The percentage of winning favourites at the Meadowlands Racetrack currently stands at 32, one of the lowest in the country for Thoroughbred or harness racetracks, and last week, the Pick 10 Survivor Wager, which is growing in popularity among fans given its 20-cent base cost, returned $5,135 on Friday night and $8,301 one night later.
Last weekend, the Pick 5 pool averaged almost $47,000 over Friday and Saturday night, and on Saturday, $8,067 was the payoff on the bet, which has a 50-cent base. The Late Pick 4, which also has a base of a half-dollar, had its pool reach almost $73,000 on Saturday night and sent one punter home with a nifty payout of $20,607.
“We have set some pretty lofty goals for 2018. I would like to see the nightly average on the Survivor wager grow to over $25,000, the Pick 5 $50,000 and the Pick 4 $75,000, but my main goal is returning back to the basics,” said track chief operating officer and general manager Jason Settlemoir. “I think for too long we have tried to do too much. We have to get back to understanding exactly what our core customers want while trying new marketing ideas and initiatives to bring new customers and groups into our building.
“As the horse shortage continues to get worse over the coming years, we will keep trying our best to field full cards. We may have to cut back on the number of races each night, but we would like to give our customers the fullest and most competitive fields possible. I also want to take this time to wish our customers, employees, horsemen and women – along with our loyal supporters – a very happy holiday season.”
Post time at the Meadowlands this Thursday remains at 7:15 p.m. and will switch to 6:35 p.m. (EST) on Friday, December 22. The new earlier post time will be in effect through Saturday, February 24, 2018.
(Meadowlands)