New Jersey Classic to close out Big M meet

The Meadowlands seven-program September "mini meet" comes to an end this weekend (Sept. 16-17) with the New Jersey Classic as the featured harness racing event. Last Friday ( Sept. 9), two “A”-level 3-year-old trotting finals for fillies and one for colts and geldings went for $275,000 each. This Friday, there will be more big money on the line with eight NJC finals going for purses totaling $1.2 million.

New Jersey Classic to close out Big M meet. Last weekend, patrons were making scores at The BigM. The 20-cent Pick-5 returned $7,144.62 on Friday. Late 50- cent Pick 4 (races 10-13) came back $2,832.60. 12-race Trifecta paid $5,128. 60-1 Gotta Get Crackin won wire-to-wire. Saturday's large returns included the 20 cent Survivor Pick 7, which paid $ 2,428.00.

Jaime Ortiz of Staten Island, NY won the 2022 World Harness Handicapping Championship at The Meadowlands on Saturday night. Ortiz won his seat in the final by taking the January Meadowland $400 Qualifier.

Doug Dilloian Jr.'s daughter, Kensley, turns 2 in December and she is battling a form of Leukemia. On Friday, all of the horses will be dressed in orange and the drivers will wear orange arm bands to support the Dillons.

Monmouth Park conducts turf racing at The Meadowlands starting Sept. 23 through Oct. 22. There will be no live racing on Oct 15. Post time is 7 p.m.

The Meadowlands will host live harness action on Sept. 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29 and 30. The stakes are worth circling on your calendar. On Nov. 4, the Meadowland will stage Kindergarten finals with total purses estimated at $1 million. Two weeks later, divisional honors and, possibly, Horse of the Year will be decided on “Fall Final Four/TVG Finals Night” with pursues estimated $2.65 million and live action.

New Jersey Classic to close out Big M meet. September 21 is Little Brown Jugette (Delaware) September 23 is Hoosier Park Pacing Derby (featuring Bulldog Hanover) Sept. 24 is Mohawk Million, Metro, Canadian Trotting Classic, She’s A Great Lady, Elegant Image (Woodbine Mohawks Park) and Sept 24 – Mohawked Million (Yonkers) October 9 is Kentucky Futurity, Kentucky Filly Futurities, Allerage (Red Mile) Oct. 15 – International Trok (yonker)

The final weekend of harness racing will be conducted on the usual Friday-Saturday basis with a post time of 6:20 p.m. There will also be 14 races each night.

The live pregame show begins at 5:45 p.m. on race nights. This Friday, catch Brower and Little on set doling out news and handicapping advice. Saturday, Little and the voice of Harrah’s Philadelphia, Mike Bozich, will be on the show.

New Jersey Classic to close out Big M meet. Free past performances for every race of every Meadowlands program are available 48 hours before a given card.

Everything is available on Twitter. You can check in with the Big M team for early changes, racing information and staff selections. For expert selections and analysis of every BigM card, check out track oddsmaker Brower’s race reviews.

New Jersey Classic to close out Big M meet. Insideharness.com provides bettors with insights from trainers and drivers on many Meadowlands races every night.

The NFL season starts on Thursday (Sept. 15) with the Los Angeles Chargers playing the Chiefs. The New York Jets and New Jersey Giants play 1 p.m. games on Sunday (September 18). The Jets travel to Cleveland and are a 6½-point underdog. Giants are 1½ points favorite as they host the Carolina Panthers at MetLife Stadium. On Thursday the Yankees have the day off and the Mets are hosting the Pittsburgh Pirates at CitiField at 7:20 p.,m., with first pitch starting at 6:30 p,m..