The Meadowlands will feature four stakes races on its opening night card. The
30-day meet begins Friday and continues through November 12. Post time is 7:30
p.m. (ET) on Wednesdays through Saturdays and 1:10 p.m. on Tuesdays during the
month of October.
MAGNA GRADUATE (Honor Grades), second in the West Virginia Derby (G3) last
out, has been installed as the 2-1 morning-line favorite for Friday’s featured $250,000 Pegasus S. (G3).
The Nick Zito-trained ANDROMEDA’S HERO (Fusaichi Pegasus), runner-up in the
Belmont S. (G1), is the 5-2 second choice. Multiple stakes winner NETWORK (Pulpit) is
the 7-2 third choice in the nine-furlong test for three-year-olds.
The field, in post position order with jockeys and morning-line odds, is
Network, Joe Bravo; CROWN POINT (Honor Grades), Jose Espinoza, 15-1; NAUGHTY NEW YORKER (Quiet
American),
Jean-Luc Samyn, 9-2; Magna Graduate, John Velazquez; DOCTOR VOODOO (Petionville), Chris DeCarlo, 20-1; GOLDEN MAN (Suave
Prospect), Edgar Prado, 10-1; TANI MARU (Cherokee Run), Richard Migliore,
10-1; and Andromeda’s Hero, Rafael Bejarano.
The opening night program also includes the $60,000 Eillo S. for
three-year-olds and up at six furlongs, the $60,000 Navajo Princess S. for
fillies and mares at 8 1/2 furlongs on the turf, and the $50,000 World Appeal S.
for two-year-olds at one mile and 70 yards on the turf.
The track’s signature race, the $500,000 Meadowlands Breeders’ Cup S. (G2)
for three-year-olds and up, will take place on October 7. The nine-furlong event
could be used as a final prep for the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) on October 29
at Belmont Park. The program also includes three other stakes races.
Other graded stakes races are the $150,000 Cliff Hanger S. (G3) for
three-year-olds and up at 8 1/2 furlongs on the turf on October 14 and the
$150,000 Violet S. (G3) for fillies and mares at 8 1/2 furlongs on the turf on
October 21.
Overall, graded and overnight stakes will be worth more than $2.6 million.