from the Meadowlands Media Relations Department

East Rutherford, NJ — After the last race was declared official this past Saturday night at The Meadowlands, thanks to there being more than one winning ticket, the Jackpot Super Hi-5 carryover pool swelled to $102,498. Following a one month period that saw the wager hit several times, the last race jackpot has now gone unclaimed since Dec. 6.

Not only is the carryover pool continuing to grow, but the average pool size continues to increase as well. This past Saturday, the $36,193 wagered into the last race Jackpot Hi-5 was the largest single pool to date.

The wager has returned an average payout each night of more than $1,000, thanks to 75 percent of the pool being paid out each night and the industry-low eight percent takeout rate.

“You can feel the momentum growing with this wager,” said Director of Racing Operations Darin Zoccali. “We are handling double in that pool what we were just two months ago. Obviously part of that is because the carryover is growing, but also because of the extremely low takeout rate and the fact that this wager returns more to our bettors on each night than any other jackpot wager.”

In addition, the fifth race Jackpot Super Hi-5 carryover stands at $16,540.98 going into the Thursday program.

The feature race on Thursday night is race six, the second round of the Charles Singer Memorial Trotting Series with a purse of $15,000. Round one saw JL Cruze continue his supremacy with an impressive victory over his rival, Opulent Yankee. It was the third time in four tries that JL Cruze had defeated that foe. He will begin as the 4-5 morning line favorite and will start from post position two with his usual pilot, John Campbell.

Opulent Yankee is part of a three-horse entry, joining forces with Blocking The Way and Propulsion, an entry that has been established as a 2-1 second choice. Opulent Yankee will leave from post position four with Andy Miller in the sulky.

In addition to the Jackpot Super Hi-5 carryovers, the Thursday night program features three guaranteed pools that continue to grow in average pool size.

The 50 cent Pick-5 begins in the first race, with an average pool of $53,457 coming into the Thursday program. On Saturday the wager yielded a payout of $11,356. The average Pick-5 payout in 2015 is $1,783 and has paid more than $1,000 on six different occasions since the start of the new year.

The 50 cent Early Pick-4 kicks off in race three. That average pool is now $50,339 with an average payout of $817. The 50 cent Late Pick-4 will commence in race seven, covering the last four races of the program. Last Thursday there was $75,299 wagered into the Late Pick-4 pool and this past Saturday there was $95,344 in the pool. The average Late Pick-4 pool stands at $72,962 with an average payout of $2,639. That wager has returned more than $1,000 for the 50 cent minimum on eight occasions since the calendar turned to 2015.

Post time for the Thursday program is 7:15 p.m.