Opened in the mid-1970s, Meadowlands Racetrack held its first-ever harness race on September 1, 1976, while thoroughbred racing commenced on September 6, 1977. With the exception of the opening season of 1976, autumn has been dedicated to the
thoroughbreds, while the rest of the year features
standardbreds, or harness horses. The advertising campaign that accompanied the start of thoroughbred racing at the Meadowlands in 1977 was noted for its use of the slogan "Racing with the Moon", originally popularized in 1941 by bandleader
Vaughn Monroe (alluding to the fact that post-time is in the evening – a circumstance that still pertains, although afternoon programs during long holiday weekends are occasionally put on). More recent advertising campaigns have included a direct and catchy approach to attending live racing: "It's All About Being Here – The Meadowlands!" With its sweeping curves and wide stretches, the "Big M" has been known for exceptional times for harness racing. Opening night at the track featured the fastest harness mile run in
New Jersey to that time, 1:55 by
Rambling Willie. The world record for a mile by a standardbred, 1:46 by Lather Up, driven by Montrell Teague in the 2019 Graduate, matched Always B Miki's time at the Red Mile in Lexington. In 2023, Confederate set a new world record with a mile in 1:46.1 seconds. The Meadowlands Racetrack has been the site of the
Hambletonian, the first leg of the
Trotting Triple Crown, since 1981. It has also been home to the Cane Pace, the first leg of Harness Racing's Pacing Triple Crown since 2015 with the Cane run on the same program as the Hambletonian. Leading drivers in recent seasons have included Ron Pierce, Brian Sears, George Brennan, and Tim Tetrick. The track is operated by New Meadowlands Racetrack LLC with Jeff Gural as its CEO and chairman. Gural took over operations of the Meadowlands in December 2011. Ken Warkentin is the current race caller and announcer for the standardbred Meadowlands meets. Matt Dinerman currently calls the thoroughbred meet. Sam McKee was also the track announcer until he suffered a stroke days after calling what no one knew at the time would be the last card he ever would call on January 21, 2017, and he died on March 7, 2017. Veteran sportscaster
Dave Johnson, was the track's lead public-address announcer from its opening until the early 2000s. In July 2009, the
Meadowlands Rail Line opened for event service, but is expected to run daily upon completion of the nearby
American Dream Meadowlands. Speedway Motorsports, the Marcus Smith-headed company that owns motor racing venues founded by
his father, has long had his sights on Meadowlands Racetrack for possible conversion into a short track venue for
NASCAR events in the New York City area. His most recent of several attempts to purchase the track failed in the late 1990s. A report issued in January 2010 by New Jersey Governor
Chris Christie discussed the idea of closing the Meadowlands Racetrack and selling it for commercial development or converting it into a NASCAR facility. Governor Christie has considered selling or leasing the racetrack to a private operator or closing it altogether. The
New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority privatized the racetrack, to
Jeffrey Gural of
Newmark Knight Frank in December 2011. The privatization included $110 million of improvements consisting of a new 2,250-seat grandstand and clubhouse, designed by CGL Architects, built on the site of the former
backstretch. The existing grandstand was used as an event space for
Super Bowl XLVIII. The old Meadowlands grandstand closed for racing on November 2, 2013. The new grandstand, which cost $110 million to build and can seat 2,200, opened for racing on November 23, 2013, with an estimated crowd of 15,000 in attendance. Demolition of the old Meadowlands grandstand occurred in 2022 after hosting the
New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA) Information technology (IT) hub and
New Jersey State Police infrastructure for several years. The Meadowlands was announced to host the championship final for the 2018
AMA Pro American Flat Track Championship motorcycle racing series, scheduled for October 6. The event, to be designated as the Meadowlands Mile, joins
Turf Paradise,
The Red Mile,
Remington Park, and
Canterbury Park as horse racing tracks that will run the series in 2018. In June 2018,
Paddy Power Betfair announced that it had partnered with Meadowlands to open a
sportsbook at the track, following the state's legalization of
sports betting (as facilitated by the result of
Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association). The sportsbook opened on July 14, 2018, under the branding of
FanDuel, a
daily fantasy sports service recently acquired by the company. ==Physical attributes==