The Meadowlands is back with a bang and a bark on Saturday
by Debbie Little
The Meadowlands gets back on track Saturday (Oct. 18) when they kick off the remainder of their 2025 schedule that runs through Dec. 27.
Standardbreds last raced at The Big M on Saturday (Sept. 13) before the track played host to the annual “Monmouth at The Meadowlands” thoroughbred turf meet that wraps up on Friday (Oct. 17).
The first of five straight weekends of stakes action begins next week and culminates on Saturday (Nov. 22) with finals for the New Jersey Standardbred Development Fund (NJSDF).
Stakes school starts its session on Friday (Oct. 24) with the fifth and final leg of the Kindergarten Classic Series, giving both male and female 2-year-old trotters and pacers one last opportunity to accrue points.
Having the most points is an advantage in the Kindergarten finals, since, according to the race conditions, the point leader, or leaders in case of a tie, draw for post positions 1-6.
Even though there is no stakes action to kick off their fall return, the East Rutherford, NJ mile oval is expecting a large crowd to cheer on their favorites in the inaugural Corgi Cup, which was rescheduled from Sept. 6 due to severe weather conditions.
The family-fun canine contest is at capacity with 80 participants and a long waiting list, should anyone drop out.
In addition to their typical Friday-Saturday racing schedule that will continue through the end of the year, to partly compensate for the loss of live New Jersey harness dates when Freehold Raceway closed its doors in December of last year, The Meadowlands has added six Thursdays to their lineup: Nov. 6, 13, 20 and Dec. 4, 11, 18. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the occasional Thursday in November and December were not uncommon as many companies liked to hold holiday parties at the track.
The Meadowlands will further feature fabulous freshmen with the Kindergarten finals on Saturday (Nov. 1), followed by legs 1 and 2 of the NJSDF on Nov. 7-8 and 14-15, respectively, with trotters on Fridays and pacers on Saturdays, leading up to the four aforementioned NJSDF finals on Nov. 22.
Also on Nov. 15 is the Freshman Fall Final Four — Governor’s Cup (2YOCP), Three Diamonds (2YOFP), Valley Victory (2YOCT), and Goldsmith Maid (2YOFT) — and FanDuel Championships (Mare and Open Pace and Trot).
The Meadowlands will team with the New York Racing Association (NYRA) for their final FOX Sports shows of the season as part of NYRA’s “America’s Day at the Races” telecasts on Nov. 1 for the Kindergarten finals (8-11 p.m.) and Nov. 15 for the Fall Final Four (8-11 p.m.).
Even though the saying has always been, “It all comes down to the Breeders Crown,” the Fall Final Four and FanDuel Championships have played a part in determining divisional honors on more than one occasion.
At the end of the Championship Meet, Brett Beckwith and Jeff Cullipher were the top driver and trainer, respectively, at The Big M.
With two and a half months to go until the end of the year, it seems unlikely that anyone will catch Beckwith, who enters Saturday night’s card with 100 wins, 22 more than David Miller in second and 30 more than Jason Bartlett in third.
The trainer title appears to be a different story where Cullipher has 49 wins and is four up on Noel Daley (45) and five up on Ron Burke (44), but once stakes season is over in late November, Cullipher may have the upper hand with more overnight stock competing at The Meadowlands in December.
