Meadowlands Media Relations
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – Right from the
get-go, the return of racing at the Meadowlands on Friday (June 5) after the
12-week coronavirus shutdown provided big thrills.
The Nancy Takter-trained Manchego
became the fastest trotter of 2020 with a 1:50.3 clocking in the first race
before Takter’s mare Kissin In The Sand became the season’s fastest pacer –
regardless of sex – after stopping the clock in 1:47.4 eight races later.
Betting was unaffected by the
three-month layoff, as $2,882,819 was wagered Friday before $2,743,510 was
pushed through the windows Saturday. The average per race was $216,397.
Action at the Big M has now exceeded
$2.5 million on nine straight occasions and 14 of the last 15 cards at the
industry’s handle leader. Over the last seven weekends of racing, wagering has
surpassed the $5-million mark six times.
It’s a good bet that those handle
hurdles will be cleared this weekend, as Friday’s (June 12) card will see
$160,000 in guaranteed pool money.
The Meadowlands’ “Big Four” wagers of
the 20-cent Pick-5 (Race one, $40,000), 50-cent Early Pick-4 (Race six,
$50,000) and 50-cent Late Pick-4 (Race 10, $40,000) offer their usual pool
promises, and this week, the 20-cent Pick-6 (Race four) will offer a $30,000
guaranteed pot as part of the United States Trotting Association’s Strategic
Wagering initiative after last Saturday’s P6 resulted in a carryover of $6,843.
The carryovers in the track’s 20-cent
Jackpot Super High-Fives continue to swell, as the fifth race on Friday will
begin with $46,622 in the hat while race 13 has $55,057 waiting for anyone who
is the lone ticket-holder with the correct top five in official order of
finish.
Some payoffs of note from last week
include Friday’s Pick-5 (which returned $4,422) and Pick-6 ($6,337), and
Saturday’s Early Pick-4, which came back $11,361 after $80,205 in action was
taken.
While 54 percent of last week’s races
were won by horses who were sent off at odds of 3-1 or less, the average win
payoff nonetheless was almost 7-1, at $15.81 for every $2 bet. The always
popular Big M exactas resulted in an average return of $122.
Over 700 horses dropped into the
entry box for this weekend’s (June 12-13) races, so there promises to be full
fields from start to finish during the 26 total dashes that will take place
this Friday and Saturday. Post time is 7:15 p.m.
“All of us at the Meadowlands were so
glad to get back racing,” said Big M Chief Operating Officer and General
Manager Jason Settlemoir. “Our horsemen and employees did a great job of
following safety protocols in this “new normal’, post-COVID-19 world. We
encourage our fans to keep following our live action on the Roberts Television
Network (rtn.tv), TVG (tvg.com)
or their favorite ADW (advance deposit wagering) platform. Unfortunately, we
still cannot have people in our building. Hopefully, it won’t be too much
longer before we can have our fans back in the grandstand at the Meadowlands.”
TIM TERRIFIC: Driver Tim Tetrick swept Saturday’s
late double to finish the weekend atop the driver standings with five
victories. He was followed by Dexter Dunn, Yannick Gingras and Andy McCarthy,
who had four apiece.
On the training side, Takter and Jeff
Cullipher both saw three of their students visit the winner’s circle.
FREE STUFF: For free past performances of Friday night’s Pick-6, Early Pick-4 and Late 20-cent Jackpot Super High-Five, go to playmeadowlands.com. At the website, you’ll also find track oddsmaker and analyst Dave Brower’s race reviews and selections as well as track announcer Ken Warkentin’s blog, which offers commentary and selections.
