Hambo handle just shy of $7.5 million

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – Total handle on the 16-race Hambletonian Day harness racing card Saturday at The Meadowlands totaled $7,464,087, up slightly over 2024, when $7.427 million was pushed through the windows in North America.

“And after the foreign entities are added to the total, our Hambletonian Day handle figures to be in excess of $8 million for a fourth straight year,” said Big M Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Jason Settlemoir.

A crowd of 17,696 jammed into the mile oval as on-track betting totaled $851,826, an increase over last year of 8.2 percent.

“Great weather and the usual great Hambletonian Day card led to a big day of wagering on-site,” said Settlemoir. “We appreciate our faithful fans, and, of course our horsemen and staff for putting on another great show.”

Wagering on the Hambletonian itself saw a slight increase as well, as $1,172,046 was wagered on the 100^th edition of America’s Trotting Classic, an uptick of 5 percent over 2024.

THEY’RE THE TOPS: Brett Beckwith and Jeff Cullipher walked away with top driver and trainer honors, respectively, at the Winter-Spring-Championship meet that drew to a close after the last race on Hambletonian Day.

Beckwith, 22, became the youngest driver ever to top the Big M pilot’s colony. His 92 wins were far ahead of runner-up Dave Miller, who guided 68 horses to victory lane.

Previously, the youngest driver to walk away with a title was a 24-year-old John Campbell, who wore the belt in 1979.

Cullipher’s total of 41 wins were four more than second-place finisher Ron Burke.

A LITTLE MORE: In a departure of what usually takes place after Hambo Day, racing will continue at The Big M on a Friday-Saturday basis through Sept. 13. Post time will be the normal 6:20 p.m.

There will be two exceptions. Due to preseason football at MetLife Stadium, there will be no live action on Saturday, Aug. 16, and Friday, Aug. 22.

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

by Dave Little, for The Meadowlands