EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ (January 28, 2016) – The winter meet at the Meadowlands has always offered handicappers some of the most attractive wagering opportunities of the season. A look at the numbers so far in 2016 show that this year has provided some of the most competitive races not only in harness racing, but also when compared to the major thoroughbred tracks.
Post-time wagering favorites have won just one-third of the races at the Meadowlands so far in 2016, winning 28 of 85 races contested. That 33-percent strike rate, a major factor that determines racing competitiveness, is actually lower than the winning favorite percentage at five of the premier thoroughbred tracks in the country – Santa Anita, Laurel Park and Fair Grounds (35%), Gulfstream Park (36%), and Aqueduct (38%).
"It is obvious we are getting some thoroughbred players to cross over right now," said Meadowlands CEO/GM Jason M. Settlemoir. "33 percent winning favorites this year compares favorably with all the great thoroughbred tracks. We went head to head with NFL football, Winter Storm Jonas and a billion dollar Powerball drawing and still averaged $3,018,024 per night in total handle and $213,036 in per race handle in January."
The nightly average handle of more than $3 million makes the Meadowlands the most popular nighttime wagering product of any breed. Additionally, the Meadowlands consistently offers the largest wagering pools and field sizes in harness racing. For example, the average exacta pool is $61,448 and trifecta pool is $45,040. These two factors are major drivers of handle amongst serious horseplayers.
"Our field sizes of 9.68 horses a race, our large exotic pools and our great finishes have demonstrated that competitive harness racing can still captivate the night time gambling audience," said Settlemoir. "After football concludes in two weeks, we think a segment of players that watch football and play fantasy sports will start watching and playing The Meadowlands."
Those interested players have easy access to the Meadowlands product thanks to a successful partnership with TVG, known as America's Horse Racing Network. Racing at the Meadowlands is featured prominently on the television network that is available in more than 30 million homes nationwide and accepts wagers on the Meadowlands via its advance deposit wagering platform.
Free deluxe program pages for the late Pick Four every racing night with an average pool size of $65,034 are complimentary and available courtesy of Track Master at www.ustrotting.com and www.playmeadowlands.com.
Live racing takes place Friday and Saturday nights with 14-race programs beginning at 6:35 p.m.
For more information, visit www.playmeadowlands.com.
Friday Night
