Meadowlands: Carryovers key to $7 million weekend
With a following that was carryover crazy, total handle on Saturday night at the Meadowlands reached $3,673,861, giving the track a weekend total of over $7 million, reaching that lofty plateau for the first time since Hambletonian Weekend five months ago.
A double carryover of $22,812 in the 20-cent Pick 6 led to $88,864 in "new money" being poured into the pot for a grand total of $111,677. After a sequence that saw winner's odds of 6-1, 1-2, 2-1, 4-1, 32-1 and 9-2, those with winning tickets collected $7,565.06.
The Big M's most popular multi-leg wager took in huge action as well. First of all, the early 50-cent Pick 4 did not have a carryover, yet $147,691 was bet. The late Pick 4, which had a carryover of $57,648, saw $304,713 in "new money" for a grand total of $362,361, which was $22,000 more than the last time there was a carryover in the popular puzzle on Nov. 19. Those who had all four correct cashed in for $1,267.75.
The key horse for the big payouts was Levine, who scored in the 12th race and paid $66.20 to win with Scott Zeron driving. Zeron played a big part in creating the carryovers in the first place, as in Friday's 13th race, he guided 50-1 chance Regal Escape to victory lane.
Adding Friday's total handle of $3,384,066 to Saturday's play and you get a weekend that saw $7,057,927 pushed through the windows. During all of 2022, that barrier was busted only twice, the first on Meadowlands Pace weekend ($7.3 million) and the second during Hambletonian weekend ($10.4 million).
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BELMONT ROYALE N TAKES FEATURE: It wasn't easy, but Belmont Royale N stayed perfect in three Meadowlands outings since his arrival from Australia when he took the featured $23,000 high-end conditioned pace.
After picking up third-over cover down the backside, driver Dave Miller tipped the 6-year-old gelded son of Betterthencheddar-Royal Spin for the stretch drive and outsprinted The Ideal Dancer A to the wire to record a neck win in a lifetime-best 1:50 4/5.
"He really doesn't have much gate speed," said Miller, "and I was thinking I might have been a hair too far back at the top of the stretch, but he fought awful hard. Andy's [McCarthy] horse was coming, but my horse dug in."
As the 2-1 favorite, Belmont Royale N returned $6.40 to win. The Nifty Norman trainee has now won 12 of 37 lifetime outings, good for earnings of $87,876.
A LITTLE MORE: Jordan Stratton is one of the top pilots at Yonkers Raceway's half-mile track, but with The Hilltop dark until Jan. 16, he showed he can win races on the mile oval as well, leading the driver colony with four victories on the night. Zeron, Miller, Yannick Gingras and Jason Bartlett all had driving doubles. Gary Levine and Ron Burke each trained a pair to victory lane. Racing resumes Friday at 6:20 p.m.
--press release (Meadowlands)--