Thirty harness racing fans have been given all the thrills of racehorse ownership, without any of the costs, thanks to the ‘Own a Horse’ promotion at the Meadowlands Racetrack.

Beginning in January, 10 fans were randomly selected from entries taken on the Meadowlands website and through targeted ads on social media. The fans were assigned one of five horses that regularly compete at the Meadowlands. The new ‘owners’ received 10 per cent of the horse’s earnings during the month, provided the ‘owner’ attended the races in person when their horse was racing and ‘checked in’ at the Meadowlands on their personal Facebook or Twitter page.

In addition to the financial benefits, the new owners also were given access to meet their horse in the paddock, speak with the trainer and driver, and for some, take their picture in the winner’s circle.

During the first month, the Meadowlands paid out $2,358 to the fans. Five winners attended the races at least once and four attended all four weeks. The biggest winner was Jennifer Dalton, who earned $851. Remarkably, this contestant became a real horse owner a month later when she claimed her horse from the contest, UF Fast Feelin, for $10,000.

Ten new contestants were selected during February and collectively were paid out more than $1,500. The biggest winner was Julie Klikus, who earned $781.60 thanks to her horse, Intheblinkofaneye.

The promotion proved to be so successful that 10 new contestants were selected in March. Six of the new owners have attended the races and one new owner, James Santin, has earned nearly $1,200 thanks to his trotter, World Cup.

“We all know how badly our sport needs new owners to experience the thrills of racehorse ownership while also giving breeders more potential customers for their yearlings,” said Meadowlands Chairman Jeffrey Gural. “This promotion has already given 30 people an insider’s look at being a horse owner and has been so successful that we have even turned one of these contestants into a real racehorse owner.”

The promotion will continue into April with 10 more owners selected. Sign-ups for April are open and the new batch of owners will be selected Saturday night (March 26). To sign up, click here.

(Meadowlands Racetrack)