East Rutherford, NJ — For fans craving action, The Meadowlands, the No. 1 harness track in the world will offer live racing on Friday and Saturday night. Each card has 14 races and will begin at 6:20 p.m.

The Big M is coming off another $3 million Saturday night, as nearly $3.2 million was pushed through the windows. During 2024, there have been 19 programs when betting has bettered the $3 million barrier from just 23 race dates.

Players can, as usual, rest assured they are putting their money into by far the biggest pools in harness racing as full fields will once again be the rule, as average field size over the 28-race week is an impressive 9.4.

Saturday Spotlight: The stars will be out on the live card Saturday at The Big M, starting with a 15-year-old wonder horse.

Mariner Seelster, permitted to race only because horses beyond the age of 14 are eligible to perform in fair or amateur dashes in New Jersey, will go for his fifth consecutive victory in the opener, a Meadowlands Amateur Driving Club 2 event on the pace.

Before the races begin, 2023 Dan Patch Amateur Driver of the Year John Calabrese will be Dave Little’s guest on the track’s pregame show “In the Sulky” segment, which begins shortly after the broadcast begins at 5:45 p.m.

During the card, Andy McCarthy is sure to have plenty of punters interested in how he’s doing. His dominance on Saturdays has been scintillating all year long. McCarthy guided four winners last Saturday (March 23) at the mile oval, including the feature with Betterinpinehurst.

There have been 11 Saturday race cards conducted during 2024 at The Meadowlands, and McCarthy has at least one win on each one. He’s won at least three dashes seven times, at least four on three occasions and became just the second driver this year at The Big M to win five times, which he accomplished on Feb. 24.

Check Out The Show: The Big M’s live “Racing from The Meadowlands” pregame show takes place before every live race card from the Sam McKee Memorial Broadcast Set.

The broadcast begins at 5:45 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday, before racing kicks off at 6:20 p.m.

This weekend, Little will be hosting both shows. On Friday, joining The Big M TV veteran on the set will be John Rallis before Anthony Stabile sits in the chair on Saturday.

Handicapping Contest Postponed: Due to the heavy rainstorm that hit the metropolitan area last Saturday, the live money handicapping contest at The Meadowlands was postponed and will now be held on Saturday (April 6).

For complete contest rules and regulations, go here.

He Shoots, He Scores: Saturday (April 6), is another day with plenty going on at The Big M.

In addition to great racing, the Final Four and the last of the major Kentucky Derby preps, Peter Grandich will be at the track that night sponsoring another “Hockey Night at The Meadowlands.”

Two-time Stanley Cup champion — one of those with the New Jersey Devils — Grant Marshall, Philadelphia Flyers fan favorite Chris Therien and New York Rangers great Ron Greschner will be there meeting fans, signing autographs and taking photos.

They will be in the Clubhouse Lobby from 5:30-6:30 p.m. For those seeking autographs, there is a two-item limit per person.

Drive Of The Week: On Friday night, David Miller was named the second recipient of the track’s weekly “Drive of the Week” award for his handling of Buddy Earl, who won on Saturday (March 16), after superbly timed piloting from Miller.

Want to get involved?

Each Monday, following the weekend of racing, The Meadowlands will post a poll on X asking fans to vote for their favorite drive of the past weekend. The poll will run for 24 hours, allowing one vote per X handle.

Meadowlands TV and management will select at least two outstanding drives from the weekend to include in the poll. Fans can suggest a drive to be included in the poll via X. If that drive is included in the poll, the fan will receive a $25 betting voucher valid at The Meadowlands (for those 18-plus, random drawing used if multiple fans suggest the same drive).

The winning drive will be announced every Tuesday afternoon and the winning driver will receive a $500 donation to the charity of their choice, courtesy of Jeff Gural and the Meadowlands.

One Week To Survive: Yes, spring is here, but the track’s Winter Meet Survival Challenge, powered by 123Racing, still has one week to go, and when the contest concludes, cash prizes and Meadowlands swag will go to those at or near the top of the leaderboard in the free online competition.

TrackMaster is providing Platinum Past Performances for each night of the contest. The game covers the Winter Meet and concludes on Saturday (March 30).

The contest began Jan. 5 with 2,327 participants, and thus far, almost 2,100 of those have been eliminated, leaving 228 in the hunt for the top prize.

Currently, the top three in the standings are OnTheEngine ($529.40), Berto ($525.80) and Racetrack Ruler ($509.80).

There is also a prize for who picks the most winners. There is a tie atop the leaderboard as both sperry and Loislitt have 29. There is a three-way for second, as LuckyLarry, joejets and realThomasKearney each have 28.

The winner will be determined by the highest total bankroll at the end of the Challenge based on a $2 across-the-board wager on selections for three designated races on each program.

The prize board:

The grand prize is $750 plus a Meadowlands swag package
The second-place prize is $500 plus a Meadowlands swag package
The third-place prize is $250 plus a Meadowlands swag package
Most Winners: $200 plus a Meadowlands swag package
Highest monthly bankroll: $100 (one winner in each month)

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. 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 Jessica Otten (@JessicaOtten1), Little (@DaveLittleBigM) and Ken Warkentin (@kenvoiceover).

The Great Eight: The Meadowlands provides eight opportunities for the player to make a score trying their luck betting in pools with a low 15 percent takeout. The lineup of The Big M’s “Great Eight” is as follows (all wagers — with the exception of the Pick-7 — are carryover eligible):

Race 1: 20-cent Pick-5
Race 2: 20-cent Survivor Pick-7
Race 4: 20-cent Pick-8
Race 6: 50-cent Pick-4 ($50,000 guarantee)
Race 7: 20-cent High-5
Race 8: 20-cent Pick-6
Race 10: 50-cent Pick-4 ($50,000 guarantee)
Race 11: 20-cent High-5

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.”