Winter racing at The Meadowlands has featured competitive, full fields, and while 10 starters behind the gate is supposed to be a hindrance to horses looking to compile long winning streaks, such is not the case for Cellmate.
He’s popular with his fans – not to mention owners and trainers at the claiming box – having gone unbeaten is his last four starts, and the five-year-old gelded son of Huntsville-Twin B Bikini will ramp up his drive for five on Saturday, Jan. 18 in the sixth race at The Big M. He’ll leave from post two with Jason Bartlett in the bike as the 5-2 morning line favourite.
“I didn’t notice the horse,” said Frank Calcagni, who became Cellmate’s trainer at the conclusion of his win last week. “My owners picked up on him. They kind of pick out their own horses. Cellmate slipped through the cracks on me, but he seems to be running on all cylinders right now. I like the lines on him and he’s nice to be around.”
Cellmate’s streak started on Dec. 7 in a $20,000 USD claimer with a victory for trainer Tom Fanning at the mile oval as the 4-5 favourite, which was followed by a win at 10-1 from post eight at Yonkers Raceway 12 days later in another $20,000 USD claiming event. After that race, trainer Mark Ford took Cellmate home on his trailer.
The next two starts – both in East Rutherford, New Jersey – brought more visits to the winner’s circle. A Dec. 28 score as the 9-5 public choice in a $25,000 USD claimer was followed by the last of Cellmate’s “Fab Four,” another victory at the $25,000 USD claiming level, this time as the 2-1 favourite. That’s when Calcagni and his owners claimed the lifetime winner of 14 of 58 starts who has earnings of $151,047.
“I’m just going to give him a light week,” said Calcagni. “Cellmate was pressed in his win last week. I like that Hunt For Cash [who was second in that race], too. I had him in my barn a few weeks ago.
“I go by the horse’s form [when considering claims]. I look back four, five, 10 lines and try to pick a horse that’s in form or getting in form.”
For Calcagni, the objective is to not have trainees in his barn for an extended period of time.
“I don’t like keeping horses very long,” said the 43-year-old conditioner. “Not more than a year. I want to see how they pan out, then I like to move them. I like fresh faces. I’m starting to get into the claiming game a little bit more. Horses can stay sharp when they move around from barn to barn.”
So, what’s the hope with Cellmate?
“I wouldn’t mind if he won this week and got claimed right back,” said Calcagni. “He’s in the right [$25,000 USD] class. I would expect someone to put in a claim on him, but sometimes people are a little shy the first time in a new barn.”
Maybe that means Cellmate will get a stay from the Governor and get to be in Calcagni’s barn for another week or two.
Showing The Kids A Thing Or Two
The cold weather is supposed to be a time of year when the bigger names in The Meadowlands driver colony are vacationing somewhere warm, affording the track’s “Young Guns” an opportunity to win a lot of dashes.
Apparently, Dave Miller and Jason Bartlett have a youthful spring in their respective steps.
Through the first four race cards of 2025, the 60-year-old Miller, who has said this will be his last year racing full time at The Big M, has 10 victories, good for second in the standings. He’s been ultra-consistent, recording no fewer than two but no more than three wins on any program.
Bartlett, 43, leads the colony with 14 walks down victory lane. The 13-time Yonkers kingpin won six races on Jan. 4 and followed that up with five more last Saturday, Jan. 11.
Thus far in 2025, only nine drivers have two or more Meadowlands wins. Miller and Bartlett have been so dominant, their total of 24 victories are equal to that of the next seven drivers in the standings combined.
During the month of January, live racing will be conducted every Friday and Saturday with a first-race post time of 6:20 p.m. On live race nights, the live “Racing from The Meadowlands” pre-game show starts at 5:45 p.m. when track announcer Ken Warkentin opens up the mic with a scene set and program changes before the team of Jessica Otten and Dave Little take over from the Sam McKee Memorial Broadcast Set with news, notes, selections and a look at the night’s featured races.TROT Magazine’s John Rallis will be on hand this weekend conducting interviews from the back paddock throughout the evening for both programs.
The Meadowlands offers free program pages for every race of every race card on its website at playmeadowlands.com.
Weekend Events & Giveaways
The first of what will be a monthly handicapping contest with a prize pool of $1,000 USD will be held on Friday, Jan. 17. Contestants must be on-site to participate and the top two finishers earn a spot in a $10,000 USD invitation-only handicapping contest that takes place in December.
One of The Big M’s most popular giveaways takes place on Saturday, Jan. 18, with the track’s 2025 Calendar Giveaway, which is chock full of photos commemorating highlights of the 2024 season. Starting at 6 p.m., the first 1,000 guests will receive a calendar. One per person, please.
Check out a great bout on Saturday, Jan. 18 when UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev takes on Arman Tsarukyan in the main attraction, affording the Big M faithful to watch and wager on both the fights and the races. The UFC Watch Party takes place in The Gallery at 10 p.m.
(With files from Meadowlands Racetrack)