November continues to bring good returns to both Meadowlands’ regulars and management, as for a fourth consecutive year, business has shown gains during the 11th month on the calendar.
All-source handle averaged a not-too-shabby $2,110,835 during November of 2018, but business has improved every year since, as 2019 saw an average of $2,390,320, $2,510,807 in ’20, $2,534,332 in ’21, before this year’s $2,757,205.
The last live racing night of the month was the best in terms of handle, when $3,398,962 was put in play on the brilliant 14-race program that made up “Fall Final Four/TVG Championships Night” on Saturday, Nov. 26.
“The industry has seen enormous progress since the horse racing bill was passed in 2019,” said Jason Settlemoir, Meadowlands' Chief Operating Officer and General Manager. “Everyone in the industry owes a resounding thank you to Gov. Phil Murphy and the members of the New Jersey State Legislature.
“At The Meadowlands, we have the biggest pools and low takeouts. Combine that with competitive racing featuring 10-horse fields, that leads to bigger payouts, which is what our fan base craves. Last weekend, just 10 favourites scored from 28 races. The price of many things are going up these days, but a win bet still costs just $2, the same as when we opened the doors at The Big M in 1976.”
The fans came out in droves on Saturday, and why not? The Fall Final Four saw the best two-year-olds in the sport go at it, while the TVG events brought out the game’s greatest aged stars, including a pair of fan favourites – Atlanta and Bulldog Hanover – who called it a career.
Atlanta’s list of accomplishments are plentiful:
- Co-fastest female trotter in history with a time of 1:49 (tied with Manchego);
- Co-holder of the track record at The Meadowlands, 1:49.1. (tied with Ecurie D DK, which makes her the fastest female in Big M history);
- Fourth-richest female trotter in history, $3.8 million;
- In 2018, she became the first filly in 22 years to beat the boys in the Hambletonian and was named the Dan Patch Award Trotter of the Year;
- She added a Dan Patch Award plus an O’Brien Award in 2019 as the top trotting mare in the U.S. and Canada;
- Her two-dozen Grand Circuit wins include the 2018 Kentucky Filly Futurity as well as victories over male rivals in the 2020 Maple Leaf Trot, Allerage Open Trot, Dayton Derby and Cutler Memorial plus the 2019 Graduate Series final and Charlie Hill Memorial. She also won two editions of the Armbro Flight (2019 and 2022) and the Allerage Mare Trot (2021 and 2022).
The game’s biggest star, Bulldog Hanover, went out on top, pacing a back half in :53.1 on the way to an easy 1:47.3 score in the TVG Open Pace Saturday, his 14th win of the 2022 from just 16 outings. Some other highlights include:
- Fastest mile in history with a 1:45.4 clocking in the William Haughton Memorial at The Meadowlands on July 16, 2022;
- Co-holder of the fastest mile in Canadian history of 1:46.4, which he accomplished twice, most recently in the Breeders Crown at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Oct. 29, 2022;
- Has four of the nine fastest race miles in history and a total of six wins in sub-1:47 (Allywag Hanover is next with three);
- His 2022 wins include the TVG Open Pace, Breeders Crown, William Haughton, Canadian Pacing Derby, Dan Patch and Graduate Series final;
- Unbeaten at The Meadowlands this year (five-for-five);
- Bred 79 mares this year prior to racing;
- Jack Darling bought the horse for $28,000 at the 2019 Standardbred Horse Sale. Brad Grant bought into the horse in 2021.
But ‘Bulldog’ was just one of eight winners on the big night at The Big M. The others were:
- Ecurie D DK in the TVG Open Trot. The Ake Svanstedt trainee capped a season that saw him win just three races (the Cutler, Breeders Crown and TVG), yet that should be enough to take home divisional hardware.
- Grace Hill upset defending U.S. Horse of the Year Test Of Faith in the TVG Mares Pace. The Virgil Morgan Jr. student also surprised Test Of Faith in the Breeders Crown.
- Bella Bellini, who finished the year as the second-ranked horse in the Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown Top 10 Poll, was an easy winner in the TVG Mares Trot (Atlanta was fourth in her final career start).
- El Rey exploded home to take the Governor’s Cup (two-year-old male pace).
- Volume Eight followed up his 8-1/4-length romp in the Kindergarten with an easy score as the 3-5 favourite in the Valley Victory (two-year-old male trot).
- Zanatta did what she did in her elim – track the leaders – before gunning them down in the Three Diamonds (two-year-old filly pace).
- Bond concluded her marvelous season with an easy speed score in the Goldsmith Maid (two-year-old filly trot).
The Meadowlands always offers its faithful opportunities to hit big despite bets that have small base wagers.
On Friday, Nov. 25, the eighth-race 20-cent Pick-6 returned $6,101; third-race 20-cent Survivor Pick-7 paid $5,883; third-race 10-cent Superfecta paid $3,475; and 12th-race 10-cent Hi-5 paid off $5,471.
On Saturday, Nov. 26, the eighth-race 20-cent Survivor Pick-7 paid $5,432 and seventh-race 10-cent Superfecta returned $1,100.
Harness racing’s biggest pools are at The Meadowlands, and that was on display last weekend when Friday’s 20-cent Pick-6, with the help of a double carryover, had a total pool of $139,648. The 50-cent Pick-4s took in plenty of green on Saturday, when $135,275 and $106,590 were pushed through the windows on the first and second Pick-4s, respectively.
The final Thursday card of the year at The Big M takes place tonight (Dec. 1). Post time is 6:20 p.m.
Moving forward, racing at The Meadowlands will be conducted on a Friday-Saturday basis through the end of the year, with a first-race post time of 6:20 p.m. There are two exceptions on the schedule, as there will be no live racing on Dec. 23-24.
Every live racing night, the “Racing from The Meadowlands” pregame show begins at 5:45 p.m. Join Dave Little and Jessica Otten, who will have news, notes and previews of the upcoming card.
(With files from Meadowlands)