Is it worth the trip to go to Meadowlands for the evening?

[Zippy Chippy]

I live in Boston and my favorite track is Meadowlands. I can't wait for the meet to start. Is it nice there? What is the track like? Is it worth taking a day trip there and staying over? Thx

[DeanT]

def worth it! I am an out of towner too and try to go a couple times a year. The National hanicapping contest is in April and that is fun.

Hotwire has some great deals (anything near the track will pop up). Restaurant is good for race watching. McKee and the guys are upstairs on live. Ambience is good (esp on the top floor).

Good transit service to Manhattan is available at most hotels too.

Not a great neighborhood as it is industrial, but a decent place to go (imo)

[Trotman]

I remember going to the Swamp on opening night,the guys and I we're in awe it was great. The last time I was there was for Pro Bono's Best Meadowlands Pace and the surroundings around the track had gone down hill big time. Watching on TV it looks like the decay is closing in. The betting and racing still good though.

[miesque]

I think you should definitely go, I have enjoyed my trips to the Meadowlands, Pegasus upstairs is the way to go with good food and wine with decent service (for a track).

[wilderness]

I live in Boston and my favorite track is Meadowlands. I can't wait for the meet to start. Is it nice there? What is the track like? Is it worth taking a day trip there and staying over? Thx

Not this time of the year. The cards and stakes are pretty week.

You'd enjoy yourself more in June, July or early August.

Toronto is a very nice alternative this time of year, however don't believe you'll enjoy the distance of the horses at Woodbine (they race on an inner track).

Why not visit some of the old and historical locations around Boston that one raced Standardbreds?
There were more than half-a-dozen.

Contact Robert Temple for suggestions:
http://www.bpl.org/online/sportstemples/

[badcompany]

Compared to most tracks, the Meadowlands does a good job. There are lots of televisions and betting machines everywhere. As Wilderness noted, the cards this time of year aren't that good, but, if want to take a trip, I wouldn't let that stop you.

Will you be driving? If so, I'd stay in Manhattan. The Meadowlands is in the middle of nowhere. If you're taking public transportation, there's no special bus service from Manhattan to the track, or from the track to anywhere. (A sign of the times, as there used to be buses leaving from the Port Authority to the track every 20 minutes.)

NJ Transit has just finished a Meadowlands train station for the new football stadium but I'm not sure how often it runs during the night.

[miesque]

If you don't want to stay in Manhattan and do want to stay close to the track the Meadowlands Hasbrouck Heights Hilton is affordable and relatively comfortable and its about 3 miles from Meadowlands. It is true that there is nothing much around so once you are at the hotel, you are at the hotel and thats pretty much it.


http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/EWRHHHF-Hilton-Hasbrouck-Heights-Meadowlands-New-Jersey/index.do

[Zippy Chippy]

Im shocked that you guys say its so nice there. I thought for sure it would be a dump. Ya this was just a thought. I already have 2 vacations planned next year so this would just be a weekend trip. Maybe ill wait til spring. Good to know its worth it though

[miesque]

Im shocked that you guys say its so nice there. I thought for sure it would be a dump. Ya this was just a thought. I already have 2 vacations planned next year so this would just be a weekend trip. Maybe ill wait til spring. Good to know its worth it though

Meadowlands is currently the leader of my "Pleasantly Surprised Track Award." I have occasionally been accused of being a snob and even aggressively pretentious:rolleyes: , but I give the Meadowlands Pegasus Room experience an official T :ThmbUp: If it wasn't such a long drive I would go much more often.

I do have to give the caveat that my experiences have been TBred based, but since my analysis is very heavily facility oriented, I feel confident it transfers well to their harness meet.

[DeanT]

$16 for a nice steak sandwich in the regular folks dining room. Dont listen to that aggressively pretentious Miesque :)

[botster]

I live in Boston and my favorite track is Meadowlands. I can't wait for the meet to start. Is it nice there? What is the track like? Is it worth taking a day trip there and staying over? Thx

The M1, even though it's facility and overnight racecards have suffered a substantial decline, it still rates higher that almost every track in the U.S, in both departments.

I have raced there, and been in attendance as a spectator hundreds of times over the years, and have seen this steady decline in customer service and quality of racing(especially over the last few years).

My advice and suggestion is to plan to attend on Hambo Day in early August.They have kept this a great day for racing and a pleasurable day for the entire family to attend (if you have kids and choose to bring them).

[Pacingguy]

I live near the Meadowlands and quite honestly, I wouldn't make a special trip to get there with the exception of Hambletonian Day or the Meadowlands Pace. While the track is nicer than many of the others, it is in decline. Half the grandstand is closed off. Their Raceworld Teletheatre is nice but if you are going to sit in front of a TV there, you can do it just as well at home.

If you are going to do other things while you are there, then by all means do go to the track.

Just a word of advice. People are talking about the Pegasus Restaurant. Business has been so poor there that only the buffet is open and only on Saturday nights.

[wilderness]

If you are going to do other things while you are there, then by all means do go to the track.

Like visit the Empire State Building, drive through the Holland Tunnel or over the George Washington Bridge?

The immediate area of the the Meadowlands Complex not exactly a bustling area of historical or archaeological finds, unless your looking for bodies that were dumped into the landfill known as "the swamp" and prior to when the complex was built.

The Amercian Museum of Natural History (http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/expeditions/treasure_fossil/Treasures/Evolution_of_Horses/horses.html?50) should be on everybody agena.

I'm sure there are many other historical spots in NY that are not even of the slightest interest to one us horse-players who are in the own little realm of market-share.

[thespaah]

Im shocked that you guys say its so nice there. I thought for sure it would be a dump. Ya this was just a thought. I already have 2 vacations planned next year so this would just be a weekend trip. Maybe ill wait til spring. Good to know its worth it thoughNo it is not a dump.
It's a pretty good place to go.
Pay the extra couple of bucks and do the clubhouse. Or in spring, go hang out in ther trackside park

[Zman179]

You'll like the Meadowlands, it really is a nice place.

As far as bus service from NYC goes, beginning on Jan 1st, the NJ Transit #164 bus will serve the racetrack until the last bus at 11:21 pm; the 164 runs to/from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in NYC. It only runs once an hour, but they do run to schedule late at night after the races have finished and the Lincoln Tunnel rush hour traffic has subsided.

If you can drive then do so, but driving in Manhattan is a killer. There's a reason why New York's insurance rates are the third highest in the country.

[The Bit]

I go two or three times every year. It is a 1.5 to 2.5 hour drive depending on traffic. I usually go for the bigger events, the Pace or the Breeders Crown, but have also made the trip for regular cards.

I think it is worth it.