Officials with the Meadowlands Racetrack have released an overview of some of the wagering opportunities that will be available during this Saturday’s (August 3) Hambletonian Day program at the East Rutherford, New Jersey raceway.
The final of the 2019 Hambletonian, which is the 94th edition of the storied stakes, will feature a $1 million purse and is the richest race on North American soil for three-year-olds trotters. It will be the marquee event on the ‘Big M’s star-studded and stakes-laden program. The 16-race card will get underway at a special early post time of 12 noon.
“If you are hosting the greatest program in harness racing, it has to be the greatest program for the horseplayers as well,” said Meadowlands’ COO/GM Jason Settlemoir. “And with a plethora of low-takeout wagers along with carryovers and the biggest pools of the year, the Meadowlands has created enormous value for the horseplayer to wager on racing’s greatest stars on our biggest day.”
There will be six wagers on the program that could bring huge payoffs that will offer a low 15 per cent takeout:
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20-Cent Survivor Pick-6 (Race 1)
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50-Cent Pick-5 (Races 3-7) with a guaranteed pool of $50,000
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20-Cent Jackpot Super High-Five (Race 7), which has a carryover of $7,000 and will have an estimated pool of $25,000
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50-Cent Pick-4 (Races 8-11) with a guaranteed pool of $100,000
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20-Cent Jackpot Super High-Five (Race 11), which has a carryover of $53,000 and an estimated pool of $150,000
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50-Cent Pick-4 (Races 13-16) with a guaranteed pool of $50,000
The two Super High-Fives will not be offered on Friday night’s program. Both will be on the menu and paid out on Hambletonian Day.
“The 11th race on the card is the Hambletonian Oaks,” said Settlemoir. “And that $500,000 event will offer a $53,000 carryover on the Super High-Five. We will pay out more than the amount wagered to the winners if the final pool is under $400,000 given the carryover and the takeout. From a betting standpoint, that is the greatest value wager at any racetrack on Saturday and will bring added interest from racing fans around the world to wager on the Hambletonian program.”
In addition to the award-winning live in-house simulcast show that the Big M will send out all day long to outlets around the country and the world, the CBS Sports Network will present a live 90-minute telecast beginning at 4 p.m. with host Gary Seibel, the Communicators Hall of Famer and track announcer at Cal-Expo, and co-host Dave Brower, the lead TV personality at the Big M and author of the handicapping book ‘Harnessing Winners.’
CBSSN will televise three live races during its broadcast:
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$280,000 John Cashman Memorial for free-for-all trotters (4:10 p.m. post time)
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$500,000 Hambletonian Oaks for three-year-old trotting fillies (4:40 p.m.)
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$1 million Hambletonian for three-year-old trotters (5:14 p.m.)
For those not coming out to the track, free live streaming will be available on the Meadowlands Facebook Live page. It will also be available on the Roberts Television Network (rtn.tv), which is not a free service.
For those who want an expert opinion on the Friday and Saturday race cards, head to playmeadowlands.com for track oddsmaker and analyst Brower’s race reviews.
For free program pages of the 50-Cent Pick-4 that begins with Race 8 – which will include the 11th race 20-Cent Jackpot Super High-Five – head to ustrotting.com or playmeadowlands.com.
ONE LAST REMINDER: Friday’s race card gets underway at 7:15 p.m. and the Hambletonian Day program on Saturday gets started at noon.
MANDATORY PAYOUTS OF MEADOWLANDS JACKPOT SUPER HIGH FIVE WAGERS THIS SATURDAY
The Meadowlands Racetrack will offer horseplayers a rare opportunity this Saturday with mandatory payouts in the track’s two jackpot super high five wagers.
The Race 7 jackpot is $7,084.66 while the Race 11 jackpot is $53,519.54.
Both wagers have a 20-cent base wager and carry a 15 per cent takeout. On nights when there is no single winning ticket, 25 per cent of the net pool is added to the jackpot amount while 75 per cent of the net pool is paid out to the multiple winners.
Race 7’s mandatory payout race features a field of 12 pacers in the $230,200 Sam McKee Memorial.
Race 11’s mandatory payout is the $500,000 Hambletonian Oaks.
Saturday’s full card past performances are available here.
(With files from the Meadowlands Racetrack)