Play Meadowlands Finals held Friday

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – Newell Place (Andover Hall-Gillovny Hanover) remained in tip-top form Friday (Dec. 16) while completing a two-race sweep of the Play Meadowlands Series after hitting the wire first in the co-featured $14,000 harness racing final for trotters (non-winners of $3,000 division).

A 4-year-old mare, Newell Place notched her third win in her last six starts while hitting the board for a seventh consecutive outing. The John Calabrese trainee was driven to victory by Troy Beyer in 1:55.1. As the 4-5 favorite, Newell Place paid $3.60 in winning for the 12^th time from 52 lifetime attempts.

NEWELL PLACE REPLAY

Chiplosive (Explosive Matter-Brooke Blue Chip) pulled off a mild upset (the 4-1 second choice returned $10.80 while winning the $15,000 Play Meadowlands final for trotters of a higher caliber (non-winners of $5,000 division).

The 7-year-old gelding was piloted by Matthew Athearn for trainer Maria Alvarez to victory in 1:53.4.

CHIPLOSIVE REPLAY

NO WINNERS: One of these nights, the 20-cent Pick-8 is going to get hit at The Meadowlands, and when it does yield a ticket or tickets with eight correct selections, the payout is going to be one of the best values in all of harness racing.

On Friday night at The Big M, the Pick-8, which had gone unhit for five straight programs, started with a carryover of $35,785, which motivated bettors to pump just over $17,000 of “new money” into the pool, for a grand total of $53,103.

Sure, it’s nice to go for a pot of $50,000, but that’s not where the value is in this case. The Pick-8 is one of eight wagers at the mile oval with a low 15 percent takeout, but since carryovers are not subject to the tariff, Friday’s Pick-8 – had it been hit – would have paid out an astounding 292 percent to those cashing tickets.

There wasn’t much drama as to whether the wager would carry over again, as there were no live tickets after three legs. Those with six correct collected $1,225.16 at the conclusion of the sequence.

Saturday night, the Pick-8, now unhit for six straight cards, will begin with a carryover of $46,811. How much in new money will be pushed through the windows figures to be in the $35,000-$45,000 range.

In the event there is $40,000 in new money bet, $6,000 would go to the takeout, leaving $34,000 to be added to the carryover, which would result in a total pool of $80,811, which would be good for a return to the player of 202 percent.

“It was these kinds of scenarios that we were hoping for when we started the Pick-8,” said track Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Jason Settlemoir of the wager that kicked off on Oct. 20. “And when you consider the 20-cent base bet this wager has, it creates an opportunity for players with bankrolls of any size to take a shot at making a score in a pool that has a remarkable negative takeout.”

A LITTLE MORE: Despite only one horse during the sequence paying off at odds higher than 4-1, the 20-cent Pick-5 returned $4,345.80 thanks to Doctor Butch and driver William Clark, who won the fourth race (a Meadowlands Amateur Driving Club event) at odds of 18-1. … Johnathan Ahle led the driver colony with three winners on the night, including Ithaca Hanover, who returned $40.80 in the 14^th race. … Alvarez topped the trainers with two walks down victory lane. … All-source handle on the 14-race card totaled $2,538,718. … Racing resumes Saturday at 6:20 p.m.

For complete race results, click here: US Trotting results.

by Dave Little, for the Meadowlands