p.m.
This Thursday (Jan. 2) is the last
Thursday of live racing until June 4.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR: On Saturday, Jan. 11, put your
handicapping acumen on display and maybe win a lot of cash when the track hosts
a $400 Qualifier for the World Harness Handicapping Championship. The top four
finishers will earn a spot in the WHHC Final, which takes place on April 18.
For complete details, go to http://playmeadowlands.com/uploadedFiles/2020%20January%20WHHC%20qualifier.pdf
A NEW YEAR’S
MESSAGE: “All of us at the Meadowlands would like to thank our horsemen and
faithful fans for helping us have a successful 2019,” said Big M Chief
Operating Officer and General Manager Jason Settlemoir. “And would like to wish
them all the best for 2020.”
BET THE NFL AT THE BIG M: The NFL Playoffs begin this weekend
and you can get your action at the Big M’s FanDuel Sportsbook.
During Wild Card weekend, there will
be two games on both Saturday and Sunday.
The Saturday early game (4:35 p.m.)
has the Buffalo Bills traveling to Houston to take on the Texans while the
defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots host the Tennessee Titans in
the late game (8:15 p.m.)
On Sunday, the early game (1:05 p.m.)
has the Minnesota Vikings heading to New Orleans to take on the Saints before
the Philadelphia Eagles host the Seattle Seahawks in the late game (4:40 p.m.).
