Meadowlands: Updated wagering menu begins this weekend

The Meadowlands is going to make some betting menu changes this weekend when live racing resumes Friday (Nov. 6) and Saturday (Nov. 7), and, in addition, the mile oval will host 13 races for both cards, which will get harness fans – and harness horsemen and women – out of the track a little earlier so they can recharge for the next day.

Post time at The Big M is 6:20 p.m.

“We are going to make some changes to the wagering card,” said track Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Jason Settlemoir. “We’ll be bringing back the 20-cent Survivor Pick-7 and returning the Late Pick-3 and Late Daily Double to their original base bets of $1.

“We will also offer just one 10-cent Hi-5 (Pentafecta) moving forward, with the thought being having just one should result in a nice-sized pool, and we will also not continue with a second 20-cent Pick-5. In addition, we are moving the 20-cent Pick-6.

“As for the 13-race programs, yes, they will allow us to finish earlier than usual, sometime around 11:30 p.m. So, while some will prefer 13-race programs, if they prevent our horsemen from getting their horses raced, we will have additional races. It’s all about the entry box.”

Meadowlands patrons have always enjoyed betting into the sport’s biggest pools, and the track will now offer six wagers nightly that have a low 15 percent take out.

Those bets are:

· Races 1-5: 20-cent Pick-5 (Friday’s carryover: $17,328)

· Races 3-9: 20-cent Survivor Pick-7 (mandatory payout nightly)

· Races 6-9: 50-cent Pick-4 (estimated pool $50,000)

· Races 8-13: 20-cent Pick-6

· Races 10-13: 50-cent Pick-4 (estimated pool $50,000)

· Race 11: 10-cent Hi-5 (Pentafecta)

SAVE THE DATES: There are still some dates worth circling on your calendar if you only like to come out to The Big M when the level of racing is sky high, starting with Saturday, Nov. 14, when the last major stakes card on not just The Meadowlands schedule, but the entire harness racing calendar, takes place when estimated purses of $2.65 million will be up for grabs on Fall Final Four/FanDuel Championships Night.

The eight stakes races that will take place that evening are:

· $400,000 (est.) Valley Victory (2-year-old colt and gelding trot)

· $400,000 (est.) Governor’s Cup (2-year-old colt and gelding pace)

· $400,000 (est.) Goldsmith Maid (2-year-old filly trot)

· $400,000 (est.) Three Diamonds (2-year-old filly pace)

· $350,000 (est.) FanDuel Open Pace

· $350,000 (est.) FanDuel Open Trot

· $175,000 (est.) FanDuel Fillies and Mares Trot

· $175,000 (est.) FanDuel Fillies and Mares Pace

(All FanDuel events are for 3-year-olds and up)

The 2026 stakes curtain will then fall when four $70,000 (est.) New Jersey Standardbred Development Fund finals for 2-year-olds of each sex and gait will be contested on Saturday, Nov. 21.

TROTTING TITANS: In what is a prep for the FanDuel Open Trot, there is a star-studded feature race on Friday’s card.

The field of seven has three big names on the entry sheet, starting with a pair of Ron Burke trainees.

Defending Dan Patch Trotter of the Year Lexus Kody, who banked $1.3 million a year ago, will depart from post five with Tim Tetrick at the controls. He won’t be driven by his usual pilot – and Burke go-to guy – Yannick Gingras, because Gingras will guide Antognoni S, a winner of 22 of 39 races over 2025-26, a span over which he has earned over $850,000. Gingras is one of the horse’s owners.

The Nancy Takter-trained French Wine, the 2025 Breeders Crown champion, has post six for Jason Bartlett.

-edited release (Dave Little for Meadowlands)