Is the reduction in drag the reason for the decline? It’s probably not helping, but it’s more complicated than that.

by Debbie Little

Anyone who regularly follows The Meadowlands knows that their handle has been lower than usual for the last three weeks of April.

In preparation for tonight’s (May 2) planned suspension of the post-time drag, The Big M started decreasing their normal eight-minute drag by one minute each race night since April 11.

When asked if he felt the drag reduction was solely to blame, Meadowlands chief operating officer/general manager Jason Settlemoir said, “Export handle had been down going into ‘eliminating the drag’ but obviously, yes, this has caused handle to drop further.”

It would be easy to blame the drag reduction, if indeed The Meadowlands was the only track experiencing recent handle decline, but they’re not. Wagering on Canadian racing in 2025 is down about 20 per cent year-over-year. It’s not even just our sport, as total thoroughbred handle is also down in 2025.

In their first 27 race cards of 2025, The Meadowlands averaged $2.9 million, but for the last six cards, they only averaged $2.3. For those looking for a bright side, even with the recent underperformance, the track’s average handle for the year is still at $2.8.

Meadowlands TV talent Dave Little is also responsible for sending out the track’s race-night recaps, which always include the handle, and he was surprised by something he saw in the fourth race on Friday (April 25).

“In the seven years I’ve been here, I’ve never seen a 10-horse field handle less than $100,000,” he said.

Many factors contribute to the health of a handle, or lack thereof. Rising prices, tariffs, and the possibility of a recession certainly could have bettors being a little tighter with their purse strings.

Something else to keep in mind at this transitional time is that as of April 30, the DISH Network version of RTN (Racetrack Television Network) was shut down in favor of the online version. It’s not known whether that could cause a further reduction in handle, but considering many customers wager while watching RTN via DISH, it certainly won’t help grow handle.

A week before the handle started to drop, in the April 4 edition of HRU, Settlemoir talked about how The Meadowlands is working on stopping computer-assisted wagering (CAW) entities from betting in the win pool once they hit two minutes to post, thus preventing those dramatic late shifts in odds, which customers have been complaining about.

According to sources, Elite Turf Club has not been wagering as much at The Big M lately.

What The Meadowlands is trying to accomplish with the CAWs is complicated and there are regulatory hang-ups as well as tote hang-ups that need to be dealt with, so it is not known how soon they will be able to implement that change.

As for what to expect tonight and throughout the Championship Meet regarding the suspension of the drag, Settlemoir said, “Horses will be on the track at 6:13 p.m. and off at 6:20. Post to post will be approximately 21 minutes.”

He also said if everything goes right the last race should go off before 11:30 p.m.

Meadowlands president/chief executive officer Jeff Gural told HRU in early March that the Championship Meet was chosen for eliminating the post-time drag because it’s the time they have the best product.

“And I’m tired of everyone criticizing track owners for not eliminating the drag,” Gural said. “I think everyone agrees that the drag is terrible, and I really don’t understand why any track that’s subsidized by slot machines would have a drag, since the amount of revenue they get from their export is relatively small.”

Currently, The Meadowlands is the only track committed to suspending the drag.

“During the Championship Meet, a lot of those nights we have stakes races, and if I’m ever going to get people who actually care about the product, it’s the Championship Meet,” Gural said. “I assume it will cost me money, but nobody else seems willing to join with us, so we continue to put out a terrible product [because of the drag].”

Grand Circuit season at The Meadowlands kicks off on Saturday (May 3) with the $115,500 Dexter Cup and $45,000 Lady Suffolk.

Both races were previously contested at Freehold Raceway and this is their debut at The Meadowlands. With only four entrants the Lady Suffolk will be raced as a non-wagering event before the card at 6 p.m. The Dexter Cup has a six-horse field in race 6 on the 14-race betting card. Though, as Brett Sturman wrote recently, the Dexter Cup is poised to have a brighter future.