East Rutherford, NJ — Saturday nights always mean big business at The Meadowlands, but last Saturday (May 4), business was the biggest it has been thus far this year, as the 14-race program at the mile oval saw $3,870,638 pushed through the windows, tops at the track — and the sport — during 2024.

After a fabulous Friday (May 3) that saw wagering of $3,450,418, the weekend total of $7,321,056 also represented a new 2024 Meadowlands and industry best.

“Anyone who was at The Meadowlands during Kentucky Derby weekend could clearly see one thing for certain,” said track Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Jason Settlemoir. “The pandemic is over. Life and good times were in abundance as the crowd celebrated the 150th edition of The Derby. They also enjoyed our popular beer festival, playoff sports in the FanDuel Sportsbook and a watch party for UFC 301.”

Previously, the single-night high handle was $3,779,096, established on Jan. 27, and the weekend best was $7,233,313, set March 1-2.

“Our biggest night of the year, a historic Derby, beautiful weather for our Beerfest, and almost everyone in the metropolitan area has Knicks and Rangers fever, not to mention a night when our live product was in high demand,” said Settlemoir. “What a glorious time to celebrate life here at The Meadowlands.”

Freaky Fast: Battlefield, a 4-year-old gelded son of Sweet Lou-Belle Boyd, sat a close-to-the-action type of trip and recorded his third win of the season for trainer Jeff Cullipher and driver Todd McCarthy in the 11th race at The Big M Saturday (May 4) night.

The 7-1 shot stopped the clock in a lifetime-best 1:48.4, the fastest mile of the year at The Meadowlands. The time equaled the fastest mile of the year in the sport, as Artatac A was the first to go that fast at Miami Valley on March 14.

It took about 20 minutes to add another name to the 1:48.4 club membership, as even-money chance Mac’s Delight, a 4-year-old gelded son of Bettor’s Delight-Michelle’s Pride, turned the trick in the very next Big M dash for Tom Cancelliere and Andy McCarthy from off the pace. It was just Mac’s Delight’s second start of the season. One week prior, he finished second behind Huntinthelastdolar, who was super-impressive in a wire-to-wire 1:50 score.

Set Your Alarm: On Friday (May 10) morning, there will once again be plenty of big names participating in qualifying events at The Big M.

Among those on the 10-race card that gets underway at 9 a.m. are:

Race 1: 3-year-old filly pacers – Breeders Crown winner My Girl EJ and Kindergarten and Three Diamonds champion Caviart Belle

Race 7: 3-year-old colt pacers – Meadowlands Pace hopefuls Newsroom, Captain Albano and Captain Luke

Race 10: Older pacers – 2023 FanDuel winner Allywag Hanover and last year’s Breeders Crown champion Bythemissal

Watch the qualifiers live by going to playmeadowlands.com.

Spectacular Jersey-Sired Stars: This Saturday’s (May 11) program will provide a good look into a rebuilding New Jersey Sire Stakes program, one that is especially on the rebound on the pacing side, and features a horse on the trotting side that is the early favorite for the 99th edition of The Hambletonian.

During the course of the night, there will be nine $30,000 NJSS divisions for 3-year-olds contested, six on the trot and three on the pace.

Race four, the second of a trio of colt and gelding trots, is where fans can find the biggest star of the night, as Karl looks to begin his march toward a possible Hambo trophy. The son of Tactical Landing-Avalicious qualified in brilliant fashion in a sensational 1:52.1 on April 27 to get ready for this first test of his sophomore campaign. Karl is driven by Yannick Gingras and trained by Nancy Takter, who is after a second consecutive Hambletonian score, after taking last year’s edition with Tactical Approach.

Steaks And Stakes: While watching the NJSS action on Saturday, why not enjoy a tremendous meal as well, as The Big M presents its second annual “Steaks & Stakes.”

There will be delicious food from local food trucks and restaurants available to titillate the palates of all who attend the races.

