The Meadowlands hosts live racing for the first time in 2019 this Friday and Saturday (Jan. 4 and 5) hoping to keep things rolling after an outstanding Saturday (Dec. 29) night program that saw the largest single-card handle of the meeting.

A total of $2,986,115 was wagered on the 14 races, which was good for an average per race of $213,293. As usual, the 50-cent Pick-5 and 50-cent Pick-4 were extremely popular, with $69,507 and $94,136, respectively, being wagered into those pools.

The winter portion of the 2019 season kicks off Friday with some wagering menu changes to ring in the new year, as the 50-cent Pick-5 moves to race one, the Survivor wager to race three, and the 20-cent Jackpot Super High-Fives to the fifth and last, respectively.

The 50-cent Pick-4 will remain on race eight, the lone Pick-3 will be offered on the final three races of the night. Daily double lovers are sure to love the new format, as eight doubles will be available on the Friday and Saturday cards.

Some of harness racing’s best value wagers will continue to have low takeout rates of 15 per cent: the 50-cent Pick-5 (guaranteed pool of $25,000), 20-cent Survivor and 50-cent Pick-4 ($50,000 promise).

The 20-cent Jackpot Super High-Fives will start 2019 with carryovers, as on Friday the fifth race High-Five will offer $18,638 before wagering starts while race 13’s will begin with $20,652 in the pot.

Free program pages for the Big M’s races are available at www.playmeadowlands.com and www.ustrotting.com.

THAT’S A HALF-DOZEN, COUSIN: Brett Miller and Yannick Gingras wore out a path to the winner’s circle last weekend (Dec. 27-29) as each drove six winners. Big M fans are losing one of their favourites, effective immediately, as Miller is relocating to his native Ohio.

On the training side, Ron Burke led the way with four winner’s circle visits.

GET WILD BETTING THE NFL: In addition to the best harness racing anywhere, the Big M’s FanDuel Sportsbook figures to be buzzing more than usual this weekend.

On Saturday (Jan. 5), the wild-card round of the National Football League playoffs begins at 4:35 p.m. when the Indianapolis Colts travel to Houston to take on the Texans. At 8:15 p.m., the Dallas Cowboys will host the Seattle Seahawks.

Sunday (Jan. 6) will offer another NFL doubleheader as the L.A. Chargers will take on the Ravens in Baltimore at 1:05 p.m. before the Chicago Bears host the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles at 4:40 p.m.

ALABAMA-CLEMSON IV: Get to the Sportsbook early if you want a seat on Monday (Jan. 7), as a pair of undefeated powerhouses will go at it in the College Football Playoff Championship game when the Alabama Crimson Tide and Clemson Tigers go head-to-head. Kickoff is 8 p.m.

(Meadowlands)