Big M racing returns with a bang this Saturday

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – After The Meadowlands takes a break for the holiday – there is no harness racing or simulcasting on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day – live action will return to The Big M with a bang this Saturday (Dec. 26) night with a gigantic 15-race program that will begin at the track’s new early post time of 6 p.m.

Like a true holiday feast, the card comes with all the trimmings. All 15 races have full 10-horse fields and the track’s betting menu offers all the goodies Big M players have grown accustomed to, with a 20-cent Pick-5 (race one), 20-cent Survivor Pick-7 (race three), 20-cent Pick-6 (race eight), 10-cent Pentafecta (race 15) and a pair of 50-cent Pick-4s (beginning in races six and 10). Both Pick-4s will have guaranteed pools of $50,000 and all the wagers offer a low 15 percent takeout.

The wagering on the card figures to be fast and furious since the last two Saturday programs were compromised: Two weeks ago by heavy fog – which left all of who watched a limited view of the first eight races – and last week by an electrical malfunction that caused the cancelation of the entire 13-race card.

“The Saturday card features 15 full 10-horse fields,” said Big M Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Jason Settlemoir. “Which will give horseplayers many chances for the big score. The one-mile oval makes it possible for all vertical and horizontal players to shoot for the moon.

“We think our product will do extraordinarily well this winter with our new 6 p.m. post time, which will be in effect through mid-March. We are hopeful that The Meadowlands with full fields and low takeout can cultivate even more horseplayers from around the world to wager on our signal.”

Not only will harness fans get to overindulge on the races from the mile oval, but Thoroughbred fans will get an excellent nosh as well, as the day after Christmas The Big M will offer simulcasting of the Opening Day card from Arcadia, California’s Santa Anita Park. The 11-race program – which features five graded stakes events – has a post time of 2 p.m.

FREE PPs: For free past performances of Meadowlands races, courtesy of the United States Trotting Association and TrackMaster, go to playmeadowlands.com.

Races 10 through 13 – the entire Late 50-cent Pick-4 – will be available for Saturday’s card.

TWEET THE TEAM: Stay in touch on Twitter with the Big M’s Dave Brower (@eedoogie), Dave Little (@DaveLittleBigM), Ken Warkentin (@kenvoiceover), Shades Demsky (@shadesonracing) 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 the “handicapping” tab and go to “race reviews”.

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.

CHECK OUT THE SHOW: Be sure to watch the live “Racing from The Meadowlands” pre-game show, which will now begin on race nights at 5:27 p.m.

On Saturday night, The Big M’s “A” team of Brower and Little will talk about what’s going on in harness racing and take a look at that evening’s featured races from the Sam McKee Memorial Broadcast Set while Demsky will be the featured handicapper on the live presentation on the Television Games Network (tvg.com) all night long.

CAN’T MAKE IT TO THE TRACK? There are several options for those who would rather catch the action from The Big M at home.

Racing fans can watch all the races live on the Roberts Television Network (rtn.tv). In addition, they can watch and wager by going to the Television Games Network (tvg.com) or their favorite Advance-deposit Wagering site (ADW).

THE MEADOWLANDS SCHEDULE: There is no live racing on Christmas Day, Friday, Dec. 25.

There will be live racing Saturday, Dec. 26, with a post time of 6 p.m.

In addition, The Big M will be closed for simulcasting on both Dec. 24 and 25.

HOLIDAY AT FANDUEL: Football fans can get their fill at the FanDuel Sportsbook, located just inside the main entrance at The Meadowlands.

On Saturday (Dec. 26), there will be four college football games that handicappers can play, and, in addition, the National Football League will have three contests: At 1 p.m., Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-9½) travel to Detroit to take on the Lions; Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals (-5½) host the San Francisco 49ers at 4:30 p.m. before the final game of the day kicks off at 8:15 p.m. when Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins (-3) travel to Sin City to take on the Las Vegas Raiders.

This week for the Christmas holiday, there will be some changes to the schedule at the FanDuel Sports Book.

On Dec. 24, bets will be taken until 6 p.m. The book will be closed on Christmas Day, Dec. 25.

During a normal week, hours in the track’s FanDuel Sports Book are from 10 a.m. – midnight Sunday through Friday and from 10 a.m. – 2 a.m. on Saturday.

Dave Little