by Nick Salvi, for Meadowlands Racetrack

East Rutherford, NJ — The 2013 race meet at Meadowlands Racetrack moves forward with four more series beginning this week.

Thursday’s card includes five divisions of the Winter Survivor for pacers that have raced in a $15,000 claimer or less and the Charles Singer trotting series for 4-year-olds. Friday’s offering is the popular Jr. Trendsetter series for sophomore pacers that haven’t won twice or $25,000 in their young careers. The Exit 16W accommodates those who have not won three times or earned $100,000 thus far. Saturday’s 13-race card features three strong divisions of the series for 4-year-old pacing males.

The news continues to be good for the 2013 racing season at the Meadowlands. Handle is booming, seeing the first $2 million Thursday and $3 million Friday of this season and the first time that has occurred since April 2010. Each day saw double digit percentage handle increases over last year.

The nightly 12-horse field event was stretched out to a mile and a sixteenth in an effort to give the participants a longer run into the first turn to establish their positions. The big field continues to be popular with the betting public and the payoffs are generous.

The first race with the added distance on Thursday resulted in a top three finish of 7–8–9 for a trifecta of more than $13,000 and the superfecta returned more than $14,000 for a dime.

Live racing resumes on Thursday with a first post of 7:15 p.m. and continues through Saturday evening.

For industry participants, let this serve as a reminder that nominations to virtually all of the marquee events at the Meadowlands for the 2013 season have a nomination deadline of Feb. 15. Visit the Meadowlands website for forms and details.