Meadowlands Pace Night 2026: Full Field, Odds, And Betting Tips For The 50th Running
Meadowlands Pace Night lands on Saturday, July 11, and this year carries extra weight as the 50th running of the $810,000 Grade 1 Meadowlands Pace. Brandon Blvd enters as a beaten favorite turned dominant elimination winner, seven of his rivals had to earn their way into the final the hard way, and the undercard stacks another $1.675 million across six supporting stakes for trotters and pacers of every age and sex. We break down the full Pace field with morning lines, the rest of the stakes card, the track facts that shape how Meadowlands races run, and where to bet Pace Night through MyWinners.
The Road To The Final: How Brandon Blvd Took Control
Thirteen three year old pacers entered this year's Meadowlands Pace, which meant a single elimination on July 4 to trim the field. Byes went to the three highest career earners, Al Papi, Melillo, and Lindy Dragonwater, but Brandon Blvd, Bookie J, and Ubrute all declined their byes and chose to race their way in instead. That decision paid off in spectacular fashion for Brandon Blvd. Dexter Dunn floated him forward off the gate, settled him in fourth early, then sent him to the front through a :53.3 half before sealing a career-best 1:47.3 mile behind a blistering :26.1 closing quarter. It was his tenth win from fifteen career starts and lifted his bankroll to $949,451.
Sweet Lovin Lou rallied four wide to take second, a length and a half back, with Ubrute saving third after being checked for room on the far turn. Those three, along with fourth through seventh finishers Gentleman's Club, Bookie J, Toby Ornot Toby, and Azrael Blue Chip, joined the bye horses to fill out Saturday's ten horse final.
Brandon Blvd starts the final as the 3-5 favorite for trainer Andrew Harris, who described the colt's lung capacity as his standout attribute, capable of carrying speed the length of the stretch and letting Dunn dictate the mile from there. He is unbeaten in three tries this season and has now beaten this field decisively once already, which is the strongest form line anyone in the race can point to.
Sweet Lovin Lou is next in the market at 6-1 off that runner-up effort, while Gentleman's Club, who clocked a career-best 1:47.4 in his own right before the elimination, sits at 8-1. The three bye horses, Al Papi, Melillo, and Ubrute, occupy the second tier of the market between 10-1 and 15-1, arriving fresher than the horses who had to race through the elimination but without a recent effort against this exact field to lean on.
Meadowlands Pace Final Field And Odds
Post positions, drivers, trainers, and morning line odds for the $810,000 Meadowlands Pace final.
| No. | Horse | Driver | Trainer | Morning Line |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toby Ornot Toby | Tim Tetrick | Scott DiDomenico | 20-1 |
| 2 | Brandon Blvd | Dexter Dunn | Andrew Harris | 3-5 (favorite) |
| 3 | Lindy Dragonwater | Joe Bongiorno | Ron Burke | 20-1 |
| 4 | Gentleman's Club | Andrew McCarthy | Aaron Lambert | 8-1 |
| 5 | Melillo | Ronnie Wrenn Jr. | Ron Burke | 10-1 |
| 6 | Bookie J | Jason Bartlett | Chris Ryder | 12-1 |
| 7 | Sweet Lovin Lou | Scott Zeron | Dan Lagace | 6-1 |
| 8 | Al Papi | Yannick Gingras | Ron Burke | 10-1 |
| 9 | Azrael Blue Chip | Brett Beckwith | Besim Odza | 30-1 |
| 10 | Ubrute | Yannick Gingras | Ron Burke | 15-1 |
What The Undercard Brings To Pace Night
| Race | Purse | Division |
|---|---|---|
| Meadowlands Pace (G1) | $810,000 | 3YO Open Pace |
| E.T. Gerry Jr. Hambletonian Maturity | $400,000 est. | 4YO Open Trot |
| William R. Haughton Memorial | $300,000 est. | Older Male Open Pace |
| Stanley Dancer Memorial | $300,000 est. | 3YO Male Trot |
| Del Miller Memorial | $300,000 est. | 3YO Female Trot |
| Jerry Silverman Memorial | $200,000 est. | Open Pace |
| Dorothy Haughton Memorial | $175,000 est. | Older Mare Open Pace |
The Meadowlands Pace is only one of seven stakes on Saturday's card, and the undercard is worth close to as much in total purse money as the Pace itself. The $400,000 E.T. Gerry Jr. Hambletonian Maturity brings together the top four year old trotters at one and one eighth miles, a distance that has produced some of the fastest trotting miles anywhere in the sport at this track. The $300,000 William R. Haughton Memorial gathers the best older male pacers in training, while the $300,000 Stanley Dancer Memorial and $300,000 Del Miller Memorial split the three year old trotting division by sex, colts in the Dancer and fillies in the Miller. The $200,000 Jerry Silverman Memorial and $175,000 Dorothy Haughton Memorial round out the card, the latter giving the older female pacing division its turn in the spotlight. Full entries for these six supporting stakes had not been drawn as of this writing, but the purse structure alone tells you this is one of the deepest single night cards anywhere in harness racing.
What Bettors Should Know About The Meadowlands Before Betting Pace Night
The Meadowlands is a one mile oval with a 990 foot stretch, among the longest run to the wire in harness racing, and that length matters when you are reading a program. Horses who can sit just off a fast pace and still finish their mile have more room to get there than they would on a tighter track, which is part of why Brandon Blvd's closing :26.1 in the elimination was so eye catching rather than a fluke of a soft pace up front. The track has produced a 1:46.1 world class mile as recently as 2023, and night racing conditions here tend to play fast and fair, which generally favors the best horse in the field over a hot pace scenario that sets up for a closer. That is a point in Brandon Blvd's favor given he has shown the ability to both take control of a race and finish it off.
| Category | Meadowlands Fact Or Stat |
|---|---|
| Track Type | One mile dirt oval, standard American configuration |
| Stretch Length | 990 feet from the top of the stretch to the finish line |
| Track Width | 90 feet on the main track |
| Track Record Mile | 1:46.1, set by Confederate in 2023 |
| Racing Schedule | Night racing on a Friday and Saturday card through the summer stakes season |
| Meadowlands Pace History | First run in 1977, this is the 50th edition in 2026 |
| 2026 Meadowlands Pace Purse | $810,000, Grade 1, for 3-year-old pacers |
| Elimination Format | 13 entries this year meant a single 10-horse elimination on July 4, with the 3 highest career earners taking byes and the top 7 finishers advancing |
The other factor worth weighing is trip freshness versus battle-tested form. Al Papi, Melillo, and Ubrute all arrive without a recent start against this specific field, while the seven who came through the elimination, Brandon Blvd included, have already shown exactly how they handle the pressure of a Pace-caliber pace. History at this track leans toward proven form over freshness in races of this caliber, which is one more reason the market has Brandon Blvd as a clear favorite rather than a vulnerable one.
How To Bet Meadowlands Pace Night At MyWinners
MyWinners lets you bet Meadowlands Pace Night across the USA. Every stakes race on the July 11 card, from the Meadowlands Pace final through the Dorothy Haughton Memorial, is available to bet through MyWinners.
Bet online at app.mywinners.com, on the MyWinners: Racing & Sports app on iOS or Android, or go here to find your nearest MyWinners or Winners venue in CT.