In addition, you can enter to win the following: a three-night stay at Atlantis Paradise Island Bahamas and Rolling Stones tickets. One must be on site to enter and claim prizes. Drawings will be at 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

For complete information, and to register to compete, go here.

Would You Like To Win A Car? When you come to The Meadowlands, you could make a score at the windows. But now, you could also walk away with a brand new 2024 Toyota Camry LE AWD by participating in the track’s HorsePlay Giveaway, which takes place every race day until Friday (Aug. 2).

The HorsePlay Giveaway is sponsored by Purple Haze Stables.

For complete information, and to enter this extremely popular promotion, go here.

Survival Mode: The Meadowlands Summer Survival Challenge, powered by 123Racing, kicked off on Friday (May 3). Cash prizes and Meadowlands swag are up for grabs in this free online contest.

The game covers the Meadowlands Championship Meet and will conclude on Saturday (Aug. 3).

In the early going, Ryebread64 leads the way in the Challenge with $143.20, followed by ishman17 ($138.20) and F0reR1ght ($135.60). As for most winners, Ryebread64 and F0reR1ght are tied for the lead with five apiece.

The winner is determined by the highest total bankroll at the end of the Challenge based on a $2 “across-the-board” wager (win, place and show) on selections for three designated races on each program.

The free contest is open to legal residents of the United States and Canada who are 18 years of age or older, and all selections must be made through the format provided on the Survival Challenge website page.

To login or to register as a first-time player, go here.

The Great Eight: The Meadowlands’ appetizing betting menu got a little tastier several weeks ago with the addition of a second 20-cent Pick-5, to join the pair of 50-cent Pick-4s already on the bill of fare.

There are eight wagers nightly that offer a chance for players to make a big hit while betting into big pools that offer a low takeout of just 15 percent. Here is the lineup:

Races 1-5: Early 20-cent Pick-5
Races 2-8: 20-cent Survivor Pick-7 (mandatory payout nightly)
Races 4-9: 20-cent Pick-6
Races 6-9: Early 50-cent Pick-4 ($50,000 guaranteed pool)
Race 7: 10-cent Pentafecta (Hi-5)
Races 8-12: Late 20-cent Pick-5
Races 10-13: Late 50-cent Pick-4 ($50,000 guaranteed pool)
Race 11: 10-cent Pentafecta (Hi-5)

The Sked: Live racing takes place every Friday and Saturday with a first-race post time of 6:20 p.m.

Join The Meadowlands’ TV “A”-team of Dave Little and Jessica Otten for the live “Racing from The Meadowlands” pregame show both nights at 5:45 p.m.

Awesome Otten Spots Huge Pick-4: It was another tough night for most handicappers last Friday (May 3), but not for Jessica Otten.

Big M TV’s Otten gave out the Early 50-cent Pick-4 that paid a whopping $1,961.20.

Playing a 50-cent ticket using a 2x3x3x4 configuration, Otten had 12-1 chance Crown Monarch in the eighth race, and then for good measure, picked her first winner of the night, Sand Sniper in the ninth, who paid $16.40 to complete her huge hit. Her followers made a profit on the play of $1,925.20 after deducting a $36 investment.

Otten came close to what’s believed to be the all-time high on-set Pick-4 hit, which was $2,000, set by Dave Brower several years ago.

Free Programs Every Night: Past performances for every race of every Meadowlands card are available free of charge. All one has to do is go to playmeadowlands.com to access the information.

“X” Marks The Spot: Everything Meadowlands is available by going on X (formerly known as Twitter). You can check in with the Big M team for early changes, racing information and staff selections by going to @themeadowlands or #playbigm.

Stay in touch with The Big M team of Otten (@JessicaOtten1), Little (@DaveLittleBigM) and Ken Warkentin (@kenvoiceover).

Witherite’s Race Reviews: Race reviews and selections by The Meadowlands’ morning-line oddsmaker and program analyst James Witherite are available 48 hours before a given race card. To access, simply go to playmeadowlands.com, go to the “handicapping” tab, then click “race reviews.”