East Rutherford, NJ — The 94th Hambletonian Future Wager at The Meadowlands will open its first pool Friday (March 15) at 11 a.m. in conjunction with the final payments taken on trotters for the $1 million Hambletonian and $500,000 Hambletonian Oaks.

This will be the first of four pools opened in advance of the race to be held Saturday (Aug. 3) at The Meadowlands.

Wagering will be available at racetrack and online sites throughout North America and internationally and wagering for the first pool will close on Sunday (March 17) at 11 p.m. (EDT).

A team of harness racing analysts and handicappers led by Meadowlands announcer Ken Warkentin, whose Road to the Hambletonian annually tracks the leading candidates to the race, selected a group of 14 trotters out of the 199 colts, fillies and geldings that were made eligible to start in the Hambletonian after the Feb. 15 payment.

The wager will be discussed at length on The Meadowlands’ weekend simulcast show.

Though fillies have their own division in the $500,000 Hambletonian Oaks, several have started in the $1 million open event in recent years, most recently Atlanta, who became just the 14th filly to win a Hambletonian.

The 14 horses assigned odds in the pool will be listed in alphabetical order. The mutuel field, No. 15, will consist of the remaining horses eligible, including all fillies eligible to the Oaks. There are no supplements permitted to the Hambletonian or Oaks.

The minimum future wager is $1 and all future wagers are win only. The winner of each pool will be determined by the official first-place finisher in the 2019 Hambletonian.

The second future pool will open Friday (May 31) at 11 a.m. through Sunday (June 2), closing at 11 p.m. The third future wager pool will open Friday (July 5) at 11 a.m. through Sunday (July 7) and close at 11 p.m. The fourth and final pool opens Thursday (Aug. 1), after the entries and elimination heats are sorted, and closes at post-time of the first elimination and/or heat of the Hambletonian on Saturday (Aug. 3).

The Hambletonian Future Wager will be set-up in the tote system as one separate event. The event code is MZX.

Past performance lines for the Hambletonian eligible horses will be available free of charge on the Meadowlands website www.playmeadowlands.com. All rules and updates can be found there and on www.Hambletonian.com.

2019 Hambletonian Future Wagering – Pool #1
HD-Horse-Morning Line Odds
1. Chapter Fashion/20-1
2. Chin Chin Hall/10-1
3. Dont Let’em/10-1
4. Forbidden Trade/15-1
5. Forecast/20-1
6. Gimpanzee/4-1
7. Green Manalishi S/6-1
8. Greenshoe/8-1
9. Hudson River/20-1
10. Kings County/20-1
11. Osterc/20-1
12. Prospect Hill/15-1
13. Southwind Avenger/10-1
14. Swandre The Giant/12-1
15. All Other Horses/8-1

The 2019 Hambletonian Future Wager Official Rules

· 17 percent Takeout
· Win Wagering Only-$1 Minimum

The Hambletonian Future wager will be four separate wagering pools during the months of March, May, June, July and August, with the winner of each pool being determined by the official first place winner of the Hambletonian on Aug. 3, 2019. Each pool will remain open for a period to be determined by the association, but in any event, not less than three days nor more than 10 days. The pools shall each be open for the same length of time. The starting and closing date of the wager will be determined by the association and will be promoted to the public. Each Hambletonian Future wager shall be win wagers only and each pool shall be separate and independent. Calculation and distribution of winning wagers will be made following the official results of the 2019 Hambletonian. The minimum wager shall be $1.

Each pool shall be comprised of up to 15 betting interests. The top 14 betting interests shall be determined by the New Meadowlands Racetrack handicapper and listed alphabetically. The number 15 betting interest shall represent the mutuel field, which will include all other runners not listed in numbers one through 14. The 15 betting interests will appear in the daily race program with morning line odds on each day the wager is offered. Following the close of each month’s Hambletonian Future wagering pool, the final odds and/or probable payoffs will be listed in the racing program and released to the media.

No refunds will be issued. All wagers are final once the patron has left the window. Career-ending injuries, death and failure to start are not subject to refunds. If the New Meadowlands Racetrack and/or Hambletonian Society becomes aware that a horse suffers a career-ending injury or becomes deceased after the numbers one through 14 are printed, but before Future Book Wagering has begun, the number shall be scratched and no wagers shall be accepted on that horse. That scratched horse will become part of the field number 15. If the New Meadowlands Racetrack and/or Hambletonian Society becomes aware that a horse suffers a career-ending injury or becomes deceased after the numbers one through 14 are printed, and after Future Book Wagering has begun, wagering on that number shall be suspended. No refunds will be issued on the suspended number.

Notwithstanding the above, in the event the 2019 Hambletonian is not run or does not produce an official winner, all wagers shall result in a refund.

Also, in the event that there is a coupled entry or mutuel field in the 2019 Hambletonian, for the purpose of the Hambletonian Future wager, each entry or mutuel field shall be considered a single betting interest.

All calculations and payoffs for the Hambletonian Future wagers shall be governed by the New Jersey Racing Laws and Rules. Each pool shall be separately and independently calculated and distributed. Takeout shall be deducted from each gross pool as stipulated by law. The remainder of the monies in the pool shall constitute the net pool distribution as payoff on winning wagers.

The amount wagered on the betting interest which finishes first is deducted from the net pool, the balance remaining being the profit; the profit is divided by the amount wagered on the betting finishing first, such quotient being the profit per dollar wagered to win on that betting interest. The net pool shall be distributed as a single price pool to winning wagers in the following precedence, based upon the official order of finish:
(a) To those whose selection finished first; but if there are no wagers, then to those whose selection finished second; but if there are no wagers, then
(b) To those whose selection finished third; but if there are no wagers, then
(c) The entire pool shall be refunded on win wagers for that contest.

If there is a dead heat for first involving: Contestants representing the same betting interest, the pool shall be distributed as if no dead heat occurred or contestants representing two or more betting interests, the pool shall be distributed as a profit split.

The Hambletonian Future Wager will be set-up in the tote system as one separate event. The event code is MZX and the future wager pools will be placed as follows:

* Race 1: Hambletonian Future Wager Pool 1: March 15-March 17
* Race 2: Hambletonian Future Wager Pool 2: May 31–June 2
* Race 3: Hambletonian Future Wager Pool 3: July 5–July 7
* Race 4: Hambletonian Future Wager Pool 4: Aug. 1–Aug. 3

Real time odds, pool data and updates on field participants for the 2019 Hambletonian Wagers and current odds will be shown on various simulcast shows including New Meadowlands Racetrack.