Hambletonian Day handle sets record

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – Hambletonian Day handle established a new record in the 10-year history of the new grandstand at The Meadowlands, as a total of $7,805,779 was pushed through the windows on the 16-race program Saturday, by far a 2023 harness racing industry high.

“We are so pleased and proud of this milestone,” said Big M Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Jason Settlemoir. “The handle, the crowd that we had at the track, the national television exposure we got from being shown on FOX SPORTS, all of these things made for yet another great Hambletonian Day at The Meadowlands.”

A year ago, total handle was $7,656,055. All betting numbers shown reflect North American wagering only.

Betting on The Hambletonian itself was up considerably from a year ago as $1,099,034 was put in play, a 12 percent increase over 2022.

Betting for the year is ahead of 2021, when average daily handle was just a hair more than $3 million per card. Thus far this year, a total of $203,794,252 has been bet on Meadowlands’ races, good for an average per card of $3,234,829.

A LITTLE MORE: Yannick Gingras’ 104 wins and Ron Burke’s 85 led the driver and trainer standings, respectively, at the Winter-Spring Championship meet, which began on Jan. 6. … The Meadowlands will go dark for three weeks before resuming with live harness racing on Friday, Sept. 1. … Simulcasting will continue daily.

by Dave Little, for The Meadowlands