LEADING BIG M DRIVER BECKWITH HOPING TO MAKE HISTORY

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ -- June 5, 2025 -- For the last two years, Brett Beckwith has been one of a handful of drivers under the age of 30 to perform consistently at The Meadowlands. These “Young Guns” took advantage of the opportunity created by Big M regular “A-list” pilots taking vacations for part of or all of December, January, February and March.

The 22-year-old Beckwith, the 2024 Dan Patch Rising Star Award winner who finished third in the national driver dash-win race with 608 victories during the year, has seen things go exceedingly well during 2025 at The Big M.

His 79 wins currently have him sitting atop the driver standings at the mile oval, and Beckwith has opted to stay at The Big M rather than constantly spin on the Plainridge/Saratoga wheel, the routine that brought him great success during 2023-24. “Things were and are going really well,” said Beckwith, “and I was getting a good amount of drives and I kind of realized, if there was any chance of advancing my career to the next level, which is obviously what everyone wants, the only way that would happen is staying at The Meadowlands, where all of the top guys race, because when you race against the top guys and you race for the top trainers, you get much more noticed.”

Beckwith, whose biggest career win to date came in a $160,000 Massachusetts Sire Stakes final last year with his dad Mark’s trainee, O’er The Ramparts, is looking to fry some bigger fish this season with Making History.

The 3-year-old son of American History-Mystery Game is in one of three eliminations for the C$1-million North America Cup on Saturday (June 7) night and is being pointed toward the $700,000 (est.) Meadowlands Pace.

“If you had asked me a year ago if I was going to be flying to Canada to race in the North America Cup, I would have laughed,” said Beckwith. “The main connection with Making History was the ownership group, led by Myron Bell, were at my grandfather’s [Jerry Silverman] funeral and Myron told my dad and my Uncle Richie [Silverman] that he was going to give me a 2-year-old to drive.”

Making History made quite a splash when he won his career debut in a New Jersey Sire Stakes leg on May 3, gunning down 2-5 favorite Manolete at the wire. Since then, the horse finished third in leg two of the sire stakes before another third-place finish in the $225,000 final.

“I qualified him twice at 2 and then he was turned out,” said Beckwith. “He’s come back at 3 and been pretty solid. Everything’s been good. The race he won, that was his first lifetime start. To do that is unbelievably impressive, passing a pretty nice horse at the end of it.”

Award winner, leading driver at The Meadowlands, a live Grand Circuit horse to drive. The trajectory of Beckwith’s career is clearly going in the right direction.

“It’s always great to win a lot of races and make the money I was making at 20 and 21 years of age, but once you get the wins and driving titles, your next step is to make more with less starts. When you get a little bit of a taste of driving good horses, it makes you want to continue to drive the good ones.”

A little old-fashioned hard work never hurts, either.

“Luckily, my career has gone the way it has at an unbelievably fast pace. The one thing I will give myself credit for is there are very few people who end up outworking me,” said Beckwith, who still does plenty of driving at other tracks, just not on Fridays and Saturdays when The Meadowlands races. “You can have as much talent as you want, but you are going to get nowhere with no work ethic.”

There are still 50 race cards left on the 2025 calendar at The Meadowlands, but Beckwith, with a 21-winner lead on the current runner-up in the driver standings, Jason Bartlett, is the favorite to wear the Big M crown at season’s end.

“If I told you it didn’t cross my mind, I’d be lying,” said Beckwith. “It’s crazy to think that I could be the top dog at The Meadowlands. It’s so meaningful. There’s probably not a single guy who has won the driving title there that hasn’t gone on to be unbelievably successful.”

WHEN IS LIVE RACING? During the month of June, live racing at The Big M will be conducted every Friday and Saturday with a first-race post-time of 6:20 p.m.

WHAT’S GOING ON? Check out the live “Racing from The Meadowlands” pregame show every Friday and Saturday when track announcer Ken Warkentin opens up the mic with a scene set and program changes at 5:45 p.m.

At that point, Warkentin will then throw to the Sam McKee Memorial Broadcast Set, from where The Big M’s Dave Little and Jessica Otten will provide news, notes, selections and a look at the night’s featured races.

Joe Romanelli, the former track announcer at Freehold Raceway and the current voice of the qualifiers and baby races at The Big M, will be handling interviews from the back paddock as well as providing commentary and selections on the FanDuel Television (FDTV) feed.

OTTEN SPOTS BIG PICK-4: Big M TV co-host and handicapper Otten gave her followers a thrill Saturday (May 31) night when she gave out a handsome Late 50-cent Pick-4.

Rather than play an overly aggressive ticket, Otten opted to use three horses in all four legs, and after beating odds-on favorites in the first and fourth legs, those who played the ticket walked away with a $390 payoff.

TWO WEEKS TO THE CONTEST: The sixth edition of the 2025 Meadowlands Monthly Handicapping Contest takes place on Friday (June 20) and offers players a chance to win a share of $1,000 in prize money.

