from the Meadowlands Media Relations Department

East Rutherford, NJ — A Pick-5 carryover of $18,653 awaits handicappers when live racing returns to the Meadowlands this Friday (Feb. 5).

The Pick-5 begins on race three and features a 50-cent base wager and low 15 percent takeout. To further entice horseplayers, the Meadowlands has increased the guaranteed pool amount to $50,000 and the sequence will be featured as part of the United States Trotting Association’s Strategic Wagering Program. Harness Trip Notes pages for Friday’s Meadowlands Pick-5 are available by clicking this link.

“Friday is a value players dream because the Pick-5 is certain to attract a lot of new investors with a carryover of $18,653,” said Meadowlands CEO/GM Jason M. Settlemoir. “A negative takeout scenario is possible because of the lower takeout. The Pick-5 winners will actually collect more money than the bet takes in on Friday if the final pool is under $124,000. Combine the investment opportunities with only 35 percent of the favorites winning and you can see why The Meadowlands is anticipating giant betting pools this weekend.”

The last Pick-5 carryover at the Meadowlands was on Aug. 7, 2015 for $29,460. A total of $131,164 in new money was wagered that night for a total pool of $160,624. After takeout, horseplayers were returned a total of $140,949 which actually represented a negative takeout situation. The horseplayers’ advantage was 7.4 percent, a very rare occurrence in pari-mutuel wagering and most worthy of investment.

In addition to the increased guarantee on the Pick-5 wager, the Meadowlands also offers a $25,000 guaranteed pool in the Early Pick-4 wager (races five–eight) and a $50,000 guaranteed pool in the Late Pick-4 (races nine–12).

“The Meadowlands has always been an industry leader in regards to giving more money back to the players,” said Settlemoir. “Instead of going with a 25 percent rake on the guaranteed pool wagers, The Meadowlands offers the three guaranteed pools at 15 percent, a substantial takeout reduction of 40 percent.”

Free deluxe past performance pages provided by TrackMaster will be available for both the Pick-5 and late Pick-4 wagers on the USTA’s Strategic Wagering page and the Meadowlands website.

Friday also marks the first race date of February, coming on the heels of a robust January that saw average nightly handle of more than $3 million. The large wagering pools and low percentage of winning favorites helped trigger generous payoffs. For example, last weekend the average $2 win price was nearly $13 while the average $2 exacta paid almost $94 and the average $2 trifecta returned more than $566.

Live racing takes place Friday and Saturday nights at the Meadowlands with 14-race programs beginning at 6:35 p.m.

For more information, visit www.playmeadowlands.com.