‘WILDFIRE’ SCORCHES FIELD IN BIG M FEATURE

Sunday, December 14, 2025

The Saturday night feature at The Meadowlands was supposed to be a heavyweight donnybrook between Mad Max Hanover and Go Go Grasshopper. ‘Max’, the grizzled veteran with $900,000 in the bank, taking on the ‘Grasshopper’, who was in search of his third straight knockout win.

Too bad for that dynamic duo that Odds On Wildfire didn’t get caught up in the prerace hype.

The Geovany Hernandez owned, trained and driven Odds On Wildfire, a 3-year-old gelded son of Bettor’s Wish-Odds On Naples, burned up the track from start to finish in the $25,000 TrackMaster 90 on the pace, completing an almost-all-the-way-on-the-front-end blowout in a lifetime-best 1:49.3.

“He felt good last week,” said Hernandez. “I had a bad post and he had to take back [when he finished seventh at Yonkers]. Tonight, with a good post [4], I knew he could get the job done.”

Odds On Wildfire was unraced at 2, but has been a terror during his first season on the track, winning 13 times from just 28 attempts, good for earnings of $145,801. He won at The Big M on Nov. 22 in wire-to-wire style in 1:51.1, and after the aforementioned outing at Yonkers, came back Saturday with a monster effort.

At the outset of the ninth race, Silk Cloud A was away with a burst of speed from the rail, as Odds On Wildfire, Go Go Grasshopper and Soho Spectre A joined the first-turn scrum. Silk Cloud A reached the quarter first in a snappy :26.2, leaving Odds On Wildfire parked, but only briefly, as the eventual winner motored up to the top at the three-eighths before hitting the half in :54.1.

Odds On Wildfire continued his torrid clip heading for the far turn, and by now, 9-5 second choice Mad Max Hanover was clawing his way into contention first-over while 3-2 favorite Go Go Grasshopper followed that one’s live cover as Odds On Wildfire went past three-quarters in 1:21.4.

The leader’s edge grew to 3½ lengths at the head of the stretch, and that turned out to be the difference, as Odds on Wildfire held off the late rallies of the top two public choices. He won it by a safe neck over Go Go Grasshopper with Mad Max Hanover third.

“This horse is so amazing because he can get to the front so easy,” said a proud Hernandez. “He’s just a nice horse. He showed he could do the job tonight.”

As the 17-1 sixth choice in the field of 10, Odds On Wildfire paid $37.60.

BECKWITH’S SEVENTH HEAVEN: Meadowlands’ leading driver Brett Beckwith recorded the biggest night of the season for a pilot on a single Big M program, as the 22-year-old guided seven to victory lane, falling short of the Big M all-time record of eight by just one victory, a mark held by both Brett Miller and Mike Lachance.

Beckwith did not have a drive in the 14^th and final race of the night, but had a shot at tying the all-time mark in the 13^th, leading into the stretch with 9-1 outsider Belmont Major N, only to get gunned down by Diamondbeach.

Beckwith’s winners were Overthinking ($5.20 to win) in the second race; Captain Crusader A ($2.60) in the third; Fasting ($2.20) in the fourth; Momas Son Byrne ($2.80) in the sixth; Stellar Yankee ($6.40) in the seventh; Lite N Sweet ($5.60) in the 11^th; and Ourmatemenko N ($4) in the 12^th.

The last time a driver won seven on a card was on July 23, 2021, when Dexter Dunn turned the trick.

FOR ‘JOE RO’, NINE IS FINE: Meadowlands back-paddock interviewer Joe Romanelli continued his hot handicapping by setting a personal best with nine winners on top.

In fact, ‘Joe Ro’ was gunning for the all-time record of 10, which is held by Ken Warkentin and Dave Little, after he correctly selected the winners of the first eight races, but settled for a nine-spot after going one for the last six.

It’s not known if Romanelli had the best weekend of anyone ever, but in all likelihood, he did. He selected six winners on Thursday and four more on Friday, giving him 19 – out of a total of 40 races – over the three-day race week, for a cool win percentage of 47.5.

LOEBS THE BIG WINNER: Sean Loebs finished with a bankroll of $430 to take down the $5,000 first prize in the final of the 2025 Meadowlands Monthly Handicapping Contest, which had a total prize pool of $10,000.

“My big hits came on the early races,” said Loebs. “I had a $20 double, a $5 Pick-5 and a $15 Pick-3, so I built up a bankroll early and held on.”

In the contest that was limited to 20 entries (the top two finishers from the contest’s 10 monthly preliminaries), Loebs had two, and felt that was key in his victory.

“I think it gave me more confidence,” said Loebs.

Finishing second and third were Joe Barre (bankroll $414; $2,000 in winnings) and Karen Fossli ($293.63, $1,500). Nick Montemurro, who had four entries in the contest, had the fourth- and fifth-place winning totals with $75 and $43.20, respectively, good for prize money of $1,000 and $500.

A LITTLE MORE: Per Engblom led the trainers with three winners on the program. … All-source handle on the 14-race card totaled $2,739,228. … Racing resumes Thursday at 6:20 p.m.

PHOTO: Odds On Wildfire and driver Geovany Hernandez won the Saturday night feature at The Meadowlands. (Credit: Lisa Photo)