When live harness racing makes its return to The Meadowlands this Friday (Oct. 22), there won’t merely be some ripples in the trotting and pacing waters, but rather a giant wave, as the Breeders Crown will make its long-awaited return to The Big M for the first time since 2016.
The Meadowlands’ Fall Championship Meeting kicks off Friday at 6:20 p.m. with eliminations for two-year-olds of each sex and gait in the spotlight. Then, less than 24 hours later, three-year-olds and older horses will take center stage on a Saturday (Oct. 23) elimination-laden card that has a special early post time of noon.
One week later, all 12 divisions for horses of all ages, sexes and gaits will compete for purses totalling $7.2 million over the course of the weekend. On Friday, Oct. 29 at 6:20 p.m., the four finals for two-year-olds will take place, then on Saturday, Oct. 30, a total of eight championship events will be contested on the mile oval, with the four races for three-year-olds and four dashes for the older horses topping the bill with a second consecutive early Saturday post time of noon.
“The Meadowlands has been the scene of many of the greatest Breeders Crown races in the history of the sport,” said track Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Jason Settlemoir, “and we are honoured and thrilled to kick off this incredible fall meet with the return of the 'Crown,' which begins a sensational five-week stretch, which includes the Kindergarten Finals [on November 13] before culminating with Fall Final Four/TVG Finals Night [on November 20].”
The Breeders Crown will get plenty of live television exposure on Saturday, Oct. 30, as Fox Sports 2 (FS2) and SportsNet New York (SNY) will both provide extensive Breeders Crown finals coverage.
FS2’s coverage will take place from noon-4:30 p.m. while SNY’s broadcast will go from 3-5:30 p.m.
Big M TV’s Jessica Otten will provide pre-race thoughts and post-race interviews on the telecast.
Free program pages for every race of every Meadowlands race card are always available. All one has to do is go to playmeadowlands.com to access the no-cost past performances.
One of the more exciting wagers at The Meadowlands is the 50-cent Pick-4, and fans of the popular perplexing puzzle will get to shoot for a nice pot, as each of the two times the bet is offered this weekend – beginning in Race 9 – there will be a guaranteed pool of $50,000.
Here are the popular Meadowlands wagers that offer a low 15 per cent takeout on a nightly basis:
Race 1: 20-cent Pick-5
Race 3: 20-cent Survivor Pick-7
Race 6: 20-cent Pick-6
Race 9: 50-cent Pick-4
Race 12: 10-cent Hi-5/Pentafecta
Bettors should be aware that this weekend, the programs have 12 races, instead of the usual 13.
(With files from Meadowlands Racetrack)