East Rutherford, NJ — A huge Pick-5 payoff, a huge Pick-4 pool and a huge total handle highlighted Saturday’s (June 1) happenings at The Meadowlands.

One lucky player wagering into the Western New York OTB hub held the lone winning ticket with winner’s odds of 15-1, 11-1, 58-1, 6-1 and 1-5 and hit the 50-cent Pick-5 for a whopping $32,091.10.

The 50-cent Pick-4 — which has a guaranteed pool of $50,000 — went well beyond double that figure, as a total of $120,505 was poured into the pot. The $134,614 wagered on March 2 was the only time more was bet on a Pick-4 this year.

Total wagering on the 13-race card came close to reaching the magic $3 million mark, but fell approximately $33,000 short after an all-source total of $2,967,772 was bet. Two weeks prior saw another close call, as $2.947 million was put in play.

The last time action exceeded $3 million (which has happened nine times in 2019) was on Kentucky Derby Day (May 4), when a total of $3.273 million was pushed through the windows.

Get A Little Action In: On Saturday (June 8), the Big M’s featured Preferred Handicap for 4-year-olds on the pace has the latest star from the Jenn Bongiorno barn, Albergo Hanover, going for his fifth straight win.

For simulcast fans, the featured event will be the Belmont Stakes.

Big M gates will open at 10:30 a.m. The first of 13 races at Belmont is at 11:35 a.m. with the Belmont Stakes (race 11) scheduled to go at 6:37 p.m. Preakness winner War of Will is the 2-1 morning-line second choice taking on Wood Memorial champion — and early 9-5 choice — Tacitus in the 1-1/2 mile test over Big Sandy.

Canada’s biggest harness race, the North America Cup, will have two eliminations (slated as the third and eighth races) at Woodbine Mohawk Park. The Cup has huge Meadowlands Pace ramifications as seven of the horses in the Big M Media Relations Department’s “Road to the Crawford Farms Meadowlands Pace” will be on the track. The North America Cup final is on Saturday (June 15).

At Cleveland’s Northfield Park, open pacers will slug it out for a $200,000 pot in the Battle of Lake Erie. The other red-hot horse from the Bongiorno barn, None Bettor A, will look for a sixth straight win facing the likes of Camluck Classic winner The Wall.

On Sunday (June 9), check out the third leg of the Graduate Series for 4-year-old pacers and trotters at Tioga Downs. Many of the series’ stars will be in action. On the pace, Lather Up, Courtly Choice, Done Well and Thinkbig Dreambig are in to go, while on the trot, Muscle M Up, Phaetosive and Six Pack will line up behind the gate.

Leg four of the Graduate will be at the Meadowlands on June 28 before the Big M also hosts the July 6 series’ finals.

Live racing at the Meadowlands will be conducted this week on Friday and Saturday with a first-race post time of 7:15 p.m.

On Friday (June 7), 20-cent Jackpot Super High-Five fans will be fired up for the fifth race, when a carryover of $102,608 will be up for grabs.

As always, free program pages for the 20-cent Can-Am Pick-4 (Friday only) and 50-cent Pick-4 (Friday and Saturday) are available at www.playmeadowlands.com and www.ustrotting.com.

Burger Battle: Do you make a good burger? Then come out to the Meadowlands on Saturday (June 8) and participate in the fourth annual “Battle for the Best Burger” contest. You could win $1,500.

The contest begins at noon and is open to area food trucks and restaurants. For complete details and the entry form, go to this link.

Horseplay Car Giveaway: Every live race night from now until Aug. 2, you could win a brand-new Toyota C-HR by participating in the Big M’s “Horseplay Giveaway.”

Just grab a free toy horse at the Players Club Desk or official Horseplay table and if you can throw your horse into a moving car at the conclusion of the sixth race, it will give you a chance at winning a $100 betting voucher and put you in the drawing for the C-HR.

In addition, for each horse that makes it into the car, the Meadowlands will donate $10 to a designated monthly charity. The drawing for the car will take place on Aug. 2, and to win, one must be present.

Title Chases: The FanDuel Sportsbook is the place to watch and wager on the NHL Stanley Cup Final, in which the St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins are tied at two games apiece, and the NBA Finals, where the defending champion Golden State Warriors trail the upset-minded Toronto Raptors two games to one.

Game 5 of the NHL series is Thursday (June 6) at 8 p.m. while Game 4 of the NBA matchup is Friday (June 7) at 9 p.m.

The FanDuel Sportsbook offers plenty of comfortable seating with a full-service bar and plenty of tasty food choices.