HAMBO HANDLE JUST SHY OF $7.5 MILLION AT BIG M

Saturday, August 2, 2025

Total handle on the 16-race Hambletonian Day card Saturday at The Meadowlands totaled $7,464,087, up slightly over 2024, when $7.427 million was pushed through the windows in North America.

“And after the foreign entities are added to the total, our Hambletonian Day handle figures to be in excess of $8 million for a fourth straight year,” said Big M Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Jason Settlemoir.

A crowd of 17,696 jammed into the mile oval as on-track betting totaled $851,826, an increase over last year of 8.2 percent.

“Great weather and the usual great Hambletonian Day card led to a big day of wagering on-site,” said Settlemoir. “We appreciate our faithful fans, and, of course our horsemen and staff for putting on another great show.”

Wagering on the Hambletonian itself saw a slight increase as well, as $1,172,046 was wagered on the 100^th edition of America’s Trotting Classic, an uptick of 5 percent over 2024.

THEY’RE THE TOPS: Brett Beckwith and Jeff Cullipher walked away with top driver and trainer honors, respectively, at the Winter-Spring-Championship meet that drew to a close after the last race on Hambletonian Day.

Beckwith, 22, became the youngest driver ever to top the Big M pilot’s colony. His 92 wins were far ahead of runner-up Dave Miller, who guided 68 horses to victory lane.

Previously, the youngest driver to walk away with a title was a 24-year-old John Campbell, who wore the belt in 1979.

Cullipher’s total of 41 wins were four more than second-place finisher Ron Burke.

A LITTLE MORE: In a departure of what usually takes place after Hambo Day, racing will continue at The Big M on a Friday-Saturday basis through Sept. 13. Post time will be the normal 6:20 p.m.

There will be two exceptions. Due to preseason football at MetLife Stadium, there will be no live action on Saturday, Aug. 16, and Friday, Aug. 22.