MEADOWLANDS NOTES FOR SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2022

Sunday, July 31, 2022

‘GEERS’ TO THE MAXES: After finishing second in The Meadowlands Pace in his last start, Mad Max Hanover was sent to the gate as the 1-2 favorite and delivered with a sensational 1:47.4 lifetime-best effort in the $61,800 Tompkins-Geers Stake for pacing 3-year-old colts and geldings. Tim Tetrick drove for trainer Jake Leamon. … Mistletoe Shalee champion Max Contract upped her winning streak to three after taking the $52,400 T-G split for 3-year-old pacing fillies. The 6-5 public choice was driven by Andy Miller and trained by Andy’s wife, Julie. The winning time was 1:49.1.

ATLANTA PROVES ‘VERSATILE’: Atlanta worked out a perfect pocket trip on the way to a 1:50 score in the $40,000 fourth leg of the Miss Versatility for open mare trotters. The lifetime earner of over $3.2 million won for the 34^th time from 70 lifetime starts with Yannick Gingras driving for trainer Ron Burke. As the 3-1 second choice, she returned $8.00 to win. Bella Bellini failed in her quest for a fifth straight win, finishing third as the 1-2 public choice.

HEAVY-HANDED HANDLE: Betting on the 14-race card totaled $3,430,642, keyed by the two races that began the Pick-4 wagers.

Wagering on the seventh race totaled $388,760, with $87,114 on the Early 50-cent Pick-4. The 11^th race saw $311,894 pushed through the windows, with Late Pick-4 betting at $87,464.

The Late 20-cent Pick-6, which began with a carryover of just over $7,000, saw $41,735 in “new money” poured into the pool for a grand total of $48,842. Those who had all six winners on their tickets cashed in for $2,749.86.

There have been 59 race cards contested this year at The Big M, and on 17 occasions betting has gone past the $3-million plateau.

A LITTLE MORE: Andy Miller led the driver colony with three winners on the program. … Ron Burke had a training double to finish the weekend with five winner’s circle visitors. … Next week is the final week of racing at the Championship Meet, and there will be an additional day of live action. Racing will take place Thursday and Friday with a first-race post time of 6:20 p.m. before the grand finale, Hambletonian Day, Saturday, Aug. 6, when the first race will head to the gate at noon.