This Year's Haskell Star and New Owners open Monmouth Park

Governor Chris Christie declared that the State of New Jersey was getting out of the horse racing business. Of course, the State still wanted their share of the wagering takeout, but the Governor was no longer willing to accept any of the financial risks. Thus Monmouth Park’s future was put in a precarious position.
 
After real estate developer Morris Bailey backed out of his deal to lease the track, the new negotiations broke down five or six times. Each time this put the future of Monmouth Park in danger.  The current lease was not completed until February, leaving very little time to get ready for the traditional mid-May start of racing at the Jersey Shore.
 
On Tuesday, May 7th, Monmouth Park held its annual media kick off luncheon where the three major players in the acquisition of the current five-year lease gave presentations about the track’s short and long-term plans. Robert Kulina a long-time Monmouth Park executive is now the President of Darby Development, which will manage the racetrack.  Dennis Drazin a New Jersey thoroughbred owner and breeder and a key player in the lease negotiations will continue as an advisor to Darby. Jon Forbes is the current President of the NJ Thoroughbred Horseman’s Association.
 
Kulina talked about the immediate financial goals of the track, “We are going to try and keep the tradition alive, this great building alive by selling bets. That’s where our money is made. So, our immediate goal is to develop our distribution system, the OTWs, and the Easy Bets.”
 
Monmouth Park controls the rights to operate two more off-track wagering facilities and hopes to have them operational in the next year and a half. Monmouth now also controls Favorites in Woodbridge, which is the most successful OTW site in the country that nets $7 million each year for the track. In addition there are the rights to 12 Easy Bet sites in northern New Jersey, which can be opened in existing restaurants and bars as place to drop in and make a simulcasting bet or to fund your 4NJBets online wagering account.
 
This year there will be 65 racing days with average daily purses of $400,000. Kulina commented about the anticipated quality of racing, “We haven’t changed a lot. I think we are remaining competitive as far as what some of the other East Coast tracks are writing (in their condition books). We might have lowered some turf races, but pretty much it’s the traditional Monmouth Park book.”
 
Opening Day is this Saturday, May 12th, and the card filled with 117 horses entered in 12 races, that includes two races on the turf and a very competitive Decathlon Stakes for three-year-olds and up at six furlongs.  Plenty of big name trainers have runners entered on Saturday: Todd Pletcher (2), Kiaran McLaughlin (2), Graham Motion, Michael Matz, Terri Pompay (3), Alan Goldberg (2), Mark Hennig, Ben Perkins (5), Rick Violette, Kelly Breen, and Rudy Rodriguez. Jane Cibelli, who became the first woman to win the Monmouth training title in 2011, has 3 entered. 
  
The anchor of racing at Monmouth is the $1,000,000 Haskell Invitational, which this summer will be run on Sunday, July 29th. After lunch I had the opportunity to ask Kulina which Bob Baffert horse should we expect? With a twinkle in his eye Kulina gleefully said, “BODEMEISTER! Just the other day I spoke to Bob (Baffert) and he told me Preakness, and you know we’re not running in the Belmont, and then the Haskell."
 
Drazin spoke about the chance that New Jersey racetracks would ever get casino gambling, “Slots, do I think they are coming? The Governor has indicated that he wants to give Atlantic City an opportunity to make it happen, and after five years depending on what happens there...if Atlantic City doesn’t come around then the Meadowlands would get an opportunity and it would deserve that opportunity…that there would be slots or a casino in the northern part of the State that would be aligned with Monmouth Park.”
 
Forbes added that the plan is, “To make Monmouth a little bit more of a destination and not just a racetrack, but to bring in some more fan friendly attractions.” This summer there will be 4 Thursday Twilight racing events which are modeled after what has been a huge success at Churchill Downs. There are plans for Boardwalk themed games and activities, miniature golf, and a water theme park.
 
It appears that Monmouth Park is looking at many ways to deal with the financial woes that all racetracks are facing. All of us long-time New Jersey racing fans are glad that our favorite track is back in 2012.

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