Harness: Revamping the Meadowlands Pace

Is there a better way? Everyone should be asking themselves that question on a daily basis. If we aren’t looking for new paths to improve the status quo then we’ve simply accepted that this is the best it can be.

The above thoughts popped into my head when the reality set in that the Meadowlands Pace only had 10 entrants (later reduced to nine after the scratch of Louprint) and will not require eliminations. It was a bit of a shock to many people as this was the first time in the race’s near 50-year history that it happened.

First we must ask ourselves, is not having eliminations a bad thing?

In 2024 there were two eliminations with 17 total horses split into an eight- and nine-horse field where the top five advanced in each. Those eliminations went for $50,000 and the final offered a $650,000 purse. A similar scenario occurred in 2023 when 15 horses entered into two eliminations and the final purse was $668,000. This $656,000 final purse for 2025 clearly falls right in line with previous elimination years, so that wasn’t affected at all.

Looking back over the previous 10 years, the average number of entrants for the Meadowlands Pace has been 14.1. That number alone tells you that the race has been flirting with not having an elimination for quite some time. Twice during that period an elimination was conducted to reduce 11 horses down to 10. Let’s be honest, no one wants to watch an elimination race where fewer than half the horses get the boot from the final and that has been the case every year for a decade. People complain about the lack of effort and movement in these races, so from that standpoint it is hard to understand why anyone is upset about not having an elimination this year.

Thinking about the situation from a logic standpoint, what does the track or the sport really lose by not having elimination races?

I see two possible downsides for the track. First, it is always nice to have marquee horses on the card, even if some of them are simply prepping for the following week. Second, there is a 10-20% handle hit by removing a Meadowlands Pace elimination and replacing it with an overnight race. Still, we are talking about a $1,000 hit in total revenue so it isn’t really damaging.

For the industry as a whole, is there really less build-up for the race without an elimination? Would having a pair of seven-horse eliminations the week before move the needle for viewership and interest? By now we all know who the contenders are being just four weeks removed from the North America Cup where many of them convened. This isn’t 1980 when people may not have been able to watch other 3-year-old stakes at other tracks and become familiar with the participants.

The one strong argument that can be made is that more competition is good for the sport. Basically, having 30 or 40 horses competing for 10 spots on the gate in the final makes for some drama and excitement in each of the eliminations and speculation on who may be able to beat who in the final. But is it even feasible to nearly triple the number of entrants for The Meadowlands’ signature race?

It has been 15 years since the Pace required three eliminations (2010 – 23 horses total) and the most horses that have entered in the last two decades is 26 back in 2008. Over the last decade, 17 entrants is the high water mark. So clearly we aren’t getting anywhere near 30 with the current system, which leads me to a comment from either Shane or Lauren Tritton on their X account:

“Personally since I have been here and experienced the staking style system of grand circuit racing, II think it would be much better for the sport as a whole if races went for much less and you didn’t have the early stake payments. Then you would get full fields and the best horses.”

The idea is interesting. Would removal of payments increase entrants for the elimination round and what payments should be removed? Let’s examine 2025.

After the May 15 yearling nomination round (these $50 payments are made by the breeders) in 2023 there were a strong 728 horses eligible to the Meadowlands Pace. No change needs to occur there. Four more horses were supplemented at a cost of $125 each on August 15 later that year. Again, nothing needs to be adjusted and we now have 732 horses in the pool. The next payment round is March 15, 2024 with $400 required to sustain and $1,000 to supplement. This is where the numbers take the first major hit as 732 becomes 210. That’s an eye-opening 71% decrease. Continuing along, another payment is due almost one year later on February 15, 2025 for the now 3-year-olds. That $500 fee was plunked down by just 39 horses, an 81% reduction.

Thinking about the above for a moment, 693 horses dropped out of the Meadowlands Pace over $900 worth of payments. I don’t want to make that seem like a small amount, because if you pay $900 to 10 races, that is closing in on a five-figure nut for stakes payments.

To put a bow on things, the eligible horses dropped from 39 to 34 when the $2,000 March 15, 2025 was due and stayed at that number when another $2,000 needed to be paid on April 15. It then costs $2,500 to enter the eliminations (if they are necessary) and $5,000 for the final.

So, along the lines of what the Trittons suggested, what if all 2- and 3-year-old payments were eliminated and the only cost to enter the Meadowlands Pace was a $2,500 fee to be part of the eliminations? How many horses would enter? Could we get 40 of the 732 eligibles? I’m not sure because you are still putting up $2,500 and would have to face horses that are in theory better in terms of speed and class. That said, there is a luck of the draw in that you could get into an easier $25,000 elimination and get a good check or find yourself in the $336,900 final (yearling payments and $300,000 added by the track).

My concern with the above is that the lower purse for the final would hurt the breeding industry. Why pay for the $400,000 yearling you think will dominate if your earning power decreases in half?

Maybe there is another way…

First, we create a 3-year-old sustaining payment of $250 on April 15. It’s cheap enough and late enough that I’m guessing about 100 horses will sign on (hopefully even more). That adds $25,000 to the final purse. Next, we reduce the purses for the elimination races to $12,500 each and change the payout structure so the top five horses get $2,500. Let me stop here for a moment and explain. Your reward for doing well in the elimination should be making the final, not a big payday. That should come by winning the big race. So here we reward more people, making it more enticing to enter, and those that make the final get the added benefit of racing for a large pot the following week.

Going back to the numbers, if the estimated 100 horses pay the April 15 amount and the original 40 estimated horses enter, the Meadowlands Pace final is boosted to $411,900. Yes, still $188,100 less than the lowest total it has gone for in the last decade, but still a good number. Of course there is also a chance that more horses enter and the final purse will rise. What if 200 horses pay the $250 and 60 enter the final? That would add another $50,000. Keep in mind that this is a chance to be part of the Meadowlands Pace without a huge cost. Some people are going to take a chance knowing that there is even a reasonable chance of breaking even.

The above is just one potential idea. I have others. Since the worry that a lower cost could hurt the yearling sales, maybe the yearling fee should be $100 instead of $50? Maybe the sales company should have to make a contribution? Maybe there needs to be a $50 payment as a 2-year-old to replace the $400 one? Maybe there could be a side pot like in poker? Those who want can put up an extra $5,000 each prior to the elimination and the two highest finishers in the final split it 70%/30%. Does that sound crazy? Why? Everyone who buys a horse is betting that they will have the best one. Now instead of paying it over time and making it part of the main purse, you are putting it up in one lump sum with a chance to get an even bigger piece of it back.

I will point out that any change is years down the road because the process has already started. For the 2026 Meadowlands Pace, 853 horses made the yearling payments (a nice increase over 732 from 2025) and 227 signed on as 2-year-olds (slightly up from 210). For 2027, the initial $50 payment was made by 765 horses.

To be clear, this isn’t saying The Meadowlands has been doing things wrong over the years. If anything, they typically go out of their way to try new things to see if it works, which is one of the reasons I don’t mind spending an hour or two coming up with new ideas and putting them on paper. It is simply an idea. Is it a good one? Well, those of you who own and train 3-year-oids around North America, you tell me.