NJ Racing Commission meeting on Thursday

[The_Knight_Sky]

It should be a most interesting meeting (http://www.state.nj.us/lps/racing/downloads/njrc_meet_121610-public-agenda.pdf).
This got my attention:

http://i53.tinypic.com/r0efzk.jpg

Does anyone have a clue about what the bone of contention is?

[onefast99]

They have to open an OTW in Cherry Hill there is 10 acres by Garden State that was set aside for this and the only way to get this going is to threaten a shut down of the Vineland and Toms River facilities. The amount of money that can be brought in from this facility is huge it will keep people from going over the bridge to Parx. By next Wednesday we should all know what is going on with racing in our state.

[The_Knight_Sky]

They have to open an OTW in Cherry Hill there is 10 acres by Garden State
that was set aside for this and the only way to get this going is
to threaten a shut down of the Vineland and Toms River facilities.




Ah thanks onefast99 -

Only in New Jersey do we have to take two steps back to move ahead.

The growth of the Off-Track Wagering Network is the most important step towards horse racing becoming self-sufficient. I'm sure there are plenty of locals willing to support the type of facilities such as the one called Favorites at Woodbridge.

I would rather pressure Greenwood (PARX) to make a commitment to Atlantic City racecourse and provide some much needed racing opportunities when Monmouth is not racing. If they're not interested in investing in the plant for live horse racing they should sell it off and get the out of the state.

[phattty]

vineland favorites was my haunt until i moved to florida....the place was nice, but never did greenwood promote the damn place..nor did they do much to enhance the handle or interest in general

[onefast99]

Ah thanks onefast99 -

Only in New Jersey do we have to take two steps back to move ahead.

The growth of the Off-Track Wagering Network is the most important step towards horse racing becoming self-sufficient. I'm sure there are plenty of locals willing to support the type of facilities such as the one called Favorites at Woodbridge.

I would rather pressure Greenwood (PARX) to make a commitment to Atlantic City racecourse and provide some much needed racing opportunities when Monmouth is not racing. If they're not interested in investing in the plant for live horse racing they should sell it off and get the out of the state.


A package of bills to help revive New Jersey's struggling horse racing industry won final approval from the state Assembly Monday, as did legislation to boost gambling revenues by allowing sports betting at the state's casinos and racetracks.

Passage of the Democratic-driven bills sets the stage for Gov. Christie's proposed overhaul of Atlantic City gambling and horse racing. The Republican governor announced a sweeping plan on July 21 to turn both industries' flagging fortunes around. Last month, Atlantic City's 11 casinos reported a 12.5 percent revenue drop compared with a year ago.

Among the seven bills that sailed through the Assembly was expanding offtrack betting to make the state's four horse tracks more competitive with other states, including Pennsylvania and Delaware, which have added slot-machine gambling.

The new revenue from slots has resulted in higher purses in those states and horse breeders migrating to them, crippling New Jersey's horse racing industry.

"This is a vital step forward for our casino and horse racing industries that are key to the future of New Jersey," said Assemblyman John Burzichelli (D., Gloucester), chair of the Assembly Regulatory Oversight and Gaming Committee and sponsor of several of the bills. "These industries create jobs and economic growth in many ways, and they must remain strong and competitive economic engines.

"These bills help ensure we can accomplish that goal on many fronts."

A similar package passed the New Jersey Senate last month, after three Gaming Summit hearings hosted by Democrats took place statewide to review Christie's recommendations. Three of the seven gambling bills were sent to the Senate.

Winning final legislative approval Monday were four of the bills, which would:

Propose several changes to New Jersey's offtrack wagering statute, most notably allowing entities other than the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority to run the facilities;

Make New Jersey the first state in the country to allow exchange wagering - a form of betting in which two or more people place directly opposing wagers on the outcome of a horse race - for both instate and out-of-state races.

Allow racetrack permit holders to provide for a single pari-mutuel pool for each running or harness horse race. By creating larger pari-mutuel pools, the tracks could handle a wider variety of wagers and reduce the adverse effect of large payouts, according to the bill.

The AssemblyThe Assembly (http://www.allvoices.com/people/The_Assembly) approved, 54-17-4, a highly watched proposal to add a constitutional amendment on the November 2011 ballot to allow wagering on sports events at Atlantic City casinos and the state's four current and former racetracks, including the old Garden State Park in Cherry Hill.

