The Meadowlands Racetrack blew the doors off of its 2015 numbers in the first quarter of 2016, as the betting pools spiked to their highest levels in years.
Per-race handle has grown each month so far in 2016. It rose from $214,437 in January to $229,270 in February and $234,271 in March. The trend continued into the first weekend of April, with a total of $6,422,614 wagered on the two cards – an average of $267,609 per race. This represents a total increase of $1,176,689 over the corresponding weekend in 2015.
Comparing the 23 nights of racing in 2016 to the same 23 nights in 2015, the Meadowlands posted a 12 per cent increase in live handle through the first quarter of the year, a total increase of more than $7.7 million. The numbers were especially strong for the eight nights of racing in March, as handle increased more than $2 million compared to the same eight dates in 2015, despite five fewer races this year.
“The rising popularity of the Meadowlands right now is unquestionable,” said Meadowlands COO/GM Jason M. Settlemoir. “We have succeeded in significantly growing our audience. We also understand how much it means that an owner or horseplayer that cannot make it to the races now has the opportunity to go to a restaurant or pub with their friends and watch their horse win at the Meadowlands on national television. TVG has made that extraordinary social experience possible. The international TVG audience elevates the stature of not only the Meadowlands, but the State of New Jersey and the entire sport.”
Further breaking down the wagering trends by pool, it should come as no surprise that the low takeout wagers continue to be extremely popular with horseplayers. So far in April, the Late Pick Four has averaged $78,341 per night, while the Early Pick Four ($50,025) and the Pick Five ($49,111) are also among the top-five highest handling wagers. All three wagers offer the low takeout rate of 15 per cent and a base wager amount of 50 cents.
The vertical wagers have also grown in size in April. The exacta pools averaged more than $76,153 per race, while the trifecta pools averaged $59,444.
The straight win players have also been getting in on the action, as the average win pool grew to $48,413 last weekend. Ten-cent and 20-cent wagers are also growing rapidly. The 10-cent superfecta pools have grown to $39,970 per race in April, while the 20-cent Jackpot Super High Five offered on the final race of the night currently boasts harness racing’s largest carryover of $164,858.
The race office has continued to card full, competitive fields that offer the largest pools in the sport, even in the face of growing competition from regional tracks that offer purses supplemented by alternative gaming revenue. The percentage of winning favourites continues to be a respectable 38 per cent, putting the Meadowlands right in line with the top three Thoroughbred tracks currently racing (Aqueduct – 38 per cent; Gulfstream – 35 per cent; and Santa Anita – 37 per cent).
Meadowlands live racing takes place Friday and Saturday with 7:15 p.m. first-race post time each night. Free past performance pages are available each night for the Late Pick Four on the Meadowlands website.
(Meadowlands Racetrack)