All you need to know for Breeders Crown weekend

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – With last weekend’s (Oct. 22-23) 19 Breeders Crown Eliminations now in the rear-view mirror, all of harness racing is readying itself for what’s to come this Friday night (Oct. 29) and Saturday afternoon (Oct. 30), when 12 Crown Finals take place at The Meadowlands.

The Friday card has the four finals for 2-year-olds and a post time of 6:20 p.m. for the first of 13 races. The Crown events are slated for races six through nine.

On Saturday, there is a special early post time of noon for another 13-race card. Races four through 11 will see both the four events for 3-year-olds as well as the four-pack for older horses.

Harness racing’s year-end extravaganza, which always goes a long way toward determining Dan Patch divisional honors as well as Horse of the Year, returns to the industry’s No. 1 facility for the first time since 2016 and will dole out purses of just over $7.2 million by the time the dust clears Saturday.

EARLY BIRDS: Advance wagering for the Friday card will begin at 11 a.m. on Thursday (Oct. 28) while early betting for Saturday’s program will kick off at 11 a.m. on Friday (Oct. 29).

LISTEN FOR “THE VOICE”: The man on the microphone at The Meadowlands, Ken Warkentin, will welcome a well-known announcer into his booth on the roof for some Breeders Crown race calls over the weekend.

Roger Huston, the long-time announcer at the Delaware (Ohio) County Fairgrounds who last month called his 54^th Little Brown Jug, will be on hand to call four of the 12 Crown events over the weekend. Huston will announce the first two Crown races on both Friday and Saturday.

$200,000? THAT’S GRAND! Over the course of Breeders Crown Weekend, there will be gobs of guaranteed green up for grabs in The Big M’s most popular multi-leg wager.

The 50-cent Pick-4 – which will be offered beginning in races six and 10 on both Friday and Saturday – will sport a guaranteed pool of $50,000 all four times the bet is available.

Over the course of the weekend, bettors will get to swim in a low 15% takeout pool a dozen times.

In addition, a special Breeders Crown 20-cent Survivor Pick-7 – one that is comprised entirely of Breeders Crown events – will be offered on Saturday, as will mandatory payouts on the 20-cent Pick-5, 20-cent Pick-6, 10-cent Hi-5/Pentafecta as well the Pick-7. Meadowlands regulars should be aware that the Survivor Pick-7, which normally begins in race three, will start in race four during Breeders Crown Weekend.

8 OUT OF 10 AIN’T BAD: The Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown Standardbred Poll that came out Tuesday sported a Top 10 that pretty much reads like the entries sheet for this weekend’s Breeders Crown.

Lyons Sentinel, Test Of Faith, Allywag Hanover, Venerable, Atlanta, Jujubee, Niki Hill, Hot Mess Express, Bella Bellini and Charlie May make up the Top 10, with eight of the horses racing at The Big M this Friday or Saturday.

It would have been nine, but Venerable went off stride last week, failing to qualify for her final. Hot Mess Express’ connections decided not to supplement their ineligible filly.

“The Breeders Crown will have all of the stars in the Standardbred universe competing at The Big M this weekend,” said track Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Jason Settlemoir. “Eight of the top 10 horses in our sport will be there, making their cases for year-end honors. For everyone that loves the sport, it should be a glorious weekend, watching and wagering on the greatest stars in the game.”

OTTEN OVERLOAD: The Breeders Crown will get plenty of live television exposure on Saturday, Oct. 30, as Fox Sports 2 (FS2) and SportsNet New York (SNY) will both provide extensive Breeders Crown Finals coverage.

FS2’s coverage will take place from 12:30-4 p.m. while SNY’s broadcast will go from 3-5:30 p.m.

Big M TV’s Jessica Otten will provide pre-race thoughts and post-race interviews on the telecast.

WATCH IT LIVE: All the Breeders Crown action can be viewed live on both the Meadowlands Facebook page and on The Big M’s YouTube channel.

GET IN THE GAME: The best way to experience the rush of racing on the track and at the windows is to go to The Meadowlands, but for those who can’t make the trip, they can still tune in and get their action.

