East Rutherford, NJ – Lately at The Meadowlands, driver Brett Beckwith has turned the marvelous into the mundane, as the red-hot defending Big M driver champ, who guided 36 winners during the month of December, won four races on the Friday night (Jan. 9) program, including both $17,500 co-featured high-end conditioned events.
The 22-year-old pilot got his night started late, winning the first of his quartet in the eighth race with 5-1 second choice Pit Boss Hanover, who returned $13.20 to win. The winning time of 1:52 was a lifetime best for the 5-year-old daughter of Betting Line-Pretty N Fast for trainer Cory Stratton.
His second win came in the ninth with Finite in the co-featured trot. Finite worked out a perfect pocket trip behind 2-1 favorite Super Duper Cooper to score in a lifetime-best 1:52.4 as the 7-2 third choice in the wagering.
“He was obviously really good tonight,” said Beckwith. “My horse did it all on his own. Super Duper Cooper is a nice horse, every horse in there is a talented animal, but mine went a career best effort tonight.”
A 5-year-old gelded son of Resolve-Awesome Chrissy, the Ron Burke trainee racked up his 10th career victory in 53 tries. He paid $9.60 to win after hitting the wire 1 length in front of Super Duper Cooper.
Beckwith had an easier time of it in the 10th – the co-featured pace for fillies and mares – guiding Australian import Tick A Loch A to a super-easy 3 1/4-length score over Pressure Cooker in 1:51 for her first-ever win on North American soil.
Chris Height trains the 6-year-old daughter of Always B Miki-Timely Loch, who took the lead just after the quarter and never had an anxious moment on the way to victory lane. She returned $2.60 as the 1-5 favorite.
A winner of 146 Big M races during 2025 who’s copped five straight Big M Driver of the Week Awards, Beckwith capped his big night in the 11th as he won a fourth straight dash with 7-5 favorite Iwon’t Backdown As. The 7-year-old gelded son of Lionhunter-Fortunes Dream, who is trained by Anette Lorentzon, paid $4.80 to win after completing the mile in 1:54.
Beckwith is threatening to make 2026 a runaway in his quest for a second consecutive Meadowlands driver title. He already has 12 victories this year, seven more than runner-up Mark Herschberger.
PICK-5 CARRYOVER: Two long shots led to no winning tickets being sold on the 20-cent Pick-5. After a sequence where the winner’s odds were 9-1, 5-2, 51-1, 40-1 and 2-1, those with four correct collected $200.30.
When racing resumes Saturday (Jan. 10), punters will be swimming in a big pool, which will start out with a carryover of $29,637.
The Pick-5 is offered on races one through five.
A LITTLE MORE: All-source handle on the 14-race program totaled $2,647,675. … Racing resumes Saturday at 6:20 p.m. … This week marks the first of four consecutive Sunday programs. Post time is 12:30 p.m.