Meadowlands: Pick 6 carryover could fuel Friday handle
It was neither Hambletonian Day nor Meadowlands Pace Night, but you couldn’t tell that from the betting at the Big M Saturday night.
Wagering surpassed the $4-million mark for the first time on a “non-event” card since March 1st of 2014, as a total of $4,100,386 was pushed through the windows on June 20. The track did program 18 races - five more than usual - to get some horses raced who had been on the sidelines during the coronavirus shutdown, but the average action per race was still a rock-solid $227,789.
"Last weekend was a good one for us," said Big M Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Jason Settlemoir. "It was gratifying to be able to afford our horsemen more opportunities to race and make some much-needed money for their connections as we waited for some of the neighboring states to open up. We were also happy to see the response of our fans, who bet vigorously throughout the weekend."
The total wagering for last Friday (June 19) and Saturday was $7,582,203 for 36 races, good for an average per race of $210,616.
This weekend, when racing will be conducted on the usual Friday (June 26) and Saturday (June 27) at the usual post time of 7:15 p.m. with the usual 13 races, bettors will be shooting for a pool that figures to be far bigger than usual in the 20-cent Pick-6.
Pick-6 players will be adding to a pot that will start out with a carryover of $8,948 Friday night. The Pick-6 is one of the track’s betting "Big 4".
The wagers, which all offer a low 15 percent takeout and will also have $160,000 in guaranteed pools, are the 20-cent Pick-5 (race one, $40,000 guaranteed pool), the aforementioned Pick-6 (race four, $30,000), the Early 50-cent Pick-4 (race six, $50,000) and Late 50-cent Pick-4 (race 10, $40,000).
Twenty-cent Jackpot Super High-Five players will no doubt continue to chase their pot of gold, given some serious carryovers. Friday’s fifth race will begin with $54,154 in the hat, while the 13th and final has a carryover of $65,202.
Last Saturday, despite nine winning favorites on the card, Pick-5 players hit big, cashing in for $32,943 when two double-digit-odds winning horses scored during the sequence, including a 38-1 chance in the opening leg (race one).
-edited release (Meadowlands)