Meadowlands | Horse Racing Free Tips

Negative Takeout Likely In Friday’s Pick 6 At The Meadowlands

Fans of the 20-cent Pick-6 at The Meadowlands will be out in force Friday (Jan. 28) night hoping to turn a negative into a positive when The Big M kicks off its 26-race weekend of live action at 6:20 p.m.

Last Saturday (Jan. 22), for a second straight race card, the Pick-6 failed to yield a winning ticket, so when racing resumes, there will be a carryover of $14,033 up for grabs. Those who had five correct were paid $672.72.

Pick-6 carryovers can create pools where the bettor gets incredible value. Take what would transpire this Friday, for instance. If $80,000 in “new money” is poured into the pool, there will be a “negative takeout,” meaning bettors with all six winners on their tickets will get back more than what's wagered that night.

That $80,000 is subject to the low 15 percent takeout, which means $12,000 goes back to the operator, leaving $68,000. The carryover is not subject to the “rake,” so the total pool would be $82,033, which creates a “negative takeout”, where the return to players is more than what is bet live. In addition, the 20-cent minimum bet allows players to “spread” their tickets with multiple combinations, increasing their chances of hitting big.

The Pick-6 takes place on races eight through 13 and free past performances for every race of every Meadowlands race card are available by going to playmeadowlands.com.

GINGRAS THE GREAT: Harness racing's hottest hands belong to Yannick Gingras, as the 42-year-old has left a path of destruction through The Meadowlands' driver colony in the early stages of 2022.

The Hall of Fame bound pilot won six times on the Saturday night card at The Big M – including a victory in the feature with Covered Bridge – to up his driver-colony leading win total to 24. Joe Bongiorno is a distant second with 13.

Gingras has been remarkably consistent, winning at least three races on each of the six race cards conducted this year.

“It's been horsepower,” said Gingras of his wicked winter. “Ronnie [Burke] is racing a little more this [winter] than last year and the horses are in the right spot. I don't feel any sharper, honestly. I don't get too up or down. I feel good right now. It's just the way the cards are rolling.”

Remarkably, only one of “The Green Hornet's” Saturday winners went off as the favorite.

LIVE RACING SCHEDULE: Racing at The Big M is conducted on a Friday-Saturday basis and has a first-race post time of 6:20 p.m.

The track's live “Racing from The Meadowlands” pregame show kicks off nightly at 5:47 p.m.

OTTEN TO HOST: Big M TV's Jessica Otten will take a turn in the host's chair this Friday, and on the pregame show, she'll interview Lauren Harmon during the track's popular “In the Sulky” segment, which begins at approximately 5:50 p.m.

Harmon is a native of Michigan who grew up in a racing family – her dad Don Harmon and stepmother Krista Williams Harmon have a stable in the Midwest. Lauren, the niece of longtime Big M horseman Rob Harmon, is second trainer at thestable.ca in Ohio and drives in amateur events there.

WEATHER ALERT: With the possibility of bad weather hitting the area, those who want to make sure that there is live racing or simulcasting at The Meadowlands should check out the track's website (playmeadowlands.com) or call 201-THE-BIGM before heading to the track.

BIG POOLS, SMALL TAKEOUTS: The Meadowlands is the industry's handle leader, and much of the reason why is many of the bets the mile oval offers feature a low takeout of 15 percent.

Here is a rundown of those wagers for the upcoming weekend:

· Race 1: 20-cent Pick-5

· Race 3: 20-cent Survivor Pick-7

· Race 6: 50-cent Early Pick-4 ($50,000 guaranteed pool)

· Race 8: 20-cent Pick-6

· Race 10: 50-cent Late Pick-4 ($50,000 guaranteed pool)

· Race 13: 10-cent Pentafecta/Hi-5

WHO DOES BROWER LIKE? For expert selections and analysis of every Big M card, check out track oddsmaker Dave Brower's race reviews.

For Brower's input, which is generally available 48 hours before every card, go to playmeadowlands.com, then click on the “handicapping” tab and go to “race reviews”.

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The Meadowlands To Begin 2022 With Pair Of 15-Race Programs

The year 2021 may have been challenging for society, but business at The Meadowlands was extraordinary while providing horseplayers a diversion from the pandemic.

