The New Meadowlands - Thoughts and Observations

[CyberChamp]

We are a little more than a dozen race cards into the meet at the New Meadowlands.

Just wanted to get your thoughts and observations about anything and everything related to M1.



Here is a little something to get us started:

Corey Callahan is really learning how to drive with the big boys.  Very impressed with his performances so far.

I enjoy playing the Friday cards a lot more than the Saturday cards.  I think the trotters are more consistent and the quality, on average, is better on Fridays.  I find a lot more inconsistencies, or should I say less predictability, with the Saturday cards.

I haven't found any noticeable differences with the change in track orientation, moving the start/finish to the opposite side.  I think the engineers did a great job to preserve how the track plays vs. the previous configuration.

The late pick4s, IMO, are really tough.  They've kicked my @ss since the start of the meet.  My hunch is that it's somewhat due to the quality of horses in the LP4, lower classes that are more inconsistent, but there are some very competitive fields there as well, likely by design.

I like the video frames and color scheme.  I extremely dislike that they post payouts and will pays for $2 pick4s.  I don't know anyone who plays the pick4 for $2.  IMO, this is just a sad attempt to mislead the public into thinking that the pick4 is paying higher.

Love the pool sizes.  Maybe it's just the hype with the New Meadowlands, but it looks to be sustainable.

It's become quite clear to me that Pierce and Yannick are great speed drivers.  But when the bias is favoring closers, they truly struggle.  The always patient John Campbell puts on a clinic when the track favors closers, especially on off tracks.

Two words: Sweet Justice

Noticed a change in the location of the finish line camera.  Used to be situated slightly after the finish line, making it appear that the finish line angled slightly to the left, from the top down, when looking at the video monitor.  I think the new M1 started that way, but now it looks like the camera is located slightly before the finish line.  Not quite right on top of the finish line like Woodbine, but takes a lot of the guess work away as we wait for the results of the photo finish.

Glad they now have a 3rd day of racing.

The late double has been complete garbage.  I don't even want to handicap past race 10 or 11.

They must be having trouble with entries for the higher class pacers.  Can't believe that they had a B-1/A-2/A-1/FFA handicap race last night (race 6), and that only had 8 horses.

The TVG coverage has been okay, but the live video feed has been very uninformative.  I prefer to mute the sound now.

Wish they would implement a countdown clock like WEG.


Feel free to share any thoughts.  Also, has anyone been to the new M1 and have insight to share?

[NIATROSS]

great thread and comments cc 

dislikes,
the new color schemes,reminds me vernon or tioga
has become another track where post times mean nothing
agree about a clock like woodbine
the cheap racing makes some races unwatchable let alone bettable
likes,
big pools
mile racing
plenty of trot races
mckee and warkentin
campbell getting some live drives

[RocknRoll]

I like how they finally show the pick 5 payout for $.50 and then they go and show the pick 4 payouts for $2? Makes no sense.

The morning line is pure garbage, they'd be better off not even having one. If people use it as a gauge then they are being terribly mislead.

I feel the competitive races really offer some nice value, but there needs to be more of them. There have been a lot of races where half the field can't keep up so it looks like you can't close. But when you see a nice field of horses, the races really have been much more fair.

Three nights a week is definitely a plus, hopefully they can keep it up and keep getting better horses to show up.

Brad Irvine and Doug Lewis trained horses are on all of my tickets!!

[Gazoo]

I haven't found any noticeable differences with the change in track orientation, moving the start/finish to the opposite side.

Grams Legacy hasn't either .....   

[pezz97]

Grams Legacy hasn't either .....   

That f**kER!!!!

 

[CyberChamp]

Grams Legacy hasn't either .....   

 

[Headpole Dave]

Zeron can bring a price horse home, or into the ticket. This kid can flat out drive with the best of them, and when he gets first call with a number one stable, he'll lead the meet there. I didn't think he'd fit in this well this quick, but he's done a bang up job after a rough first bit.

[maywoodmaniac]

CC, good topic to get started.

Agree about Callahan.  He made his mark this time last year at the Big M.

Good to see old vets Pierce and Campbell off to good starts.  Live drives make a difference.  They're also taking advantage of Tim Tetrick being on the D.L. and Sears choosing to make his money in front of 10 people at the junk pile across the river.

The last couple of winters Campbell was mostly an auto toss the first 2 months of the year.  Looks like Andy Miller has assumed that role, at least on Saturday nights which is the only time I play.

The track configuration is fine and I don't mind liking a horse with an outside post. The sweeping banked turns are fine and this is an opinion from someone with familiarity to the hairpins at the old Sportsman's Park in Chicago.  For a mile track, Hawthorne's turns were much tighter than the Big M.

Some of the annoying things so far include the mutuels computer freeze that disrupts everything; for a new facility with presumably new equipment, that shouldn't happen.

Instead of showing the WPS pools for 10 seconds before the horses turn and go to the gate, how about showing it twice? Right after the post parade introduction and a minute before the judge tells the drivers to turn them seems right.  After all, over 90 percent of the wagering is being done off-track.

Found it interesting last Saturday night that one of the drivers earlier (before the deluge that hit in race   said the sloppy track wasn't bad and they were coming off the track with little mud on them.  Despite it being sloppy, I thought the track played consistent.

[maywoodmaniac]

Dave, I think Zeron is getting there but wish he would have found the wire a tad sooner with Humility the other night.

[The Skipper]

Grams Legacy hasn't either .....   

  Let me know when he gets new shoes 

[CyberChamp]

Dave, I think Zeron is getting there but wish he would have found the wire a tad sooner with Humility the other night.

Sorry MM,

I know Jazz was yelling for One Bad Shot and Joe Bongiorno over all of the others guy at the OTB that were screaming for Humility.

I also heard that Brush and Crush was rocking in the seat of his car while One Bad Shot was flying down the stretch.  Word has it that his wife was looking at him funny during that epileptic-like episode.

Rumor has it that Rocknroll was also yelling during the stretch call for JoeyB to get a nose up.

My teller at the OTB was rooting for the same since I gave her a $2 win ticket on One Bad Shot.  (The only pre-race gratuity I gave her all night.)

Wow, that accounts for 7.5% of the p5 pool! 

 

[RocknRoll]

Sorry MM,

I know Jazz was yelling for One Bad Shot and Joe Bongiorno over all of the others guy at the OTB that were screaming for Humility.

I also heard that Brush and Crush was rocking in the seat of his car while One Bad Shot was flying down the stretch.  Word has it that his wife was looking at him funny during that epileptic-like episode.

Rumor has it that Rocknroll was also yelling during the stretch call for JoeyB to get a nose up.

My teller at the OTB was rooting for the same since I gave her a $2 win ticket on One Bad Shot.  (The only pre-race gratuity I gave her all night.)

Wow, that accounts for 7.5% of the p5 pool! 

 

   

[RocknRoll]

Let me know when he gets new shoes 

I sure hope he waits to get those new shoes for Pace night!

[maywoodmaniac]

CC:

If I knew where you guys were we coulda had that huge Exacta.

What OTB are you talking about?  I wound up at the one in Joliet and it was library quiet that night.

[chicagojazz]

I actually lost my voice after that race. 
I was STUCK like a friend of mine. 
that 8 bailed me out and helped in the pk5.
if not stuck, would've had the EX and the 10c Super. I'm glad CC had him and told us about him. 

MM, we usually hang out at Players Pub which is quite a distance from where you were at (Joliet)
located in Prospect Heights.