Meadowlands Thoroughbred Meet Cuts Takeout
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Photo: Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO
Meadowlands
The Meadowlands all-turf Thoroughbred meet, which begins Sept. 28, will offer an across-the-board takeout rate of 15%, the lowest in the nation.
The Meadowlands meet will feature live programs through Oct. 19.
"While other tracks have offered lower takeouts on specific bets, we are going across the board on all wagers," said Dennis Drazin, advisor to Darby Development, which operates the "Monmouth-at-Meadowlands" meet. "You hear over and over again that fans want big fields, low takeout, competitive racing—and that's what we are set to offer."
The 2015 Meadowlands Thoroughbred meet saw average field size of 9.9, which was a 13% increase over 2014. Handle in 2015 was 19% more than the year before and 25% better than 2013.
"While it's a compact meet, the Meadowlands has certainly gained the backing of horsemen and racing fans over the past several years," Drazin said. "We're going to look to add to those numbers and concoct a winning formula for all interested parties.
"Our goal is to not only reward those that have followed the all-turf Meadowlands programs the last several years, but to bring new faces to the facility and our simulcast markets. This is an interesting experiment, and one that we hope proves popular with the fans and continues to build on the Meadowlands Thoroughbred momentum."
With approval for the new takeout structure granted by the New Jersey Racing Commission Sept. 14, the across-the-board takeout rate of 15% will replace the previous takeout rates, which were: 17% for win, place, and show wagers; 19% for exactas and daily doubles; 20% for the Jersey Six; 25% for Pick 3s, trifectas, and superfectas; and,15% for the Pick 4 and Pick 5.
The Meadowlands Thoroughbred action kicks off at 7 p.m. ET Sept. 28, with that post time prevailing through Oct. 15. The racetrack will race Wednesday through Saturday for the first two weeks, before switching to a Thursday-through-Saturday schedule (Oct. 13-15). The final three cards will be afternoon events Oct. 17- 19, with a 1:10 p.m. post.