Saturday, November 23
New Era for Meadowlands Racetrack
Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment will start a new era on Saturday, November 23.
The newly constructed $88-million Meadowlands Racetrack will offer a Grand Grand Opening stakes-filled card with purses worth over $2 million that are sure to deliver an unbelievable night of harness racing action.
Thanksgiving weekend features cards on both Friday November 29 and Saturday November 30. The November 30 card will be one of the best of the year for the sport of harness racing with Finals of the Nadia Lobell, Moni Maker, Fall Final Four and Free For All Championships. Purses for the evening will surpass $3 Million. In addition, Horse of the Year will be on the line as Bee A Magician looks to put a bow on an undefeated season, while Captaintreacherous hopes to defeat the best Free For All Pacers in the world.
The Grand Opening thirteen race card on Saturday will get underway at 7:15pm ET, kicking off mostly weekend-only racing in late fall and in the winter.
Meadowlands Racetrack Information
Main track (dirt): 1 mile, oval
Length of stretch: 990 feet
Length of stretch from last turn to finish line: 330 feet
Width of stretch: 90 feet
Width of backstretch: 80 feet
Composition: Harness – Limestone base crushed stone and dust cushion; Thoroughbred – Sand, clay and loam cushion
Turf: 7 furlongs, oval
Length of stretch from last turn to finish line: 3/16 mile
Width of stretch: 80 feet
Wagers available may include: Win, Place, Show, Quinella, Exacta, Trifecta, Superfecta, Daily Double, Pick 3, and Pick 4.
About Meadowlands Harness Racetrack
The Meadowlands Racetrack is a horse racing track at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The track hosts both thoroughbred racing and harness racing. It is known popularly in the region as “The Big M”. The Meadowlands Racetrack, including the main building, horse barns and site, was designed by the Philadelphia architectural firm Ewing Cole Cherry Brott, which also designed a number of other track facilities around the world as well as Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia (with HOK Sport).
Some important dates for the Meadowlands include Sept. 1, 1976, when harness racing debuted at the track, and Sept. 6, 1977, when thoroughbred racing commenced. With its sweeping curves and wide stretches, the “Big M” has been known for exceptional times for harness racing. Opening night at the track featured the fastest harness mile run in New Jersey at the time and the world record for a mile by a standardbred was established at the track on June 22, 1996.
The new Meadowlands is about a third of the size of the old one, which is located on the other side of the one-mile oval racing surface. Its grandstand can seat 2,200, and the clubhouse, simulcasting area, bars, upscale restaurant, sky boxes, corporate meeting rooms and outdoor terraces can hold 10,000. An outdoor facility is expected to be finished next year will expand capacity to about 20,000 for major events such as the Hambletonian in August.
This state of the art complex is a collaborative production by managing partner Jeffrey Gural, Michael Sinensky of Funbars.com and The Hard Rock that will span over 180,000 square feet across three floors plus an outdoor space that holds up to 10,000 people. The venue will feature year round simulcasting, a sports bar that doubles as a nightclub, indoor and outdoor restaurants, corporate and private events spaces, as well as family-friendly activities.
The venue will continue the tradition of harness racing’s greatest events such as Hambletonian Day and Meadowlands Pace which have both produced some of the most thrilling moments in racing.