This Friday (Jan. 7), The Big M will kick off what it hopes to be another big year with the first of two 15-race programs that get underway at 6:20 p.m. Racing will be conducted on a Friday-Saturday basis for the next 31 weeks. In addition, there will be racing on three Thursdays during that span (June 30, July 7 and Aug. 4).

“Winter is normally a good time for us with some of the closer tracks dark for the next few months,” said track Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Jason Settlemoir. “Our entry box got great support from horsemen wanting to get their horses raced, so much so that we are able to present 30 races this first weekend of 2022.”

The action should be sizable to start the year, if the final program of 2021 is any indication. Last Friday (Dec. 31), wagering on the 14-race card totaled $2.97 million, which nudged action for the year just past the $276-million mark for the 92 racing programs, meaning that the mile oval's average handle per card was a remarkable $3 million.

“We all know how tough 2021 was on all of us,” said Settlemoir. “But we were grateful to be able to conduct our races and be as successful as we were while keeping our horsemen, staff, and customers safe. Moving forward, with Covid numbers on the rise, we will be taking some precautions to keep our co-workers and guests safe and healthy for the New Year.”

Until further notice, face masks must be worn by staff and guests, regardless of vaccination status, in the grandstand as well as the FanDuel Sportsbook.

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Judge Upholds Meadowlands Ban of Owners Associated with Indicted Trainer

A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by eight harness owners who were banned at the tracks owned by Jeff Gural due to their ties with indicted trainer Rene Allard. Gural owns the Meadowlands in New Jersey and Tioga Downs and Vernon Downs in New York.

The case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning the plaintiffs may file a subsequent suit on the same grounds.
Despite the allegations against Allard, he had been cleared by the U.S. Department of Justice to train horses at a South Florida training center, as long as the horses under his care were not preparing to race. On Mar. 6, Gural announced that any owners who had horses with Allard would be banned at his tracks and their horses would be ineligible to race there. He also announced a ban against anyone who continued to have horses in partnership with the eight owners.

“To learn that people actually give this guy horses to train after what was discovered by the Federal investigation boggles the mind,” Gural said at the time. The owners, Kap Singh, Lawrence Dumain, Ira Wallach, Brian Wallach, Yves Sarrazin, Erin Hill, Bruce Soulsby and Allen Weisenberg filed suit, alleging violations of federal antitrust laws and state competition laws. The group alleged that Gural was attempting to “sanitize their illegal actions by attempting to smear Plaintiffs with the misdeeds of Rene Allard.”

United States District Judge Lawrence Khan disagreed, upholding the ban. “Judge Kahn clearly saw that this antitrust theory has no legs and did the right thing by dismissing the whole case,” Gural said in a statement. “This lawsuit and its outcome have only reinforced my resolve to purge PEDs from our industry even if it means defending baseless lawsuits like this or initiating my own legal actions against those who pose obstacles to our efforts, should I have to. Our industry requires, in my view, owners to be beyond reproach and held accountable for the training decisions they make.”

More so than any other track owner or manager in either Harness or Thoroughbred racing, Gural has been vigilant in his efforts to keep alleged dopers out of his tracks. Several of the Harness horsemen who were indicted in March, 2020 for their alleged involvement in a widespread scheme to dope racehorses had already been banned at the Gural tracks. Allard had been banned at the Meadowlands since 2013.

He has 4,570 career wins and his horses have earned over $53 million.

Allard, 36, was charged with misbranding and drug alteration, which carries a maximum sentence of five years. He continues to fight the charges.

During its investigation of Allard, the FBI intercepted a disturbing phone conversation between Ross Cohen and Louis Grasso, two others under indictment, discussing the deaths of horses trained by Allard who died after being given illegal drugs. Cohen referred to Allard's operation as the “Allard death camp.”

According to a deposition given by FBI agent Bruce Turpin, a raid of Allard's barn produced multiple empty syringes, the drug Glycopyrrolate, epinephrine and vials labeled “Thymosine Beta” and “for researching purposes only.”

The post Judge Upholds Meadowlands Ban of Owners Associated with Indicted Trainer appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Two Carryovers Up For Grabs On Friday At Meadowlands

While the worldwide pandemic continued its grip on society over the last 12 months, The Meadowlands managed to make the best of 2021 and will conclude the year Friday (Dec. 31) night with a 14-race program that features not one, but two carryovers sure to entice The Big M faithful, who will have gone 12 days without action at the mile oval when the first race gets underway at 6:20 p.m.

