Meadowlands Closes; Things Look Brighter at Cal-Expo

Where has the season gone?

Hard to believe with the Meadowlands concluding their meet last night and today being Super Sunday, the action moves to the Midwest and Upstate New York, before the marquee stops at the Delaware County Fair and The Red Mile.  Before we know it, the talk will be of the yearling sales and the Breeders Crown.  Then comes the argument as to who should win the year end awards.

As for the Meadowlands, it will be an exciting off-season as Jeff Gural and his team will be putting its mark on the New Jersey oval.  The long term goal of the racetrack is to become the number one track but realistically, without slots that is not going to happen.  Racing will for the most part be mid-level so expect one of the major goals for 2012 at the Meadowlands is to return the Meadowlands to the consciousness of lthe local community; to make it a legitimate recreation option.  This is not to say steps won't be taken to increase handle, but you need to get people to the track to do so abd yiu need to grow awareness of the signall .  Another part of the puzzle is how to get the heavy gamblers to pay attention to a track which races two or three days a week instead of racing at least four days a week. 

Bettors going to the races at Cal-Expo, simulcast and ADW customers are going to be pleased with the changes made at Cal-Expo for the upcoming harness meet which starts on August 26.

The tote board has been updated with a new face and the LED indicators on the tote board have been replaced for better visibility. The Cal-Expo signage on top of the tote board has been replaced with a larger sign. A video board has been added to show the races as well as showing the pools. New signage has been added to the chute area.

Picture of New Tote Board During the State Fair T-bred Meet

For anyone viewing the races, the experience should be much better as new finish line poles have been installed and the lighting has been upgraded so the track should have a much brighter look, making viewing of the races much better both on and off track.

Overall, the new look should greatly improve the presentation of the product.

Finally, at Charlottetown Driving Park, Blissful Breeze, drivien by Mark McDonald won the 52nd edition of the Gold Cup and Saucer in 1:53.1.  Being able to wager on the CDP card for the first time I was watching the card and all I can say is while the handle may not be huge there ($275,000) for the card, if you are a harness racing fan, you must add it to your list of races to see.  The evening was a special one.