After the last race was declared official this past Saturday night (February 7) at the Meadowlands Racetrack, thanks to there being more than one winning ticket, the track’s Jackpot Super Hi-5 Carryover pool swelled to $102,498.
Following a one-month period that saw the wager hit several times, the last-race jackpot has now gone unclaimed since Saturday, December 6, 2014.
Not only is the carryover pool continuing to grow, but the average pool size continues to increase as well. This past Saturday, the $36,193 wagered into the last race Jackpot Hi-5 was the largest single pool to date.
The wager has returned an average payout each night of over $1,000, thanks to 75 per cent of the pool being paid out each night and the industry-low eight per cent takeout rate.
“You can feel the momentum growing with this wager,” said the track’s director of racing operations, Darin Zoccali. “We are handling double in that pool what we were just two months ago. Obviously part of that is because the carryover is growing, but also because of the extremely low takeout rate and the fact that this wager returns more to our bettors on each night than any other jackpot wager.”
In addition, the fifth race Jackpot Super Hi-5 carryover stands at $16,540.98 heading into the Thursday program.
The feature race on Thursday night is Race 6, the second round of the Charles Singer Memorial Trotting Series with a purse of $15,000. Round 1 saw JL Cruze continue his supremacy with an impressive victory over his rival, Opulent Yankee. It was the third time in four tries that JL Cruze had defeated his foe. JL Cruze will has been named the 4-5 morning line favourite and will start from Post 2 with his usual pilot, John Campbell. Opulent Yankee is part of a three-horse entry, joining forces with Blocking The Way and Propulsion, an entry that has been established as a 2-1 second choice. Opulent Yankee will start from Post 4 with Andy Miller in the sulky.
In addition to the Jackpot Super Hi-5 carryovers, the Thursday night program features three guaranteed pools that continue to grow in average pool-size.
The 50-Cent Pick 5 begins in the first race, with an average pool of $53,457 coming into the Thursday program. On Saturday the wager yielded a payout of $11,356. The average Pick 5 payout in 2015 is $1,783 and has paid over $1,000 on six different occasions since the start of the new year.
The 50-Cent Early Pick 4 will kick off in Race 3. That average pool is now $50,339 with an average payout of $817. The 50-Cent Late Pick 4 will commence in Race 7, covering the last four races of the program. Last Thursday there was $75,299 wagered into the Late Pick 4 pool and this past Saturday there was $95,344 in the pool. The average Late Pick 4 pool stands at $72,962 with an average payout of $2,639. That wager has returned over $1,000 for the 50-cent minimum on eight occasions since the calendar turned to 2015.
Post time for the Thursday program is 7:15 p.m.
(With files from the Meadowlands)