Meadowlands Media Relations
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – Just because
Hambletonian Day is in the rearview mirror doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of
stakes action to come during the current Fall Meeting at The Meadowlands.
When live racing resumes Friday (Oct.
16) at 7:15 p.m., the marquee event will be the $61,500 W.N. Reynolds Memorial
for 2-year-old colts and geldings on the trot, featuring the Ake Svanstedt
trained and driven Captain Corey, who is unbeaten in four lifetime outings.
The Kindergarten Classic – also for
juveniles – is up next with its final two legs on Oct. 23 (Leg Three) and Oct.
30 (Leg Four) before the series climaxes with four big-money finals worth
approximately $800,000 on Nov. 7.
Two weeks after that comes the
third-biggest program – after the Hambo and Meadowlands Pace Night – on The Big
M’s yearly calendar, as eight big-time stakes events take place on Fall Final
Four/TVG Finals Night on Nov. 21.
Two-year-olds will be in the
spotlight as the Governor’s Cup (colt pace), Three Diamonds (filly pace),
Valley Victory (colt trot) and Goldsmith Maid (filly trot) make up the Fall
Final Four, with total purses of about $1.8 million.
Year-end divisional honors – as well
as Horse of the Year – could be determined by what happens in the four TVG
Finals, which are the Mares Trot, Open Trot, Mares Pace and Open Pace, a
fabulous four-pack which will see just over $1 million get doled out.
A year ago, Six Pack locked up older
male trotter honors by gunning down Manchego – at the time, the best horse in
training – in 1:50 in the Open Trot. Despite being beaten in a stretch-battle
thriller by Caviart Ally, Shartin N – who finished a nose behind in 1:48.3 –
went on to be selected as HOTY.
SIMULCAST HEAVEN: Two sets of year-end championships
will be offered at The Meadowlands on its simulcast network, one for the star
performers of harness racing and the other for the best in the thoroughbred
game.
Hoosier Park in Anderson, IN will
play host to the 2020 edition of the Breeders Crown, harness racing’s year-end
12-race extravaganza for horses of all gaits, sexes and age.
More than $6 million will be on the
table over the course of two race cards, as Friday, October 30 will see the
four events for 2-year-olds, before a Saturday, October 31 eight-pack that will
include four races for 3-year-olds and four more for open types. Post time each
night is 6 p.m.
Keeneland Race Course in Lexington,
KY is the site for the 2020 Breeders’ Cup World Championships, which will begin
with five events on Friday, Nov. 6 and conclude on Saturday, Nov. 7 with nine
more races, the last of which is the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.
The first Breeders’ Cup race on
Friday is scheduled for 2:30 p.m., while Saturday’s opener goes at 12:02 p.m.
The Classic has a post time of 5:13 p.m.
LAST WEEKEND: Threes were wild over the course of
last weekend (Oct. 9-10) at The Big M. Three drivers, Corey Callahan, Victor
Kirby and George Napolitano Jr., and two trainers, Bruce Saunders and Jeff
Cullipher, all won three times over the course of the two programs.
Last Saturday’s “bookend” 20-cent
Pick-5s provided pleasing payoffs for players. The wager that spanned races one
through five paid $887. With the exception of race four, where a 14-1 shot
brought a challenge for the bettors, the other four winning horses’ odds were
just 6-5, 5-1, 4-1 and 4-5.
The Late Pick-5 returned $13,654,
yet, except for one race, the winning prices were not outrageous. The winners’
odds for the sequence were 8-1, 9-2, 8-5, 21-1 and 8-5.
FREE PPs: For free past performances of
Meadowlands races, go to playmeadowlands.com,
where one can access races nine through 13 for both Friday and Saturday’s
program. Those races include the 20-cent Late Pick-5, 50-cent Late Pick-4 and
10-cent Late Pentafecta, not to mention the Late Daily Double.
TWEET THE TEAM: Stay in touch on Twitter with the Big
M’s Dave Brower (@eedoogie), Dave Little (@DaveLittleBigM), Ken Warkentin
(@kenvoiceover) and Jessica Otten (@JessicaOtten1). Check in everyday for
Meadowlands news and updates at those handles, as well as @TheMeadowlands and
#playbigm.
CHECK OUT THE PICKS: For those who need to get a leg up on
the action, go to playmeadowlands.com
to see track oddsmaker and analyst Brower’s selections and commentary. Click on
this link to check out Friday’s card: http://playmeadowlands.com/RaceReviews.aspx?racedt=10/16/2020
Additionally, track announcer
Warkentin’s blog is available on the site and offers his picks and analysis.
On race nights, access picks and
plays from the Big M TV team at #playbigm or at @TheMeadowlands.
CHECK OUT THE SHOW: As always look for the “Racing from
The Meadowlands” live in-house simulcast show every Friday and Saturday night.
It begins at 6:42 p.m. First race is at 7:15 p.m.
If you want to watch all the action
at home, go to rtn.tv to catch
every race live.
GET YOUR SPORTS ACTION: When at The Big M, be sure and visit
the FanDuel Sportsbook, where you can watch and wager on all the NFL, NLCS,
ALCS and college football action. The book is open for business from 10 a.m. –
midnight Sunday through Friday and from 10 a.m. – 2 a.m. on Saturday.
