Hambletonian to remain at Meadowlands

Horseracing Betting Lines

01/17/2012 - East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Harness racing's premier event, the Hambletonian, will continue at The Meadowlands through 2014.

An agreement has been reached between the Hambletonian Society and Meadowlands leaseholder Jeff Gural.

As part of a three-year agreement to keep the mile race for three-year-old trotters at the New Jersey track, beginning in 2013 the race will revert to same-day heats to determine the race finalists. The Hambletonian has been held at The Meadowlands since 1981 and elimination heats have been conducted a week before the final.

"We look forward to continuing the long relationship that the Meadowlands has had with the Hambletonian Society," emphasized Gural. "I am thrilled that they have agreed to revert to the previous format of two heats on the same day, which I think will increase the excitement of the event dramatically."

This year's Hambletonian will be held on Saturday, August 4 with a final purse of $1.5 million. The 2013 edition will have a guaranteed purse of $1 million.

"We look forward to a new era with Jeff Gural," said Tom Charters, president and CEO of the Hambletonian Society. "The Hambletonian has flourished under the management of the NJSEA over the years and we feel confident that growth will continue with the New Meadowlands LLC and the changes we are making to the race. We think returning to heats will be exciting for the fans, particularly those onsite at The New Meadowlands facility on a day that is always the sport's greatest showcase."

Beginning in 2014 older trotters will be able to compete in a new event, the $400,000 Hambletonian Maturity. The new race will be conducted at 1 1/8-miles with as many as 16 trotters allowed to start.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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