Meadowlands Media Relations
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – The stars will
be out and shining brightly Saturday night at The Meadowlands, as the final
circle-worthy date on the harness racing calendar for the year 2021 will
feature many of the game’s top performers during a power-packed 14-race card on
“Fall Final Four/TVG Finals Night”. Post time for the first race is 6:20 p.m.
Plenty will be on the line as
divisional honors and – quite possibly – Horse of the Year could be won or lost
as four events for 2-year-olds and four others for 3-years-old and older will
be contested on the program for horses of each sex and gait. The great eight
are:
·
Race 4 – $413,600
Valley Victory for 2-year-old trotting colts and geldings: Kindergarten winner Fast As The Wind
searches for his third straight victory. He missed by just a half-length from
post 10 to winner Rebuff in the Breeders Crown on Oct. 29.
·
Race 5 – $175,000 TVG
Mares Pace: Rocknificent
and Lyons Sentinel, the best two older pacing mares in training who finished
1-2 in the Breeders Crown, renew their rivalry.
·
Race 6 – $479,450 Goldsmith Maid for
2-year-old trotting fillies: Two weeks after going off stride and failing
to qualify for the Breeders Crown Final, Venerable dominated her foes in the
Matron to win for the ninth time this year in 10 tries.
·
Race 7 – $175,000 TVG Mares Trot: Bella
Bellini, the Hambletonian Oaks and Breeders Crown champion, takes on a big
challenge as the 3-year-old takes on the likes of older standouts
Felicityshagwell S, the Breeders Crown champion, and Atlanta, the co-fastest
trotting mare in history (1:49) who recently ran her lifetime earnings past the
$3-million mark.
·
Race 8 – $386,600 Governor’s Cup for
2-year-old pacing colts and geldings: Hammering Hank hit it out of the park
in the Kindergarten to up his stats to eight wins from just 10 starts.
·
Race 9 – $350,000 TVG Open Trot: A
remarkably wide-open event features Beads, who was second after displaying
speed a week ago in a conditioned event, taking on Amigo Volo, second a week
ago to a fast-closing When Dovescry in another conditioned race.
·
Race 10 – $359,450
Three Diamonds for 2-year-old pacing fillies: Niki Hill has been nothing short of a
superstar all season long, as her record of eight wins from nine starts, which
includes victories in the She’s A Great Lady, Breeders Crown and Kindergarten,
prove.
·
Race 11 – $350,000
TVG Open Pace: Despite
failing to win the Breeders Crown and Potomac in his last two, Allywag Hanover
is hanging on to the lead in the division by a thread. Looking to overtake him
is the horse who nailed him in the Crown, Ocean Rock, who has taken the Dayton
Derby, Hoosier Park Pacing Derby and Ewart during his superb 2021 season.
Purses for the eight stakes events
total $2,689,100.
“The Meadowlands is proud to present
these classic races on a mile track,” said track Chief Operating Officer and
General Manager Jason Settlemoir. “If the Breeders Crown was any indication,
the racing fans and horseplayers will likely see some of the greatest
performances of the year at The Meadowlands this Saturday night.”
THAT’S A HALF-DOZEN, COUSIN: The Hambletonian Society/Breeders
Crown Standardbred Poll weekly Top 10 that came out Tuesday (Nov. 16) morning
revealed that six of the horses listed will be at The Big M Saturday. Here is
the poll from top to bottom, with horses racing at The Meadowlands Saturday
bearing an asterisk (*): Test Of Faith, Jujubee, *Niki Hill, *Bella Bellini,
*Lyons Sentinel, *Venerable, *Allywag Hanover, Perfect Sting, Ecurie D DK,
*Atlanta.
SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIALS: Plenty of The Meadowlands’ popular
wagers that sport a low 15 per cent takeout will be available on the Saturday
night card. They are:
·
Race 1: 20-cent Pick-5
·
Race 4: 20-cent TVG All-Stakes Survivor
Pick-7
·
Race 6: 50-cent Early Pick-4 ($50,000
guaranteed pool)
·
Race 8: 20-cent Pick-6
·
Race 10: 50-cent Late Pick-4 ($50,000
guaranteed pool)
·
Race 14: 10-cent non-jackpot Pentafecta/Hi-5
DON’T MISS THE SHOW: Racing continues at The Meadowlands
through the end of the year with the usual Friday-Saturday schedule, with one
exception, as there will be no live racing on Dec. 24 or Dec. 25.
The Big M’s live in-house simulcast
presentation gets underway on live race nights at 5:47 p.m. with the first race
at 6:20 p.m.
READ ALL ABOUT IT: For extended coverage of all the Fall
Final Four/TVG Finals Night action both before and after the event, you can
check it out at the following websites: playmeadowlands.com,
ustrotting.com, harnessracingupdate.com, drf.com/harness, standardbredcanada.ca and harnesslink.com.
GET SOCIAL: Everything Meadowlands 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_).
COME OUT AND PLAY: It’s always best when watching and
wagering on the action at The Meadowlands to come out and be there in person,
but for those who either live too far away or can’t make it out to the races
for any reason, they can still experience the best harness racing in the world
several ways.
An affordable way to view not only
the action at The Big M, but virtually all harness and Thoroughbred tracks, is
to get a subscription to the Roberts Television Network. For more information,
go to rtn.tv.
There are a handful of
Advance-Deposit Wagering spots where one can wager on Meadowlands races, one
such site where you can make bets and watch the action live is the Television
Games Network. For more information, go to tvg.com.
FREE PROGRAMS? YES! 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”.
THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL: This week’s edition of the National
Football League’s Thursday (Nov. 18) Night Football finds the New England
Patriots traveling to Atlanta to take on quarterback Matt Ryan and the Falcons
in an 8:20 p.m. kickoff.
To watch and wager on the game, get
to the FanDuel Sportsbook, one of the leading facilities of its type in the
country, which is located inside the grandstand at The Meadowlands.
The Patriots were a 6½-point favorite
who are -290 on the money line.
Prop Bets? FanDuel’s got’em. Whether
you think Ryan will or will not pass for 250½ yards, the odds are -110. Also at
-110 is the proposition that Patriots’ QB Mac Jones throws for more or less
than 252½ yards.
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.
For more information, call
877-689-0662.
