The curtain came down on the Meadowlands Racetrack’s 2019 Championship Meeting on Hambletonian Day (August 3), ending a seven-month run that would be the envy of any track operator.

Total handle on Hambo Day was up nearly 15 per cent over the year before, as $6.5 million was pushed through the windows, approximately $800,000 more than the year before. The $6.5 million was by far the best single-day handle in the entire sport in 2019. Next up was the $4.4 million bet by players at Woodbine at Mohawk Park on March 30 when the track had a huge Super High-Five carryover on a mandatory payout night. The only other $4 million-plus handle this year was at the ‘Big M’ on Meadowlands Pace Night ($4,044,303).

The wagering trend was a positive one for the 62 Big M programs presented from the first of the year through the first Saturday in August, as a total of $174.2 million was put in play, good for an average of $2,811,179 per card. Over the same 2018 span, 58 race cards saw total wagering of $137.3 million, an average of $2,367,260. Thus, total wagering was up 27 per cent at the industry's handle leader, while per-card betting increased 18 per cent.

One of the keys to increased handle is to card more races, and that was clearly the case this year as compared to last. During 2018, a total of 671 races were contested at the Meadowlands, an average per night of 11.56. This year, 790 races took place, good for an average of 12.74, an increase of 10.2 per cent. With the additional races, there were 1,515 more starters in 2019 Big M races than there were in 2018. The track averaged 8.92 starters per race in 2019.

The Meadowlands’ faithful fan base bet with both hands on a consistent basis. Total handle reached $2.5 million 47 times over the 62-card span. On 12 occasions, the magic $3 million mark was achieved, while the Meadowlands Pace and Hambo accounted for the two $4 million-plus cards.

“All of us at the Meadowlands are appreciative of the purse appropriation earmarked for the horse racing industry that was approved by New Jersey legislators, Gov. Phil Murphy, President of the New Jersey Senate Stephen Sweeney and Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly Craig Coughlin,” said Big M Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Jason Settlemoir. “With that money in our purse account, it created more of a level playing field in the competition for horses from nearby states.

"We appreciate how our horsemen have supported our entry box – we couldn’t do it without them – and how our fans played our races all meeting long. We’ve seen consistently bigger fields at the Meadowlands, and big fields are what our fans like most when betting on our product. Competitive racing with large fields and less winning favourites at the sport’s top facility is a recipe for wagering success.”

On the track, new fastest-ever Big M marks were established for horses of both gaits on July 6. Atlanta, the 2018 Hambletonian champion, exploded home in :26.3 in the Graduate final for trotters on the way to stopping the clock in 1:49.1 while Lather Up set a new mark of 1:46 in the Graduate final for pacers, and in the process, equalled Always B Miki’s fastest mile ever in the history of the sport.

Grabbing headlines – as usual – was the superstar mare Shartin N, who became the fastest female in harness racing history after taking the Lady Liberty on Hambo Day in 1:46.4.

Meadowlands Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Jason Settlemoir congratulate Ron Burke on winning his eighth straight ‘Big M’ training title in the winner’s circle on Hambletonian Day.

It was another great year for conditioner Ron Burke, as well as his go-to driver, Yannick Gingras.

Burke captured his eighth consecutive Big M training title with 73 victories and earnings of $1.85 million, while Marcus Melander had the second-highest bank account at $1.29 million.

Burke, 49, also reached a remarkable milestone, as he became the first trainer in history to record 10,000 lifetime wins after his student, Crucial, won a Jim Doherty Memorial elimination on July 26 at the mile oval.

Meadowlands Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Jason Settlemoir congratulate Yannick Gingras on winning his fifth ‘Big M’ driving title in the winner’s circle on Hambletonian Day.

Gingras, 40, killed it all meeting long and used a fabulous February as the catalyst for his fifth Meadowlands driving title. During those 28 days, Gingras established meet highs for wins on a single program (seven, on the 1st) and in a month (33) on the way to visiting the winner’s circle a total of 127 times. He was also tops in earnings with $2.25 million.

Dexter Dunn was nothing short of superb in his first full season of racing in the U.S., as the New Zealand native opened many eyes with his 86 wins, which was easily second best in the standings. Tim Tetrick’s earnings of $2.18 million nosed out Dunn’s ($2.14 million) in the race for second-highest driver bankroll.

THE SKED: Simulcasting from Saratoga and a host of other tracks will continue every day, but there will be no live racing at the Meadowlands for eight straight weekends, beginning Aug. 9-10. Monmouth Park will conduct Thoroughbred racing over the Big M’s turf course on Oct. 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 25 and 26.

The Meadowlands will be back with live harness action on Oct. 11, and then conduct racing on Fridays and Saturdays through Nov. 30 before adding Thursdays in December. There will be both Thoroughbred and harness racing on the same day on Oct. 11, 12, 18, 25 and 26.

Post time for harness racing is 7:15 p.m. Post time for Thoroughbred racing will be announced at a later date.

(Meadowlands Racetrack)