For Meadowlands Racetrack fans whose resolutions in addition to weight loss and quitting smoking were to go for bigger scores at the track, all they have to do is get involved in the track’s Pick 5 on the first night of racing in 2018, when players will have a guaranteed pool of $125,000 to shoot for Friday evening (January 5).

The bet requires a player to correctly select the winners of Races 3 through 7 and has a base wager of 50 cents. Last Saturday’s Pick 5 resulted in a carryover of $28,786, which served as a catalyst for the ‘Big M’ – in partnership with United States Trotting Association Strategic Wagering – to offer the huge, eighth-of-a-million-dollar pool certainty.

Program pages for all Pick 5 races, as well as the Pick 4 (3 through 11), are now available on the handicapping tab at ustrotting.com.

A big reason why swimming in the Big M’s Pick 5 pool makes sense for the bettor is value. If the final pool is $150,000 ($121,214 in new money), the winners would get back $131,818, a surplus in winnings of over $10,000.

As for the Pick 4, the beauty of a carryover with low takeout is that it potentially turns the odds in favour of the players. Any final Pick 4 pool less than $220,000 would result in the winners receiving more money than was wagered.

“If the pool grows to $250,000, the takeout is only two per cent,” said the track’s chief operating officer and general manager, Jason Settlemoir. “Mathematically speaking, there are few wagering opportunities in all of gambling that can match the Meadowlands Pick 4 or Pick 5 with a carryover. Low takeout and big pools make that happen.”

The record payoff on the Meadowlands Pick 5 was on Friday, February 5, 2017, when one bettor had the lone winning 50-cent ticket worth $109,966.

WEEKEND WRAPUP: Last week saw some double-fisted wagering at the Big M. Total handle on Saturday reached $2.7 million. The Pick 4 remained as popular as ever, with a total pool of $81,043 on Friday and $87,371 on Saturday.

MORE MONEY: The carryover for the Late 20-Cent Jackpot Super High Five stands at $64,317 for the Friday card, on which the first of 10 ‘Meadowlands Harness Live’ telecasts will be seen on SportsNet New York (SNY) from 9-10 p.m. The three races shown will include the ‘cash’ leg of the Pick 5, as well as the first two legs of the Pick 4, which has a guaranteed pool of $50,000.

Post time at the Meadowlands Friday – and on every Friday and Saturday through the end of February – is 6:35 p.m.

(Meadowlands Racetrack)