Mamba hit his shot in the featured $55,556-$83,333 claiming handicap pace, which went for a purse of $26,389, on Saturday, Jan. 24 at The Meadowlands to headline a triple for trainer Joe Bongiorno.

Despite the fact that Mamba won his two previous starts as a heavy favourite, the gelding was sent to the gate as the 12-1 fifth choice in the wagering, perhaps due to the fact he hadn’t raced since Dec. 13.

But driver Vinny Ginsburg raced with confidence after speaking with his trainer.

“I talked to Joe a little bit earlier, and he said the horse missed a little bit of time and if I could get him close with a lot of speed on the outside and just try to keep him buried up, he should be really good off that kind of trip,” said Ginsburg.

The field had a handful of speedballs, and they put on an electric display early as Sun Of A Show (Braxten Boyd), Mamba, Effingham (Ridge Warren) and Boston Bound (Brett Beckwith) were all away quickly for early position. Ginsburg dropped Mamba in third behind Sun Of A Show as Effingham sprinted up to take the lead at the quarter in a sparkling :26.3, leaving Boston Bound parked out for a second straight week. There was no breather for Effingham, as Boston Bound was alongside to challenge at the half in a sizzling :53.4 on a night when temperatures were anything but, with a real-feel of -12 degrees.

Effingham shrugged off Boston Bound and had the point at three-quarters in 1:22 but was now a tired horse. Sun Of A Show, the 2-1 favourite, popped out of the pocket as they straightened away at the head of the stretch, allowing Mamba to advance along the rail. In deep stretch, Ginsburg found just enough room for Mamba, and the six-year-old gelded son of Sweet Lou-Loving Caroline shot through the inside with plenty of pace to score by three-quarters of a length over a resilient Sun Of A Show in 1:51.1. Soho Santorini A (Colin Kelly) was third.

“Luckily, by the skin of my teeth, it opened up a little bit and it worked out,” said Ginsburg. “He was definitely loaded for sure. I was praying for a little bit of space.”

Mamba has now won 16 times from 99 lifetime outings, good for earnings of $442,144. The gelding is owned by Joseph Bongiorno LLC, Glenn Goller and Stephen Demeter. He paid $26.20 to win.

Bongiorno's other wins came with Lovers Trouble ($3.20) in a 1:52 romp in the second race and Komodo Beach in a ninth-to-first 47-1 upset in the fifth. Beckwith engineered the winning trips for the pair. The victories were Bongiorno's first of his third season as a trainer following a year of 197 wins.

Eddie Sager matched Bongiorno's haul, making three trips down victory lane. His winners were Beat Cop ($5.80), Saulsbrook Raptor ($14) and Seeyou At Thebeach ($7.60). The triple brought Sager to four-for-13 in 2026, a 30.8 per cent win rate.

Five drivers combined to win 13 of the 14 races on the card, as Ridge Warren led the way with four victories. He was followed by Ginsburg (three), Kelly (two), Beckwith (two) and Boyd (two).

All-source handle totalled $3,379,086, the first time that betting has busted the $3-million barrier at the Big M – and the entire sport – during 2026. Sunday's racing program has been cancelled due to the impending snowstorm. 

Twenty-cent Pick-6 players will have a nice pot to shoot for when racing resumes on Friday, Jan. 30 as no winning tickets were sold on the wager, creating a carryover of $7,802. Winners' odds for the sequence were 12-1, 5-1, 4-1, 3-1, 5-2 and 15-1. Those with five correct selections collected $1,503.54. First post on Friday will be 6:20 p.m.

(With files from The Meadowlands)