The Meadowlands has hosted some of the greatest races in the Standardbred sport for almost 50 years now, and that tradition will continue with The Big M's most anticipated dashes of the year coming up over the next several weeks as the track’s Championship Meet winds its way toward the finish line, culminating with Hambletonian Day on Aug. 3.
The countdown to the New Jersey mile oval’s signature event – The Meadowlands Pace – stands at 24 days, with eliminations seven days prior to that. The date for The Pace is July 13.
The Pace Night card has a laundry list of stakes. They are (with estimated USD purses): $700,000 Meadowlands Pace, $450,000 William R. Haughton Open Pace, $400,000 Hambletonian Maturity, $250,000 Stanley Dancer, $225,000 Del Miller Memorial, $200,000 Mistletoe Shalee, $175,000 Dorothy Haughton Open Mare Pace and $40,000 Miss Versatility Mare Trot (Leg 4).
“All of us at The Meadowlands love the big race cards,” said Jason Settlemoir, Meadowlands' Chief Operating Officer and General Manager. “But I’d also like to talk about all of the other things we offer every weekend here in East Rutherford, counting down to the greatest night in harness racing.
“As you may know, The Meadowlands has morphed into one of the most popular and safe outdoor and indoor entertainment venues in the metropolitan area. Within the perimeter lies the premiere sports betting facility of its type in the country, The FanDuel Sportsbook, which is the destination of many sports enthusiasts in the area.”
Golf fans watched and wagered as Bryson DeChambeau sank a challenging putt on the 18th hole on Sunday, June 16 to win the U.S. Open at Pinehurst. The next day, it was hoops lovers taking in all the action as the Boston Celtics won the NBA title for a record 18th time, as they completed a four-games-to-one series win over the Dallas Mavericks.
“The Meadowlands has been getting very nice crowds outside as the weather has been getting warmer,” said Settlemoir. “The crowds provide a great backdrop to the competitive racing we offer. That racing affords our players a chance to make big hits. Last Saturday, June 15, one lucky bettor took down the entire Pick-6 pool – which, helped by a carryover, totalled $26,880 – on a 20-cent bet.”
Like last week, the Graduate Series will sit atop The Meadowlands marquee this weekend, with four $50,000 USD dashes for four-year-olds – two for pacers and two on the trot – as leg three takes place on Saturday, June 22.
After taking next week off, the two $250,000 USD (est.) finals will take place on Saturday, July 6, when the Meadowlands Pace eliminations will also be contested.
In Saturday’s first trot, the Nancy Takter-trained Winners Bet (4-5 on the morning-line) seeks a second straight Graduate score. He’ll likely have to track down Ponda Jet (5-2) again, the Jay Hochstetler trainee who showed high speed from the start in his Big M debut a week ago before getting gunned down. Winners Bet’s mile time of 1:50 tied him as the fastest trotter of the year in the sport with Jiggy Jog S and Lexus Kody.
Hasty Bid (3-1), who provided three-time defending O’Brien Award-winning Driver of the Year James MacDonald one of his two Graduate victories, is off an upset, off-the-pace conquest for Takter of the Ake Svanstedt-trained Special Way (2-1), who is likely to go to the gate as the public choice for a second straight start.
The paces also have intriguing matchups.
Coach Stefanos (5-2) will seek a second straight Graduate win for Erv Miller in the first pace. He stopped the clock in a Big M season’s-best 1:47.3 a week ago, holding off the late charge of New Jersey Maturity winner Voukefalas (7-2).
No Control (5-1) pulled off a big upset at odds of 29-1 in the other pace, as the Tan Micallef student completed the mile in 1:47.3. He and Coach Stefanos now sit tied in the top spot as the fastest performers this year at The Big M.
You don’t have to be a horse aficionado to enjoy life at The Meadowlands. Last week was a barbeque lover’s dream, as the thick aroma of delicious food was in the air all night long. This Saturday, patrons will celebrate wine, as The Meadowlands presents its annual Winefest. Festival highlights include wines from around the globe and a performance from DJ ALX. To view the list of wineries and to buy tickets to the event, visit playmeadowlands.com.
Live racing takes place every Friday and Saturday at The Meadowlands with a first-race post time of 6:20 p.m. The Big M’s live “Racing from The Meadowlands” pre-game show begins every racing night at 5:45 p.m. Past performances for every race of every Meadowlands card are available free of charge on the track's website.
(With files from Meadowlands Racetrack; Photo of No Control winning his Graduate Series division on June 14)