Meadowlands Media Relations
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – With last
weekend’s (Oct. 22-23) 19 Breeders Crown Eliminations now in the rear-view
mirror, all of harness racing is readying itself for what’s to come this Friday
night (Oct. 29) and Saturday afternoon (Oct. 30), when 12 Crown Finals take
place at The Meadowlands.
The Friday card has the four finals
for 2-year-olds and a post time of 6:20 p.m. for the first of 13 races. The
Crown events are slated for races six through nine.
On Saturday, there is a special early
post time of noon for another 13-race card. Races four through 11 will see both
the four events for 3-year-olds as well as the four-pack for older horses.
Harness racing’s year-end
extravaganza, which always goes a long way toward determining Dan Patch
divisional honors as well as Horse of the Year, returns to the industry’s No. 1
facility for the first time since 2016 and will dole out purses of just over
$7.2 million by the time the dust clears Saturday.
EARLY BIRDS: Advance wagering for the Friday card
will begin at 11 a.m. on Thursday (Oct. 28) while early betting for Saturday’s
program will kick off at 11 a.m. on Friday (Oct. 29).
LISTEN FOR “THE VOICE”: The man on the microphone at The
Meadowlands, Ken Warkentin, will welcome a well-known announcer into his booth
on the roof for some Breeders Crown race calls over the weekend.
Roger Huston, the long-time announcer
at the Delaware (Ohio) County Fairgrounds who last month called his 54th
Little Brown Jug, will be on hand to call four of the 12 Crown events over the
weekend. Huston will announce the first two Crown races on both Friday and
Saturday.
$200,000? THAT’S GRAND! Over the course of Breeders Crown
Weekend, there will be gobs of guaranteed green up for grabs in The Big M’s
most popular multi-leg wager.
The 50-cent Pick-4 – which will be
offered beginning in races six and 10 on both Friday and Saturday – will sport
a guaranteed pool of $50,000 all four times the bet is available.
Over the course of the weekend,
bettors will get to swim in a low 15% takeout pool a dozen times.
In addition, a special Breeders Crown
20-cent Survivor Pick-7 – one that is comprised entirely of Breeders Crown
events – will be offered on Saturday, as will mandatory payouts on the 20-cent
Pick-5, 20-cent Pick-6, 10-cent Hi-5/Pentafecta as well the Pick-7. Meadowlands
regulars should be aware that the Survivor Pick-7, which normally begins in
race three, will start in race four during Breeders Crown Weekend.
8 OUT OF 10 AIN’T BAD: The Hambletonian Society/Breeders
Crown Standardbred Poll that came out Tuesday sported a Top 10 that pretty much
reads like the entries sheet for this weekend’s Breeders Crown.
Lyons Sentinel, Test Of Faith,
Allywag Hanover, Venerable, Atlanta, Jujubee, Niki Hill, Hot Mess Express,
Bella Bellini and Charlie May make up the Top 10, with eight of the horses
racing at The Big M this Friday or Saturday.
It would have been nine, but
Venerable went off stride last week, failing to qualify for her final. Hot Mess
Express’ connections decided not to supplement their ineligible filly.
“The Breeders Crown will have all of
the stars in the Standardbred universe competing at The Big M this weekend,”
said track Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Jason Settlemoir. “Eight
of the top 10 horses in our sport will be there, making their cases for
year-end honors. For everyone that loves the sport, it should be a glorious
weekend, watching and wagering on the greatest stars in the game.”
OTTEN OVERLOAD: The Breeders Crown will get plenty of
live television exposure on Saturday, Oct. 30, as Fox Sports 2 (FS2) and
SportsNet New York (SNY) will both provide extensive Breeders Crown Finals
coverage.
FS2’s coverage will take place from
12:30-4 p.m. while SNY’s broadcast will go from 3-5:30 p.m.
Big M TV’s Jessica Otten will provide
pre-race thoughts and post-race interviews on the telecast.
WATCH IT LIVE: All the Breeders Crown action can be
viewed live on both the Meadowlands Facebook page and on The Big M’s YouTube
channel.
GET IN THE GAME: The best way to experience the rush
of racing on the track and at the windows is to go to The Meadowlands, but for
those who can’t make the trip, they can still tune in and get their action.
One of the best ways to watch what’s
happening at The Big M – as well as all other races at venues around the
country and the world – is to get a subscription to Roberts Television Network.
All you need to do is go to rtn.tv for an
affordable way to bring the action to your desktop, laptop, TV, smartphone or
other device.
A good way to get your bets in is to
use the Television Games Network (tvg.com) or your
favorite Advance Deposit Wagering (ADW) site.
TRICK OR TWEET: Everything Meadowlands and everything
Breeders Crown is available by going on Twitter. You can check in with the Big
M team for early changes, racing information and staff selections by going to
@themeadowlands or #playbigm.
On race nights, stay in touch with
Jessica Otten (@JessicaOtten1), Dave Brower (@eedoogie), Dave Little
(@DaveLittleBigM), Ken Warkentin (@kenvoiceover), Shades Demsky
(@ShadesOnRacing) and Edison Hatter (@Edison_1999_).
GET YA FREE PROGRAMS HERE! Talk about a great deal! Free program
pages for every race of every Meadowlands race card are always available. Just
go to playmeadowlands.com to access
the no-cost past performances.
WHO DOES BROWER LIKE? For expert selections and analysis of
every Big M card, check out track oddsmaker Dave Brower’s race reviews.
For Brower’s input, which is
generally available 48 hours before every card, go to playmeadowlands.com, then click on the
“handicapping” tab and go to “race reviews”.
READ UP ON THE CROWN: For extended coverage of all the
Breeders Crown action both before and after the event, you can read all about
it at the following websites: harnessracingupdate.com,
drf.com/harness, standardbredcanada.ca and harnesslink.com.
FIRST CROWN, THEN CUP: The always popular simulcast of
Thoroughbred racing’s Breeders’ Cup will take place at The Meadowlands on Friday,
Nov. 5 and Saturday, Nov. 6.
The 14-race event – which will take
place at California’s Del Mar Racetrack – will have five races Friday (post
time, 2:55 p.m.; first BC race, 5:50 p.m.) before the final nine take place
Saturday (post time, 1:15 p.m.; first BC race, 3:05 p.m.). The featured event –
the $6-million Breeders’ Cup Classic – has a post time of 8:40 p.m.
LIKE BETTING FOOTBALL? Of course, you do! And there’s no
better place to do it than at the No. 1 facility of its kind in the country,
the FanDuel Sportsbook, located in the Grandstand at The Meadowlands.
On Thursday (Oct. 28) night, the NFL
is offering a marquee matchup of two of the league’s best teams – and best
quarterbacks.
The Green Bay Packers and Aaron
Rodgers, winners of six in a row, travel to Arizona to take on the Cardinals
and Kyler Murray, who at 7-0 are the only remaining unbeaten team in the
league, in an 8:20 p.m. matchup.
The Cardinals are a 6½-point favorite
who are -270 on the money line.
Will Murray throw for 272½ yards? You’ll
get -110 if you think he will or he won’t.
The book is open Monday through
Thursday from 10 a.m.-1 a.m.; Friday 10 a.m.-2 a.m.; Saturday 7 a.m.-2 a.m. and
Sunday 8 a.m.-12 a.m.
