A strong field of trotters will be featured on Saturday night, Nov. 16 at The Meadowlands in the $40,000 USD Preferred Handicap with several of the competitors prepping for the FanDuel Championships Open Trot coming up on Nov. 30.
Of the seven horses in the field, five have lifetime bank accounts that are in excess of $1 million, including Winners Bet, who will start from post four in the 10th race as the 2-1 morning line favourite.
The Nancy Takter trainee, who is currently the eighth-ranked horse in the weekly Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown Standardbred Poll, is in the midst of a stakes streak having taken the Charlie Hill Memorial, Caesars Trotting Classic and Breeders Crown. Dexter Dunn, who guided six Breeders Crown winners three weeks ago at The Big M to give him the inside track on a fifth Dan Patch Driver of the Year Award in the last six years, will be in the sulky.
Periculum, the 5-2 second choice, is the leading money-winning horse in the older male trotting divisions this year with $1,007,905 earned, having hit the board in 12 of 15 seasonal starts, with his big victory coming in the Maple Leaf Trot. The Marcus Melander student, who will leave from post seven, will be driven by defending Dan Patch Driver of the Year Scott Zeron.
Steele Memorial winner M Ms Dream, off a third-place finish in the Breeders Crown Mare Trot, will start from post one at 5-1 for U.S. Hall of Fame driver Dave Miller and North American leading trainer Ron Burke.
Oh Well (Post 5, Todd McCarthy), the 2022 Mohawk Million champion, and Hillexotic (Post 6, Yannick Gingras), the 2023 Dayton Derby winner, round out the field’s quintet of seven-figure standouts. Warrawee Xenia (Post 2, Jason Bartlett) and Up Your Deo (Post 3, Ake Svanstedt) complete the lineup.
In addition to the dash with the five millionaires, there will also be three divisions of the New Jersey Garden State for trotters and two divisions of the Home Grown for pacers on Saturday’s card. Purses for the five dashes for two-year-olds total $258,000 USD. Two of the races will be non-wagering events and take place before the betting card. Post time is 5 p.m.
Racing continues at The Meadowlands every Friday and Saturday. Post time for the first race is 6:20 p.m., with the pre-game show at 5:45 p.m. The Meadowlands offers free programs on every race of every race card on its website.
If you like hand-to-hand combat involving some of the greatest to ever get inside the ring, then head to The Meadowlands on both Friday and Saturday this weekend to catch two huge watch parties in The Gallery. Friday is boxing night, as former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson, 58, will take on 27-year-old Jake Paul, an American YouTuber, actor and professional boxer. The main event takes place at 10 p.m. Saturday’s bout is part of UFC 309 as the main event will get underway at 10 p.m. The big fight of the night pits heavyweight champion Jon Jones against former title holder Stipe Miocic.
(With files from Meadowlands Racetrack)