For the last several years, the Meadowlands Racetrack has had a ‘Big 3’ in its driver colony. Yannick Gingras, David Miller and Tim Tetrick have won many of the races – especially stakes events – at the ‘Big M,’ but thus far in 2019, there are several new names in play when handicappers seek to use a top-three pilot.
Gingras’ name is still there. The 39-year-old, who, in 2018 saw his horses earn in excess of $11 million for a ninth-straight season, was the leading driver at the Meadowlands during January with 15 winners. ‘The Green Hornet’ buzzed to the head of the class on the wings of a seven-win stand last week (Jan. 25-26) over the course of the two-card race week.
Next up at 14 wins is a newcomer to the Big M, New Zealand native Dexter Dunn. The 29-year-old has proven to Meadowlands’ fans that he can drive at a high level. During the eight Big M racing programs in January, Dunn guided top mare pacers Delightfulmemphisn and OK Heavenly to a pair of wins each. He also won twice with gelded conditioned pacer Rough Odds, most recently (on Jan. 26) from well off the pace on a night where the front end is where one wanted to be.
Rounding out the top three is ultra-steady Andy Miller, 50, whose 13 January scores were good for third in the standings. The King of Freehold’s driver colony won twice in January at the Big M with top conditioned pacer Odds On Lauderdale, and guided K Ryan Bluechip to victory lane in the Big M’s weekly pacing feature, the Preferred Handicap, on Jan. 5 in 1:50.4.
For shrewd handicappers who follow the money, they knew to follow Eric Carlson. Carlson’s nine January victories (which tied him for fourth in the standings with Corey Callahan) may not have had the quantity of the top three, but they did have big-time quality, and then some.
Carlson’s ROI (return on investment) was an amazing 213 per cent, meaning for every $100 you bet on a Carlson-driven horse, you got back your principle plus $113 more.
Fans of the 43-year-old Michigan native had a party on Jan. 12 when Carlson guided 83-1 shot Smileandsaycheese to the winner’s circle. He proved one week earlier to have an aptitude for winning with longshots when he and Whittaker N reported home first at odds of 27-1.
BURKE WINS SIX: Trainer Ron Burke was on fire last week, scoring three times on Friday (Jan. 25) and Saturday (Jan. 26). All six of Burke’s winners were driven by his go-to Gingras.
Erv Miller had a superb January. His 10 starts produced an in-the-money percentage of 90, a positive ROI of 28 per cent and earnings per start of $5,203.
Miller pulled off a rare training ‘feature race double’ two weeks ago. On Friday (Jan. 18), he took the Preferred Handicap for trotters with Trolley before following that up the next night with Geez Joe, who won the Preferred Handicap for pacers.
PICK-4 POPULAR AS EVER: Last weekend, the Big M’s 50-Cent Pick-4 wager saw something it hadn’t yet seen at the current meeting, which got underway Oct. 12.
For the first time, the total wagered on the bet with the $50,000 guarantee and low 15 per cent takeout, topped $100,000 for consecutive race cards. On Friday (Jan. 25), $100,658 was pushed through the windows before a total of $104,363 was put in play the following night.
Free program pages for the Pick-4 are available at playmeadowlands.com and ustrotting.com.
Live racing takes place at the Meadowlands this Friday (Feb. 1) and Saturday (Feb. 2). Post time is 7:15 p.m.
SWIPE AND SCORE: Come on out to the Meadowlands on Friday (Feb. 1) and win some cash.
Players Club Members are urged to swipe their Players Club cards and win a betting voucher worth up to $500. Prizes range from $2 to $500. Voucher will print after the first swipe, and there is one swipe per person.
If you are not a club member, get in touch with James Johnston ([email protected]) or any Players Club representative to sign up.
WIN A 50” TV: On Saturday (Feb. 2), a pair of 50” Smart TVs and one 32” TV will be taken home by some lucky on-track patrons. Entry forms can be found in the live harness program or at the Players Club Desk.
THE BIG GAME: Could there be $100 million in wagers placed in the State of New Jersey on Pro Football’s Big Game on Sunday (Feb. 3)? Could be. Get in on the action at the Meadowlands’ FanDuel Sports Book, which will have the point spread and over/under action as well as an amazing abundance of prop bets on the game that kicks off at 6:30 p.m. between the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams.
Catch – and get – the action at the Meadowlands.
(Meadowlands Racetrack)