There's an added bonus. Beginning at 6 p.m., on-track guests can receive a free 2022 calendar filled with photos of the equine stars of 2021.

The Meadowlands will race this Friday, and go dark on Saturday, Jan. 1, before gearing up for its usual Friday-Saturday schedule, effective Jan. 7.

After zero favorites managed to win any of the races in the sequence, the 20-cent Pick-5 failed to yield a winning ticket when the last race card took place on Dec. 18, creating a carryover of $38,923 for this Friday.

Big M fans figure to fire away, since all of the Pick-5 races – as well as 13 of the 14 races on the night – will sport full 10-horse fields.

This will be the first Pick-5 carryover since January 2, when the final pool was a massive $360,948.

This time around the final pool is estimated to reach $150,000 and the bet – as always – sports a low 15 percent takeout. A negative takeout pool – where the return to bettors is greater than the “new money” that will be pushed through the windows – looms.

Big M TV's Dave Brower and Jessica Otten will take an extended look at the Pick-5 and give out tickets during the pre-game show.

The 20-cent Pick-6 also failed to yield a winning ticket on Dec. 18, and that pool will begin with $6,131 in the hat. The last Pick-6 to see a carryover was on Dec. 17 when the total pool was $55,626. That figure figures to be much higher this time around.

The last day of the year will mark the end of a good 12-month run for the track, from a business perspective anyway.

“New Year's Eve marks one of the greatest comeback stories in Meadowlands history,” said track Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Jason Settlemoir. “We have been able to overcome the pandemic as our faithful followers have our average nightly handle at $3 million.

“Our four big days of racing – the Hambletonian, Breeders Crown, Meadowlands Pace and Fall Final Four/TVG Finals were all highly successful. On Hambletonian Day, we wagered $6.4 million to end our Winter-Spring-Championship Meeting with an average handle of $3.3 million per card.”

In addition, annual total handle at The Meadowlands has increased over $100 million as compared to just three years ago.

New Year's Eve at The Big M will offer great racing. And a whole lot more.

“The Big M offers a great party with great food, along with wagering on a big carryover as well as the College Football Playoff in our FanDuel Sportsbook,” said Settlemoir. “After the races, we will close out 2021 with a huge fireworks display to ring in the New Year. The Meadowlands promises to be one of the most exciting New Year's Eve venues in the Metropolitan area with an incredible evening of non-stop action Friday night.”

GET SOCIAL: Everything Meadowlands is available by going on Twitter. You can check in with the Big M team for early changes, racing information and staff selections by going to @themeadowlands or #playbigm.

On race nights, stay in touch with Otten (@JessicaOtten1), Brower (@eedoogie), Dave Little (@DaveLittleBigM), Ken Warkentin (@kenvoiceover), Shades (@ShadesOnRacing) and Edison Hatter (@Edison_1999_).

NEW YEAR'S EVE IN PINK: A great way to spend New Year's Eve is in Pink Restaurant at The Meadowlands.

There is a sumptuous buffet available for $64.95 and includes a complimentary glass of celebratory champagne for those 21 years of age and older.

Reservations can be made by calling 201-THE-BIGM.

BET THE CFP AT THE FDS: They'll be plenty of action for horseplayers on the New Year's Eve card at The Meadowlands, but they'll also be plenty of action for college gridiron fans as well, as the College Football Playoff will take place with a pair of games certain to take tons of play. The winners of the semifinal tilts will meet for the National Championship on Jan. 10.

So, you want to bet on the games? You can do so inside the grandstand at The Big M in the FanDuel Sportsbook.

The first semifinal gets underway at 3:30 p.m., where the Crimson Tide of Alabama are a 13½-point favorite over the Bearcats of Cincinnati. Alabama is -590 on the money line and the under/over is 57.

In the late game – which kicks off at 7:30 p.m. – the Georgia Bulldogs are a 7½-point choice over the Michigan Wolverines. Georgia is -280 on the money line and the under/over is 45½.

New Year's Day (Jan. 1) will see many college bowl games, followed the following day (Jan. 2) by Week 17 of the National Football League with many games having playoff implications.

Watch and wager on all the games in the FanDuel Sportsbook, where the hours are Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m.-1 a.m.; Friday 10 a.m.-2 a.m.; Saturday 7 a.m.-2 a.m. and Sunday 8 a.m.-12 a.m.

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