Officials with the Meadowlands Racetrack have sent out a recap of some of the track’s wagering highlights from this past weekend and the past month.

Western Joe might have been the top performer at the Meadowlands after taking the Preferred Handicap last Saturday (January 20) night, but the big winners were the betting faithful, who were treated to big payoffs, which were created by spirited wagering.

Over the course of the 14-race program, only four favourites visited victory lane, which served as the catalyst for big payouts in the 20-Cent Survivor Pick 10 ($18,028), Pick 5 ($11,645) and Pick 4 ($2,022). The total pools for the ‘Survivor’ ($21,653) and Pick 4 ($86,996) reached new 2018 heights, while the Pick 5 remained strong as usual ($54,802).

Thus far in 2018, here are the average payouts for three popular nightly puzzles (all of which offer a reduced takeout of 15 per cent):

• Pick 4: $1,322 (50-cent base wager)
• Pick 5: $6,692 (50-cent base wager)
• Survivor Pick 10: $8,050 (20-cent base wager)

All-source wagering on Saturday reached $2.7 million, which was another 2018 best, while the average payoffs that evening for the Win ($18.65), Exacta ($181.27) and Trifecta ($1,549.20) wagers were rock solid.

When racing resumes with a 13-race card Friday night at 6:35 p.m., players can look forward to a $25,000 guaranteed pool in the Pick 5, a $50,000 guarantee in the Pick 4 and a huge $75,102 carryover in the Late 20-Cent Jackpot Super High Five, which gives the Meadowlands' faithful a good reason to hang in there until the last race of the night.

Free program pages for the Meadowlands Pick 4 are available on the Meadowlands’ website (playmeadowlands.com) and on the handicapping section of the USTA website (ustrotting.com).

(Meadowlands Racetrack)