Action on a roll at Big M, Betting tops $3.6m

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – Faithful fans of The Meadowlands product produced another huge night of harness racing action at mile oval, as for a third consecutive Saturday betting topped the $3.6-million mark.

All-source wagering on the 15-race card totaled $3,646,603.

Just like one week ago (Jan. 2), a big first race guaranteed 20-cent Pick-5 pool set the tone for the night. The wager carried not only a $100,000 pool promise but had a $25,000 seed as well, which was provided by track management and the Standardbred Owners Association of New Jersey. In the end, the total P5 pool represented $195,759 of the $411,664 bet overall in the opener.

Play was steady all night long, as three times single-race totals exceeded the $300,000 mark. The track's Pick-4s were predictably popular with players, as a total of $180,909 was pushed through the windows on the two wagers.

Over the last three Saturdays, betting has totaled $11,927,330, an average per card of $3,975,776.

NO REGULAR JOE

Grizzled veteran Western Joe used a quick brush to grab the top before the half and flaunted his back class from there, crushing his foes in the featured $19,000 high-end conditioned pace.

The 7-year-old gelding by Western Ideal-Ante Fay, who is trained by Chris Choate, stopped the clock in 1:50 with Dave Miller driving to win for the 30th time from 97 career starts. His earnings now stand at $712,908.

As the 2-5 favorite, he returned $2.80 to his backers. Paduka N was 3¼ lengths back to finish second. Rockin The Aces was third.

Western Joe

THAT'S EIGHT, MATE

Driver Todd McCarthy capped a superb weekend with four winners on the card. The 27-year-old recent Australian transplant, who also won four times Friday night, was the key to the 20-cent Pick-5 payoff of $25,057, winning three times during the sequence, including a score at 29-1 with Effronte A in the fourth race.

THAT'S A HALF-DOZEN, COUSIN

Dave Miller matched McCarthy by winning four times Saturday after recording a driving double Friday.

Fans of "The Buckeye" will have to do without the Hall of Famers talents for a while, as Miller is now heading to Florida for the winter. He plans to do some driving at Pompano Park.

A LITTLE MORE

There was something for everybody during the races, as seven favorites clicked during the night while four winners were sent to the gate at odds of 11-1 or more. Marcus Miller guided two of those, scoring at 11-1 and 39-1. Three of those long shots scored in the 12th, 13th and 14th races, leading to a $1 Pick-3 that returned $2,858.00. … Free past performances for every race of every Meadowlands card are available at playmeadowlands.com. … Racing resumes Friday at 6 p.m.

By Dave Little, Meadowlands Media Relations