Sen. Ray Lesniak (D., Union), sponsor of the Senate version of the sports betting bill, said its passage comes down to "over $1 billion in gross revenues for our casinos, $120 million for our state treasury, and a revival of tourism for Atlantic City and other areas of the state, like Monmouth County, the Meadowlands and the Cherry Hill area."

"It doesn't get any better than that," Lesniak said after the Assembly vote.

Lesniak filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Justice Department in March 2009 to overturn the federal ban on sports betting outside of four states: Nevada, Delaware, Oregon, and Montana. That lawsuit is pending in federal district court and a decision is likely to be rendered sometime in the new year.

While Lesniak said he still must win his lawsuit to overturn the 1992 federal ban, the constitutional amendment would "send a message to the court and Congress that the people of New Jersey want the same right to bet on sports enjoyed by Las Vegas."

As a proposed amendment, the sports betting bill does not need to go to the governor's desk but instead goes before voters.

"With the growth of out-of-state competition, we should try to correct the mistake New Jersey made 17 years ago when it failed to legalize sports gaming," said Assemblyman Ralph Caputo (D., Essex), referring to New Jersey's missing the deadline to grandfather in sports betting within one year of the 1992 federal law's passage. "If we're to remain the East Coast's premier gaming destination, we need to make sure our racetracks and casinos are offering the best attractions, and that means adding sports gaming."

Gaming analyst Dennis M. Farrell Jr., of Wells Fargo Securities L.L.C., said, "If a full range of sports betting options were legalized in New Jersey, Atlantic City would benefit more from higher visitation" because the option is not available in surrounding states.

[DSB]

vineland favorites was my haunt until i moved to florida....the place was nice, but never did greenwood promote the damn place..nor did they do much to enhance the handle or interest in general

Philadelphia Park is renowned for firing their publicists, or in the case of new enterprises like Vineland, never hiring one.

PP thinks they save money that way, and they get exactly what they pay for - no publicity.

[The_Knight_Sky]

vineland favorites was my haunt until i moved to florida...
he place was nice, but never did greenwood promote the damn place..
nor did they do much to enhance the handle or interest in general


Sounds a bit like the rebuilt Freehold (Pennwood Racing).
A nice clean harness track but too many overlapped dates with the Big M
which resulted in too little publicity when they did race.

NEWS FLASH from View from the Grandstand blog (http://viewfromthegrandstand.blogspot.com/2010/12/just-when-you-thought-things-were.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FUyGJ+%28View+From+ the+Racetrack+Grandstand%29):
The NJRC meeting previously scheduled for this Thursday, December 16
has now been moved to Wednesday, December 22. The agenda remains the same.

[DSB]

Sounds a bit like the rebuilt Freehold (Pennwood Racing).
A nice clean harness track but too many overlapped dates with the Big M
which resulted in too little publicity when they did race.

I happen to know quite a bit about the PR situation at Freehold.

Actually, Freehold got nearly as much publicity as the Meadowlands on a day-to-day basis. The guy who ran the office had great contacts, worked the papers and trades hard, and got results.

Publicity has to be obtained. It is rarely sought out by the media - at least where horse racing is concerned. There are only a couple of times a year when the press will actually make the effort to get news from a racetrack. The vast, vast majority of the time it's a publicist who has to garner it.

Unfortunately, those who are supposed to know this, namely upper track management, couldn't be more ignorant on the subject. Many, if not most, think that publicity just happens.

Hal Handel, who was in charge of Freehold for a couple of years while he was still with Pennwood, closed the publicity office at Freehold. He had dismantled the PR dept. at Philadelphia as one of his first brilliant maneuvers when he took the helm of that track years earlier. Why hasn't he done so at the NYRA yet? That's a good question. Maybe someone with clout there has a clue as to how PR and media relations work and won't permit it.

At one time Freehold and Philadelphia got more than their share of publicity.

That's because they had someone there who tried to get it.

[arno]

DSB

Did the ex publicity director at Freehold have the initials DB?
Not sure if his middle initial was S to make him DSB?
If it's you good luck on your stable and have seen you win a race at Monmouth.
Also umpired DB years agos in softball.

[The_Knight_Sky]

Some good news I just found:

Big M lease agreement on the horizon?
http://www.harnessracing.com/news/bigmleaseagreementonthehorizon.html

Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association of New Jersey president Tom Luchento confirmed to harnessracing.com Tuesday morning that an agreement is currently being worked on between the governor’s office and a group of investors and harness racing groups to lease the Meadowlands Racetrack. The track is scheduled to close its fall meet on Saturday, Dec. 18, with its January 2011 re-opening currently up in the air.

