With a national television audience completely to themselves, The Meadowlands put on quite a show Saturday (May 18) night when FOX Sports – along with the TV department at The New York Racing Association – displayed a two-hour broadcast with live racing and features that undoubtedly captivated racing viewers from coast-to-coast. “What a tremendous start that was to our year on FOX Sports,” said Big M Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Jason Settlemoir. “The show had a great pace to it, and it had great talent as well, with NYRA’s Acacia Clement serving as host and [Hambletonian Society President and Chief Executive Officer] John Campbell co-hosting, that duo anchoring the broadcast from NYRA’s headquarters at Aqueduct brought something special to the table. Acacia is great, and, as any harness fan knows, John was one of the greatest drivers in the sport’s history. His insights always hit the bullseye.” The show provided a highlight-reel’s worth of action, starting with the featured Arthur J. Cutler Memorial, which was won by Jiggy Jog S, who extended her win streak to five in her 2024 debut. Also in the spotlight was the Nancy Takter-trained superstar 3-year-old colt trotter Karl, who once again crushed his foes in a New Jersey Sire Stakes dash to remain the early favorite for this year’s Hambletonian, which will also be shown on the networks of FOX. “The 2024 harness racing series on America’s Day at the Races couldn’t have kicked off in finer fashion,” said Eric Donovan, the Sr. Director of TV Broadcast Operations at the NYRA. “The outstanding performances of champions Karl and Jiggy Jog, in addition to many excellent in-show elements, helped make the broadcast a tremendous success. “As usual, the pre-eminent on-track duo of Jessica Otten and Gabe Prewitt were spot-on with their commentary, analysis and interviews. I’d like to thank the whole team, led by producer Bobby Klatt, for a great start to the season.” While there will be Thoroughbred racing shown on some of the FOX Meadowlands’ shows to come, Donovan does like it when things are narrowed down. “Focusing on one track, we feel like we were able to keep the viewers’ interest piqued by concentrating on all the great stories that were in play at The Meadowlands Saturday night,” he said. Here is the schedule for the remaining eight Big M broadcasts with the marquee event that will be shown. Where not listed, specific networks – FOX, FS1 or FS2 – will be determined: •         July 6: Graduate finals/Meadowlands Pace eliminations, 8-11 p.m. (FS2) •         July 13: Meadowlands Pace final, 8-11 p.m. (TBD) •         Aug. 3: Hambletonian, 1-7 p.m. (TBD) •         Oct. 18: Breeders Crown eliminations, 1-6 p.m. (TBD) •         Oct. 19: Breeders Crown eliminations, 8-11 p.m. (TBD) •         Oct. 25: Breeders Crown finals, 8-11 p.m. (TBD) •         Oct. 26: Breeders Crown finals, 8-11 p.m. (TBD) •         Nov. 30: Fall Final Four, 8-11 p.m. (TBD) HANDICAPPING FOR CHARITY: Ten local New Jersey charitable organizations have been selected to compete in the Meadowlands Charity Handicapping Contest on Saturday (May 25). The contest offers a $15,000 total donation/prize pool, with every charity receiving a donation. Prizes will be awarded as follows: 1st Place: $5,000, 2nd Place: $3,000, 3rd Place: $2,000, 4th Place: $1,500, 5th Place: $1,000, 6th-10th: $500. For further information, go here. TALKING HEADS TO TANGLE: The Meadowlands’ fifth annual Sportscasters Charity Derby takes place on Friday, May 31, and features two harness races to benefit charitable organizations selected by area sportscasters. Each sportscaster will be teamed up with a Meadowlands driver in a jog cart and will compete against other sportscasters in a field of four in a one-mile race. Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment will donate $5,000 to each of the two winning sportscasters’ selected charities, and, in addition, will also make a $1,000 donation to each charity selected by each sportscaster. There are three new faces in the 2024 edition of The Derby: Chris Lopresti, Chelsea Sherrod and Perry Sook. CHARITY RACE 1 (After race three, with affiliation and charity): •         1. Chris Lopresti (WFAN-660 AM, CBS Sports Radio, SiriusXM); St. Barnabus Hospital Health System •         2. Don LaGreca (ESPN-NY 98.7 FM); Ronald McDonald House •         3. Chelsea Sherrod (SNY); Grow Our Game •         4. Mark Cannizzaro (NY Post); Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center  CHARITY RACE 2 (After race five) •         1. Maria Marino (Action Network); American Cancer Society/Making Strides Against Breast Cancer •         2. Marc Malusis (PIX11, SNY, WFAN); Make-A-Wish Foundation •         3. Perry Sook (PIX11); St. Barnabus Hospital Health System •         4. Keith Irizarry (MLB Network); Cavan McGovern Family Research Fund -edited release (Meadowlands)