Big tickets cashed at Meadowlands

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – The Meadowlands harness racing fans were seen cashing some big tickets during the month of September, and those who collected used the track's three smallest based-bet wagers to do it.

The 20-cent Pick-6, offered nightly on races three through eight, returned an average of $4,113 during September, while the 20-cent Pick-5, which can be played both on races one through five and nine through 13, came back $477 for 20 cents and $2,388 for one dollar.

The new non-jackpot 10-cent Pentafectas, offered on races five and 13, have returned an average of $794.

Those five wagers, along with the Big M's popular 50-cent Pick-4s, which are available on races six through nine and 10 through 13, make up the track's "Magnificent 7", wagers which offer a low 15 percent takeout.

"You don't need a big bankroll to play at The Meadowlands," said Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Jason Settlemoir. "Given the low minimums and low takeout, we have made it possible to play all of these wagers and get a greater return when you win. The action starts with the Early 20-cent Pick-5 on the first race, with multi-race wagers in every race – except the last race – the home of the 10-cent Pentafecta, the ultimate "get out" bet. If our fans can't stay for the later races, they can wager early and watch the replays at home by going to this website: https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/WQTSC31JXKuL66lhg1HTG?domain=meadowlandseacetrack.com."

Increasing the September payoffs was a decrease in the percentage of winning favorites, as 36 percent clicked at The Big M over the eight race cards, eight percentage points lower than an average harness facility.

And even though the Kindergarten Classic for 2-year-olds, which conducted its opening two legs, did yield some mismatches (chalks won 55 percent of the time), that's always vital information for bettors who need "singles" to anchor their multi-leg wagers. (Thirty-two percent of public choices scored in overnight events.)

TODD TERRIFIC: No one at The Big M had heard of Todd McCarthy when the month began, but they sure have now. The 27-year-old younger brother of Andy McCarthy made a huge impact upon his arrival from Australia, topping the driver colony during September with 11 victories. Dexter Dunn was next with 10 followed by Tim Tetrick, who had nine.

Jenn Bongiorno, Tony Alagna and Ron Burke were tops among the trainers with six wins apiece.

YOU'LL LOVE IT AT LEX: Racing at Lexington, Kentucky's famed Red Mile starts this weekend, with six cards of top-flight stakes action to be contested the next two Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays with a 1 p.m. post time.

The Big M's own Dave Brower will handle post-race interviews and will partner up with the sport's popular jack-of-all-trades and leader of the #senditin army, Gabe Prewitt, for analysis of the races. Prewitt also serves as track announcer. For everything Red Mile, check out Prewitt on Twitter at @gabe_prewitt.

BRING YOUR CHECKBOOK: Smack in the middle of the two big weeks of racing at The Red Mile is the 2020 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale, which takes place from October 5-9 at the Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion in Lexington.

Given the new reality that is life in the era of COVID-19, hopeful bidders can go to lexingtonselected.com for all information, including how one can bid online or via phone.

"People can go to the website where there will be a link for the live stream of the sale," said Dave Reid, the President of Preferred Equine who serves as the co-sales manager at Lexington. "Obviously, 2020 has been challenging for everybody, and we are very fortunate that we will have a live venue. I think it's important for the industry to have a live in-person sale. We are looking forward to it, and hope to see more champions like Ramona Hill, Tall Dark Stranger, Venerate and Captain Barbossa, who all came out of this sale."

PREAKNESS NEXT: The third and final leg of thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown takes place Saturday in Baltimore with the running of the 145th Preakness from Pimlico Race Course.

The first of 12 races on the card gets underway at 11 a.m. The Preakness, which is race 11, goes to the starting gate at 5:36 p.m.

FREE STUFF: For free past performances, go to playmeadowlands.com, where one can access races nine through 13 for both Friday and Saturday's program. Those races include the 20-cent Late Pick-5, 50-cent Late Pick-4 and 10-cent Late Pentafecta, not to mention the Late Daily Double.

TWEET THE TEAM: Stay in touch on Twitter with the Big M's Brower (@eedoogie), Dave Little (@DaveLittleBigM), Ken Warkentin (@kenvoiceover) and Jessica Otten (@JessicaOtten1). Check in everyday for Meadowlands news and updates at those handles, as well as @TheMeadowlands and #playbigm.

CHECK OUT THE PICKS: For those who need to get a leg up on the action, go to playmeadowlands.com to see track oddsmaker and analyst Brower's selections and commentary. Click on this link to check out Friday's card: http://playmeadowlands.com/RaceReviews.aspx?racedt=10/2/2020

Additionally, track announcer Warkentin's blog is available on the site and offers his picks and analysis.

On race nights, access picks and plays from the Big M TV team at #playbigm or at @TheMeadowlands.

From The Meadowlands