“We’re trying to get it leased; it’s a matter of dollars and cents,” said Luchento. “The governor wants us to stand on our own feet, which I understand and don’t have a problem with that. It’s the time constraint that I’m under which is very, very tight. I’m waiting on calls right now to see how fast we can put this together; they’re talking days we have to put it together.

“If we can get this framed, then we will go forward. I think the governor’s office has been lenient enough to allow us some of the things we asked for to go along with this deal.”

[The_Knight_Sky]

Mr. Luchento sure seems to be under a lot of pressure from Trenton. :mad:

MEADOWLANDS DEADLINE EXTENDED; INVESTORS MAY LEASE TRACK
by Mike Farrell (http://sboanj.com/index.asp?Key=1877)

Luchento bought a little time, a 48-hour extension until Friday. Luchento believes a deal can be done, if the state loosens the deadlines.

He has lined up a group, which Luchento declined to identify, who will fly to New Jersey on Friday for a three-party meeting that could revamp the Meadowlands and harness racing in New Jersey.

The potential investors will meet with Luchento and administration representatives to discuss leasing the Meadowlands.

“It just seems like there is not enough time,” Luchento said. “I have people flying in who have the money, people who can do this deal. The state says they want it done right now, today, literally. I tell them I can’t do anything until Friday and they say they understand, but they have to take it back to (Governor) Chris Christie and he wants a deal on the table.”

Luchento believes a deal will be struck, if administration will just stop the clock. “We have people willing to negotiate and the state is working with us,” Luchento said. “We are hoping we can make this deadline because the governor seems to think it has to be a ‘done deal’ before he awards us dates in January. As entities come together to make a deal, sometimes it takes time to hash out these problems. We’re hoping we can find some common ground and get it done.”

Luchento’s high-profile investors would lease the track and get the state of New Jersey out of the standardbred business, a stated goal of Gov. Christie.

“These are wealthy people coming to talk to the state,” Luchento said. “They will outline what they want and what they expect. We will express what we want and what we need to make this thing happen. We’re here with the money. It not only has to look right, it has to be right. The deal has to work for everybody. I would rather they talk to each other. I want both sides to understand what’s out there.

“We’re totally committed to do what we have to do. It’s the time constraints we are fighting right now. The administration is working hard to make this happen and we’re working hard to make this happen.”

While keeping the potential investors a secret, Luchento said they have solid racetrack backgrounds.

“One is heavily invested in the racing business,” Luchento said. “The other two are also invested in racetracks, and such.

They have experience running racetracks and they have deep pockets.” :ThmbUp:

[The_Knight_Sky]

One of the potential owners is Jeff Gural the owner of Vernon and Tioga Downs. Interesting.

Private investor eyeing Meadowlands Racetrack
BOB JORDAN • STATEHOUSE BUREAU • December 15, 2010
http://www.app.com/article/20101215/NEWS03/101215140/Private-investor-eyeing-Meadowlands-Racetrack

TRENTON — A harness racing enthusiast who restored one racetrack and built another track is eyeing the Meadowlands Racetrack, with a potential lease of the state-owned facility under consideration.

The interested investor, Jeffrey R. Gural, who owns Tioga Downs and Vernon Downs in upstate New York, said on Wednesday that he's looking into making a deal with Gov. Chris Christie's administration to privatize the struggling track.

Gural said either he or his representatives are scheduled to meet with Christie on Friday.

Gural said he might have solutions for a turnaround at the Meadowlands, which each August is the home of harness racing's most prestigious race, the $1 million Hambletonian.

[onefast99]

When this private investor takes over and after three years he shows that there can be a profit at the Meadowlands when properly run, hopefully an unbiased independent agency will launch a complete investigation of who decided funds from the horse racing industry should be directed towards many worthless projects and high salaries by the NJSEA. As in any business if there was any wrong doings those responsible should be held accountable and face mandatory prison time.

[The_Knight_Sky]

When this private investor takes over and after three years he shows that there can be a profit at the Meadowlands when properly run, hopefully an unbiased independent agency will launch a complete investigation of who decided funds from the horse racing industry should be directed towards many worthless projects and high salaries by the NJSEA.

As in any business if there was any wrong doings those responsible should be held accountable and face mandatory prison time.


onefast99 -

I've been following this saga for almost a year now.
We all thought Hanson and Christie were the enemies. That may not be entirely the case. But if they give Jeff Gural and his partners the keys to The Meadowlands Racetrack then I have to believe that they wanted to "phase out" the NJSEA all along. They just didn't trumpet this to the media.

http://i52.tinypic.com/2qbbp20.jpg They didn't mention much what a wasteful quasi-state agency it has been since 1976. With the books cooked.... who really know how many billions were funneled out from the racetrack and into other projects. The state of New Jersey deserves to have this corrected immediately.

