Meadowlands Media Relations
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – Meadowlands
fans are in store for a special weekend, in fact, you could say after two days
of the best harness racing anywhere, they will then go “Big Game Hunting”.
The mile oval will have live harness
racing on Friday (Feb. 11) and Saturday (Feb. 12) before the track’s FanDuel
Sportsbook will be the hottest spot in town on Sunday (Feb. 13), the day of the
National Football League’s championship game.
Friday night’s 13-race card will get
underway at 6:20 p.m. with temperatures during the night expected to be 30
degrees warmer than a week ago. The man with the hottest hands in harness
racing, driver Yannick Gingras, will look to stay on a roll in the early stages
of the Winter Meeting. The 42-year-old Hall of Fame bound pilot, who’s won at
least three races during seven of the eight race cards contested at The
Meadowlands thus far this year, had five victories last Saturday to up his
driver-colony-leading total to 31.
They’ll be a carryover of $8,572
offered Friday on the 20-cent Pick-6 after no winning tickets were sold last
Saturday. Like last week, the final pool is likely to offer a “negative
takeout”, when more money is returned to the bettors who go six-for-six than
what is wagered in “new money”.
Saturday will bring another 6:20 p.m.
post time for the first of 13 dashes, with one of the races standing above the
rest.
Race eight is the $40,000 Sweetheart
Pace, an event for Preferred mares, where seven of the nine horses in the field
have lifetime earnings of over $300,000. Machnhope, Racine Bell and Alexa Skye
are among the entrants who will be familiar to Big M regulars.
On Sunday, the joint will be jumping,
with simulcasting all day and football all night.
In the NFL’s title tilt, the game
between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals kicks off at 6:30 p.m. The
Rams are a 4-point favorite who are -198 on the money line. The under/over is
48½.
If prop bets are your thing, you can
try total passing yards for the two starting quarterbacks. Cincinnati’s Joe
Burrow’s number is 276½, and you can get -110 if you think he will have less or
more. The number for the Rams’ Matthew Stafford is 281½ and both the over and
under also are -110.
How about something a little
different? If you want to wager that the game will go into overtime, you can
get +1040. Game ends in regulation? That’s -2000. If you think the Rams’ Aaron
Donald will record a sack, your odds are -192. If you think he won’t do it, you
can get +150.
Come on out to the sportsbook,
located in the grandstand at The Meadowlands, to watch and wager on the action.
Hours for the book are 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.
According to survey results released
Tuesday by the American Gaming Association (AGA), the game is setting up to be
the most heavily bet ever with an estimated $7.61 billion potentially on the
line. Another estimation projects that 31.4 million American adults plan on
betting the game.
“The results are clear,” said Bill
Miller, President of the AGA. “Americans have never been more interested in
legal sports wagering.”
WATCH THE BIG GAME: The Meadowlands is offering football
fans several options to watch the game on Sunday. There will be seating in the
Victory Outdoor Heated Pavilion, seating at tables in the Grandstand Lounge and
couch seating in the Grandstand Lounge. All areas will offer great dining
options as well.