Contest format:

·         Contestants must be on-site to participate

·         Contestants must buy a $100 betting card to participate

·         Contestants must bet a minimum of five Meadowlands races

·         There is no minimum or maximum bet per race

·         Contestants can play any wager(s) on The Meadowlands live wagering menu

·         Contestants keep all pari-mutuel winnings

·         Contestants can enter as many times as they wish

·         The top two finishers earn spots in the $10,000 end-of-the-year contest

Remaining contest schedule:

·         Friday, June 20

·         Friday, July 18

·         Saturday, August 30

·         Saturday, October 25

·         Friday, November 21

·         The $10,000 invitation-only final is on Saturday, December 13

Previous players that have qualified for the December contest are Nick Montemurro and Gary Scogna (the top two finishers from January); Michael Grasso and Montemurro (February); Sean Loebs and Joe Barre (March); Robert Glaser and Jim Bohnarczyk (April); and Karen Fossli and Russ Slader (May).

Complete contest rules and regulations can be found here.

To participate, players must be 18 years of age or older to wager on racing. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, please get help at 1-800-GAMBLER.

CATCH THAT FOX: For a fifth consecutive year, the TV teams at the New York Racing Association (NYRA) and The Meadowlands are combining forces to bring high-caliber harness racing stakes events to a national television audience over the networks of FOX Sports as part of NYRA’s “America’s Day at the Races” telecasts.

Here is the schedule for the remaining FOX Sports shows, with the event(s) that will be featured and the time the show will be broadcast. Which FOX network the show can be found on – Fox 5 New York (locally), FS1 or FS2 – will be determined:

·         June 28 – Perfect Sting, Brower Memorial, Crawford Farms, Six Pack, 8-11 p.m., TBA

·         July 5 – Stan Bergstein Graduate finals; Meadowlands Pace eliminations, 8-11 p.m., TBA

·         July 12 – Meadowlands Pace Night (multiple stakes), 8-11 p.m., TBA

·         August 2 – Hambletonian Day (multiple stakes), 1-7 p.m., TBA

·         September 5 – New Jersey Classic Series finals, 8-11 p.m., TBA

·         November 1 – Kindergarten finals, 8-11 p.m., TBA

·         November 15 – Fall Final Four, 8-11 p.m., TBA

PLAY HORSEPLAY, WIN A CAR: The extremely popular Horseplay Car Giveaway has returned.

When there is live racing, fans can get involved by picking up a free toy horse to toss. Participants attempt to throw their numbered horse into the window of a moving car. A winner, randomly chosen from all the horses that make it into the vehicle, will receive a $100 betting voucher. The 27 winners will be entered into the Horseplay final drawing on Friday, Aug. 1, and have a chance to win a 2025 Toyota GR86. 

THEY ARE FA-REEE! To show appreciation to its loyal fan base, The Meadowlands offers free program pages for every race of every race card on its website.

Go to playmeadowlands.com, then click on the “news” dropdown to get the past performances at absolutely no cost.

A GREAT WAY TO PLAY: Every night, The Meadowlands offers a marvelous menu of popular wagers that offer a low 15 percent takeout.

They are:

·         20-cent Pick-5: Races 1-5

·         20-cent Survivor Pick-7: Races 3-9 (mandatory payout nightly)

·         Early 50-cent Pick-4: Races 6-9 ($50,000 guaranteed pool)

·         20-cent Pick-6: Races 8-13

·         Late 50-cent Pick 4: Races 10-13 ($50,000 guaranteed pool)

·         10-cent non-jackpot Pentafecta (Hi-5): Race 14

SOCIALLY SUPERIOR: Everything Meadowlands is available by going on X. You can check in with the Big M team for early changes, racing information and staff selections by going to @themeadowlands or #playbigm.

Stay in touch with The Big M talent trio of Otten (@JessicaOtten1), Little (@DaveLittleBigM) and Warkentin (@kenvoiceover).

A GREAT NIGHT OUT: Looking to book a corporate event or private party? The Meadowlands has unlimited event possibilities. The redesigned Gallery with multiple TVs, private bar and balcony overlooking the FanDuel Sportsbook is perfect for game days, watch parties and more.

To book your private party, email alokshin@playmeadowlands.com.

FANDUEL IS NO. 1: Meadowlands regulars know that if they want action on professional and college sports, all they have to do is head for the FanDuel Sportsbook, which is the No. 1 facility of its kind in all of North America.

It couldn’t be easier to access, as it’s located inside the grandstand at The Big M.

The book has massive TV screens and self-service betting terminals, which enable fans to watch and wager in comfort while having some great food and drink.

Game 1 of the NBA Finals takes place Thursday (June 5) at 8:30 p.m. with the Indiana Pacers heading to Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder, who were the winningest team in the league during the regular season with 68 victories and just 14 defeats.

The Thunder are a 9½-point favorite in the game that has an under/over of 230½ points. On the money line, the Pacers are +350 and the Thunder -450.

Whatever the sport, for the latest odds, go here.

The FanDuel Sportsbook is open for business Monday through Friday 10 a.m. – 1 a.m.; Saturday 8 a.m. – 1 a.m.; and Sunday 8 a.m. – midnight.