The future wager on the 94th edition of the Hambletonian at the Meadowlands Racetrack will open its third pool Friday (July 5) at 11 a.m.
This is the third of four pools opened in advance of the Hambletonian, which will be held Saturday, August 3 at the Meadowlands.
There are 199 trotting colts and fillies eligible for the $1 million Hambletonian and $500,000 Hambletonian Oaks, and with just a month left to the race, favourites have emerged on ‘The Road to Hambletonian.’
The first future wager poll closed with the Indiana-sired Swandre The Giant favoured at 2-1.
The second future wager pool closed with a drastic shift to the lightly-raced Greenshoe, whose two winning efforts in New Jersey Sire Stakes events were nothing short of dominant. The colt offered 3-5 odds at closing time.
Despite a head loss in the $500,000 Earl Beal Memorial on Saturday (June 29) by 57-1 shot Marseille, Meadowlands handicapper Dave Brower has still assigned Greenshoe, a son of Father Patrick-Designed To Be, the favourite’s role at 3-1. Greenshoe is one of three contestants from the powerhouse stable of Marcus Melander, joined by Gimpanzee (5-1) and Green Manalishi S (8-1), all owned by Anders Strom’s Courant, Inc.
Wagering will be available at racetrack and online sites throughout North America and internationally, and wagering for the first pool will close on Sunday, July 7 at 11 p.m.
The wager will be discussed at length on the Meadowlands’ weekend simulcast show. Real-time odds, pool data and updates on field participants for the 2019 Hambletonian wagers and current odds will be shown on various simulcast shows including at the Meadowlands Racetrack.
Though fillies have their own division in the $500,000 Hambletonian Oaks, several have started in the $1 million open event in recent years, most recently Atlanta, who became just the 14th filly to win a Hambletonian. The only filly not offered at ‘field’ odds is Evident Beauty, at 30-1. Trained by Richard ‘Nifty’ Norman, Evident Beauty is undefeated this season, with three straight wins in NJSS events at the Meadowlands.
The 14 horses assigned odds in the pool are listed in alphabetical order at the bottom of this story. The mutuel field, No. 15, will consist of all remaining horses eligible, including all fillies eligible to the Oaks. There are no coupled entries in the finals and no supplements are permitted to the Hambletonian or Oaks.
The minimum future wager is $1 and all future wagers are ‘win’ only. The winner of each pool will be determined by the official first-place finisher in the 2019 Hambletonian final heat.
The fourth and final pool will open on Thursday, August 1, after the entries and elimination heats are drawn, and will close at post time of the first elimination and/or heat of the Hambletonian on Saturday, August 3.
The Hambletonian Future Wager will be set-up in the tote system as one separate event.
Past performance lines for the Hambletonian eligible horses will be available free of charge on the Meadowlands website (playmeadowlands.com). All rules and updates can be found there and on hambletonian.com.
2019 Hambletonian Future Wagering
(Pool No. 3, in morning line order)
(HD-Horse-Morning Line Odds)
1. Greenshoe - 3-1
2. Gimpanzee - 5-1
3. Green Manalishi S - 8-1
4. Pilot Discretion - 10-1
5. Dont LetEm - 10-1
6. Forbidden Trade - 12-1
7. Super Schissel - 12-1
8. Marseille - 15-1
9. Swandre The Giant - 15-1
10. Southwind Avenger - 15-1
11. Soul Strong - 20-1
12. Osterc - 20-1
13. Mr. Vicktor - 30-1
14. Evident Beauty (f) - 30-1
15. Field (all other horses) - 15-1
The officials rules for the 2019 Hambletonian Future Wager can be accessed by clicking here.
(Hambletonian Society / Meadowlands Racetrack)