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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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

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