The Hambletonian and harness racing reached a massive audience when Meadowlands officials helped ring the closing bell at the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square on Wednesday.
The ceremony was televised live on several financial television networks, reaching a worldwide audience. In addition, a video highlighting the Hambletonian was aired for one hour on the MarketSite’s seven-story video screen in the middle of Times Square. The bell-ringing ceremony was arranged through a partnership with ARK Restaurants, a Nasdaq-listed company that provides the food and beverage service at the Meadowlands.
“I don’t know if The Hambletonian or our sport has received this type of publicity in a long time,” said Jason M. Settlemoir, COO/GM of the Meadowlands. “I have to thank Justin Horowitz for arranging this whole event and our partners at ARK for supporting our desire to promote harness racing to a worldwide audience.”
After the bell ringing ceremony, Settlemoir and Horowitz participated in a Facebook Live chat hosted by Nasdaq on its Facebook page that has more than 621,000 likes. The chat focused on horse ownership and the prestige of the Hambletonian. The video may be viewed here.
The Hambletonian is also getting attention thanks to a huge billboard in Manhattan at Seventh Avenue & 49th Street. The billboard has visibility from Central Park and should receive more than six million impressions during the week leading up to the Hambletonian.
Hambletonian Day is Saturday, August 6 with a 12:00 p.m. post time. Live network televisions coverage of the Hambletonian, Hambletonian Oaks, and U.S. Pacing Championship will air from 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
(with files from The Meadowlands)