This Friday (June 20) night at The Meadowlands is one for the bettors, as a monster 20-cent Pick 5 pool – the result of a Saturday night carryover – as well as the sixth edition of the track’s Monthly Handicapping Challenge will get the weekend off to a rollicking start. The Pick-5 pool has the potential to be enormous. The only other time there has been a carryover in the Pick 5 during 2025, a total of $183,943 of “new money” was poured into the pot on Jan. 25 chasing a carryover of $28,744 for a grand total of $212,687. That night, the Pick 5 saw a sequence where the winner's odds were 6-1, 17-1, 3-2, 13-1 and 1-5, with winning tickets being exchanged for $2,787.26. “The low minimum bet of 20 cents allows players to spread their tickets, so quite a few of our players had that last carryover Pick 5,” said Big M Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Jason Settlemoir. “When you have a carryover situation like this, where the pool figures to be in the $200,000 range, all of our players get excited. And since the Pick 5 begins with race one, it engages all of our players from the start of the card and should create some good action on our 50-cent Pick 4s, which begin in races six and 10, respectively.” The Pick 5 carryover heading into Friday night is $22,989. The carryover was set up by three bombs that went off at the start of the card on June 14. Races one through three were taken by 10-1, 70-1 and 19-1 shots, respectively, meaning that even after the sequence concluded with a 9-5 and a 7-2, a sizable carryover was assured. The 20-cent Pick-5 is offered nightly on races one through five. GET YOUR PENCILS READY: The sixth edition of the 2025 Meadowlands Monthly Handicapping Contest takes place on Friday (June 20), and offers players a chance to win a share of $1,000 in prize money. Contest format: · Contestants must be on-site to participate · Contestants must buy a $100 betting card to participate · Contestants must bet a minimum of five Meadowlands races · There is no minimum or maximum bet per race · Contestants can play any wager(s) on The Meadowlands live wagering menu · Contestants keep all pari-mutuel winnings · Contestants can enter as many times as they wish · The top two finishers earn spots in the $10,000 end-of-the-year contest Remaining contest schedule: · Friday, June 20 · Friday, July 18 · Saturday, August 30 · Saturday, October 25 · Friday, November 21 · The $10,000 invitation-only final is on Saturday, December 13 Previous players that have qualified for the December contest are Nick Montemurro and Gary Scogna (the top two finishers from January); Michael Grasso and Montemurro (February); Sean Loebs and Joe Barre (March); Robert Glaser and Jim Bohnarczyk (April); and Karen Fossli and Russ Slader (May). Complete contest rules and regulations can be found here. To participate, players must be 18 years of age or older to wager on racing. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, please get help at 1-800-GAMBLER. SATURDAY NIGHT’S ALRIGHT: Yes, Friday will be great, but Saturday is going to be stacked with star performers on the track. Smooth Dream will look to stay perfect in seven seasonal tries in the $48,000 New Jersey Standardbred Development Fund final for 3-year-old colt and gelding pacers. The son of Cattlewash-Dreamlands Latte, the only horse at The Big M during 2025 to win six consecutive races at the mile oval, won the New Jersey Sire Stakes final on May 24. There are also a pair of $75,000, leg three Graduate Series dashes for 4-year-olds, one on the trot and another on the pace. The trot features Sir Pinocchio, 14 wins from just 29 lifetime starts to go along with a bankroll of almost $750,000, and Private Access, a lifetime earner of over $400,000. Both off victories in leg two last week at The Big M. Captain Albano, the 3-year-old Dan Patch divisional champion of the year from 2024, tops the pacing split. The Noel Daley trainee was a winner in leg two a week ago, stopping the clock in 1:49 2/5 in his first outing of the season. Staying perfect in two starts won’t be easy, as the son of Captaintreacherous-Angelou has drawn post 10. BABIES A DAY EARLIER: The Meadowlands’ qualifiers/baby races will be raced on Friday (June 20) this week instead of the usual Saturday. Post time will be 9 a.m., and if you can’t make it out to the track, check out the action live at playmeadowlands.com. CIRCLE THE DATES: The two biggest dates on the calendar at The Meadowlands feature two of the biggest stakes events the game offers. In just three weeks, on Saturday, July 12, the $700,000 (est.) Meadowlands Pace will take center stage on a power-packed card that gets underway at 6:20 p.m. Three weeks after that, “America’s Trotting Classic” will be in the spotlight celebrating an historic anniversary. On Saturday, Aug. 2, the 100th edition of the $1-million Hambletonian will highlight the strongest program of the year in the sport. The only card during the season that takes place during the day, post time on Hambo Day is noon. -edited release (Meadowlands)