Jeff Gural, owner of the Meadowlands, has hit a streak of good luck in recent weeks between the New Jersey sports betting ruling and New York’s failure to pass a sports betting bill during the previous legislative session. The Meadowlands Pace is scheduled to go off at 6:35 PM. Meadowlands will also be hosting the BBQ Battle that evening from 6 to 10 PM featuring hot food from local BBQ restaurants in the Backyard. The sportsbook will then open to the general public at 11:00 AM on Saturday. There, special guests will give a speech or two and have the honors of placing the first legal sports bets at Meadowlands. The Meadowlands Victory Sports Bar and Club will have a special opening ceremony at 9:30 AM. Meadowlands general manager Jason Settlemoir told that July 14 th offers timing that is “much better and in correlation with one of our biggest race days, the Meadowlands Pace.” The racetrack originally announced last month that the Meadowlands sportsbook would open for business on July 15 th, but they have since moved it up one day ahead of schedule in order to take advantage of better timing. Meadowlands Racetrack announced earlier today that it will begin taking sports wagers on Saturday, July 14 th.