Wagering on Saturday night (March 5) at The Meadowlands was unlike any seen thus far this year in the harness game, as a total of $3,755,422 was bet on the 13-race card, both a track and industry-best for 2022.

Several other harness venues also saw a jump in business on the first Saturday of March.

“It was a very good weekend for the sport of Standardbred racing,” said Jason Settlemoir, chief operating officer and general manager of Meadowlands. “At The Meadowlands, many of our top drivers returned to action, and we also added a few minutes for each race, which created more space for other tracks to successfully spot their races between those at The Big M.

“This strategy worked extremely well, as compared to 2021; the result was a jump in handle of $600,000 at The Meadowlands Saturday night, along with increased business at Mohawk, Northfield and Cal Expo last weekend. These are positive business trends everyone likes to see.”

But The Big M led the way, with a little help from its friends at the United States Trotting Association.

“Since 2011, the USTA Strategic Wagering initiative continues to knock it out of the park every night,” said Settlemoir. “The increased interest in these wagers under the initiative’s umbrella is undeniable. Our Saturday card was highlighted by our low-takeout wagers like the 50-cent Pick-4, which averaged over $111,000, plus a $58,000 20-cent Pick-6 pool.”

Daily information about Strategic Wagering is available on the USTA’s website. 

Back to Saturday, when Big M betting was beyond vigorous.

A single-race season’s-best $380,544 was wagered on race six, with $108,586 of that on the 50-cent Pick-4. The seventh, eighth and ninth races saw $311,820, $371,995 and $293,481 pushed through the windows, respectively, for a total of $1,357,840 over the four dashes, an average per race of $339,460.

The most popular bets did well, with the “Old Reliable” Exacta taking in $1,067,920 for the night, an average per race of $82,147, which was outdone only by the Pick-4. The Trifecta saw $827,645 in wagers, while the 20-cent Survivor Pick-7, 20-cent Pick-6 and 20-cent Pick-5 combined for a hair under $140,000 in play for the night.

Wagering per race Saturday night was $288,878, which was a big increase over the last two corresponding Saturdays. In 2021, betting was $3,114,493 for an average of $238,676, and in 2020, $2,845,231 was put in play, good for an average of $218,863.

Racing at The Big M is conducted on a Friday-Saturday basis and has a first-race post time of 6:20 p.m. The track’s live “Racing from The Meadowlands” pre-game show kicks off nightly at 5:47 p.m.

WHO IZZY? Last Friday night, on the “Racing from The Meadowlands” live pre-game show, trainer Izzy Estrada was named the Big Dee’s Tack Trainer of the Week after winning two races from just four starts the weekend before.

Born in Guatemala, the 37-year-old Estrada apparently liked winning the award so much, he went out and had another outstanding weekend, and will be named the track’s top trainer again this week.

Estrada did even better from a statistical perspective last weekend (March 4-5), winning five races from just seven starts (71 per cent), and has visited the winner’s circle seven times from just 11 starts (64 per cent) over the last three Big M programs, with 10 on-the-board finishes (91 per cent).

After winning four races for a second consecutive Saturday, Dexter Dunn will collect his second consecutive Driver of the Week Award on Friday.

Todd McCarthy, who was interviewed on the track’s “In the Sulky” pre-game show segment last Friday, equalled Dunn with four weekend winners.

WHAT’S COMING UP? This weekend, love me tender, love me sweet.

On Saturday (March 12), Ralph Carey will be in Pink Restaurant doing his tribute show to the King, Elvis Presley. The buffet, which is priced at $64.95, begins at 5:30 p.m. with Carey performing from 8-10:15 p.m.

The same night, handicappers will go at it in another qualifier for the World Harness Handicapping Championship (WHHC). There will be $5,000 in prize money (based on 50 entries) up for grabs plus two seats to the WHHC final on September 10 at The Meadowlands. All this for an entry fee of just $200.

(With files from The Meadowlands)