Final figures for Meadowlands meet

The Hambletonian’s global impact continued to grow in 2010 as record European wagering helped produce the third-highest handle in harness history on Aug. 7. Total wagering for the 2010 harness meet was $284,540,800 for 121 racing dates, a $2,351,576 average per card (vs. $2,399,856 per card for the 147-date meet in 2009). The average represents a two percent decline from the 2009 figure.

 

The Hambletonian generated a total all-source handle of $8,391,600 for a 15-race card, trailing only the $8.8 million wagered on the 2002 Hambletonian Day program and $9 million wagered in 2005.

 

International wagering was nearly $2.4 million, up sharply from the $1.97 million wagered on the 2009 simulcast. The Hambletonian was part of a seven-race bundle beamed to France, Monaco, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The first 10 races from the Meadowlands card were sent to Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Estonia and Malta. A crowd of 26,712 turned out to watch Muscle Massive edge Lucky Chucky in the $1.5 million Hambletonian. The attendance was an increase of nearly 4 percent over the previous year and the highest since 2006.

 

Strong wagering also highlighted closing night of the meet on Aug.  20. A quartet of stakes races and Pick 6 carryover in excess of $100,000 fueled the highest live and total handle figures for a Friday night in 2010. The $592,092 live handle $592,092 was the highest for a Friday card in three years (the best since $598,772 on May 4, 2007), while the $3,365,885 all sources was the highest since the $3,213,711 recorded on Friday, Feb. 12. The Pick 6 carryover attracted a pool of $378,994. There were two winning tickets, each returning $142,769.

 

George Brennan punctuated his first Meadowlands driving title by winning his second consecutive $702,500 William R. Haughton Memorial with Shark Gesture on the final card. Brennan wrapped the meet with 247 victories from 1,250 starts and purse earnings of $5,019,523. Newcomer Lou Pena swept the training title with 115 victories and just under $1.75 million in purses, while Larry Baron led all owners for the third straight year with 36 winners.

 

Live harness racing returns to the Meadowlands on Saturday, October 23 for the start of a 17-day Fall Harness Meet. Live racing will be held Friday and Saturday nights through December 18.