While March 5 at the Meadowlands Racetrack so far has set the standard for U.S. harness racing in 2022 with a $3.8 million handle, the winning streak continued last weekend in East Rutherford as well.
The Friday night card produced another $3.2 million in wagers, marking the third time in the last four racing nights the mark was reached, and Saturday came within a whisker at $2.96 million.
“It was a very good weekend for the sport of standardbred racing,” Meadowlands Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Jason Settlemoir said of the March 4-5 results. “At the Meadowlands, many of our top drivers returned to action, and we also added a few minutes for each race, which created more space for other tracks to successfully spot their races between those at The Big M.
“This strategy worked extremely well. Compared to 2021, the result was a jump in handle of $600,000 at the Meadowlands Saturday night, along with increased business at [rival racetracks] Mohawk, Northfield, and Cal Expo last weekend. These are positive business trends everyone likes to see.”
Timing is everything
Every “strategic wager” from each track is identified by the logo in the results of the race. In addition, all exotic and multi-race wagers now include the minimum wager and the payouts based upon that minimum wager amount, any money that was added to the pool, any guarantee for the pool, the new money wagered into the pool, and any carryover that results from the bet not being hit.
“The U.S. Trotting Association Strategic Wagering initiative continues to knock it out of the park every night,” said Settlemoir of the extra information about exotic and multi-race bets. “The increased interest in these wagers under the initiative’s umbrella is undeniable. Our Saturday card was highlighted by our low-takeout wagers, like the 50-cent Pick-4, which averaged over $111,000, plus a $58,000 20-cent Pick-6 pool.”
A single-race season’s best of $380,544 was wagered at the Meadowlands on race six on March 5, with $108,586 of that on the 50-cent Pick-4. The seventh, eighth, and ninth races saw $311,820; $371,995; and $293,481 pushed through the windows, respectively, for a total of $1.4 million over the four races, with an average of $339,460 wagered per race.
The most popular bets did well, with the “Old Reliable” exacta taking in $1.1 million for the night, an average per race of $82,147 that was outdone only by the Pick-4. The trifecta saw $827,645 in wagers, while the 20-cent Survivor Pick-7, 20-cent Pick-6, and 20-cent Pick-5 combined for just under $140,000 in play for the night.
Wagering per race on the big night of March 5 was $288,878, which was an increase over the last two corresponding Saturdays. In 2021, betting on the first Saturday in March was $3.1 million for an average of $238,676, while in 2020, $2.8 million was put in play per average night, good for an average of $218,863.
Photo courtesy of Meadowlands Racetrack