One of the best ways to watch what’s happening at The Big M – as well as all other races at venues around the country and the world – is to get a subscription to Roberts Television Network. All you need to do is go to rtn.tv for an affordable way to bring the action to your desktop, laptop, TV, smartphone or other device.

A good way to get your bets in is to use the Television Games Network (tvg.com) or your favorite Advance Deposit Wagering (ADW) site.

TRICK OR TWEET: Everything Meadowlands and everything Breeders Crown is available by going on Twitter. You can check in with the Big M team for early changes, racing information and staff selections by going to @themeadowlands or #playbigm.

On race nights, stay in touch with Jessica Otten (@JessicaOtten1), Dave Brower (@eedoogie), Dave Little (@DaveLittleBigM), Ken Warkentin (@kenvoiceover), Shades Demsky (@ShadesOnRacing) and Edison Hatter (@Edison_1999_).

GET YA FREE PROGRAMS HERE! Talk about a great deal! Free program pages for every race of every Meadowlands race card are always available. Just go to playmeadowlands.com to access the no-cost past performances.

WHO DOES BROWER LIKE? For expert selections and analysis of every Big M card, check out track oddsmaker Dave Brower’s race reviews.

For Brower’s input, which is generally available 48 hours before every card, go to playmeadowlands.com, then click on the “handicapping” tab and go to “race reviews”.

READ UP ON THE CROWN: For extended coverage of all the Breeders Crown action both before and after the event, you can read all about it at the following websites: harnessracingupdate.com, drf.com/harness, standardbredcanada.ca and harnesslink.com.

FIRST CROWN, THEN CUP: The always popular simulcast of Thoroughbred racing’s Breeders’ Cup will take place at The Meadowlands on Friday, Nov. 5 and Saturday, Nov. 6.

The 14-race event – which will take place at California’s Del Mar Racetrack – will have five races Friday (post time, 2:55 p.m.; first BC race, 5:50 p.m.) before the final nine take place Saturday (post time, 1:15 p.m.; first BC race, 3:05 p.m.). The featured event – the $6-million Breeders’ Cup Classic – has a post time of 8:40 p.m.

BIG M, NYRA TEAM UP IN PICK-5 SATURDAY

The Meadowlands is once again joining forces with the New York Racing Association to offer an exciting wager on Saturday (Oct. 30), the 50-cent Cross Country Pick-5, which will include three Breeders Crown events.

The sequence will include three races from The Big M and two from Belmont Park. Players will be able to experience a quicker fix than usual with a five-leg bet, as the entire wager will be conducted from start to finish in just 90 minutes.

The sequence (with probable post times):

• Leg A: Meadowlands Race 7 (2:51 p.m.)
• Leg B: Meadowlands Race 8 (3:27 p.m.)
• Leg C: Belmont Race 7 (3:47 p.m.)
• Leg D: Meadowlands Race 9 (4:01 p.m.)
• Leg E: Belmont Race 8 (4:21 p.m.)

The partnership is nothing new to NYRA and The Meadowlands, as they teamed up for the same wager on Hambletonian Day. Last week proved that Cross Country Pick-5 players can make a score, as the payoff of $28,318 proves.

LIKE BETTING FOOTBALL? Of course, you do! And there’s no better place to do it than at the No. 1 facility of its kind in the country, the FanDuel Sportsbook, located in the Grandstand at The Meadowlands.

On Thursday (Oct. 28) night, the NFL is offering a marquee matchup of two of the league’s best teams – and best quarterbacks.

The Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers, winners of six in a row, travel to Arizona to take on the Cardinals and Kyler Murray, who at 7-0 are the only remaining unbeaten team in the league, in an 8:20 p.m. matchup.

The Cardinals are a 6½-point favorite who are -270 on the money line.

Will Murray throw for 272½ yards? You’ll get -110 if you think he will or he won’t.

The book is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m.-1 a.m.; Friday 10 a.m.-2 a.m.; Saturday 7 a.m.-2 a.m. and Sunday 8 a.m.-12 a.m.

For more information, call 877-689-0662.

From The Meadowlands