Interesting is that Friday's meeting involves Hanson sitting at the table. If he denies the lease agreement, we'd be nearly certain he wants to build a casino and destroy the racetrack. Right now I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a fair shot. That's all everyone in NJ racing can ask for.

[Robert Goren]

When this private investor takes over and after three years he shows that there can be a profit at the Meadowlands when properly run, hopefully an unbiased independent agency will launch a complete investigation of who decided funds from the horse racing industry should be directed towards many worthless projects and high salaries by the NJSEA. As in any business if there was any wrong doings those responsible should be held accountable and face mandatory prison time.What makes you think someone is going to do in NJ what very few if any race tracks in the country are doing, show a profit on it racing operation?

[onefast99]

What makes you think someone is going to do in NJ what very few if any race tracks in the country are doing, show a profit on it racing operation?
Bob, please name one other state that has a similar scenario to the NJSEA's operation of the states race-tracks and sports facilities. As well as operating a state aquarium and two convention centers. And just in case you thought the NJSEA was a squeaky clean operation that is representing the NJ taxpayers fairly here is an article that will make you think just the opposite.

N.J. Sports and Exposition Authority plans to appeal order to disclose contracts with concert promoters

Published: Wednesday, December 08, 2010, 5:35 PM Updated: Wednesday, December 08, 2010, 5:36 PM

http://media.nj.com/design/baseline/img/user_default.png (http://connect.nj.com/user/thsherma/index.html)By Ted Sherman/The Star-Ledger (http://connect.nj.com/user/thsherma/index.html)
Tim Farrell/The Star-LedgerFans file into the Izod Center in April. A judge ruled that the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which operates the Izod Center in the Meadowlands, must disclose contract deals.
The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority moved today to keep its deals with the Harlem Globetrotters, Bruce Springsteen and Disney on Ice classified as state secrets.

More than a month after it was ordered to release financial details of contracts with hundreds of concert and event promoters, the authority said it would not comply and filed an appeal of the ruling.

~~read the rest at the following link~~

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/12/nj_sports_and_exposition_autho.html

[The_Knight_Sky]

"Judge Coleman made it clear the public’s right to know is paramount, and The Star-Ledger is simply trying to answer one question: Are taxpayers getting a fair shake or is the authority using our money to unnecessarily subsidize these deals?"

Under the newspaper’s initial public records request, the sports authority was asked to provide all of its concert and event contracts dating back to 2007. Ultimately, more than 100 documents were released, but all the financial information was blacked out.



What's the next step for The Star Ledger ?

[onefast99]

NEW JERSEY RACING COMMISSION
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2010
RACING COMMISSION OFFICE
140 EAST FRONT STREET, FOURTH FLOOR
TRENTON, NEW JERSEY
12:00 P.M. EXECUTIVE SESSION/1:00 P.M. PUBLIC MEETING




A. AGENDA ITEMS REQUIRING FORMAL ACTION
1. Consider approval of a motion to move into Executive Session.
2. Consider allocation of 2011 thoroughbred and standardbred racing dates for the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority
3. Consideration of the Application filed by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority requesting that the Racing Commission deny renewal licenses for the Toms River and Vineland off-track wagering facilities and invalidate the Master Off-Track Wagering Participation Agreement, in whole or part.
4. Consider the petition of the permitted racetracks, and related entities, for approval to renew the following off-track wagering licenses:
a) Woodbridge Township 1/1/11 through 12/31/11
b) Toms River Township 1/1/11 through 12/31/11
c) Vineland City 1/1/11 through 12/31/11
d) Bayonne City 1/1/11 through 12/31/11

[The_Knight_Sky]

NEW JERSEY RACING COMMISSION
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2010




Yes, but first things first.
What happened this morning (Friday the 17th) at the Governor's manse?

Just about everything in next week's meeting is affected by this,
yet not a single peep from the media yet.

Could it be a stalemate between Mr. Gural and Mr. Hanson?

[onefast99]

Yes, but first things first.
What happened this morning (Friday the 17th) at the Governor's manse?

Just about everything in next week's meeting is affected by this,
yet not a single peep from the media yet.

Could it be a stalemate between Mr. Gural and Mr. Hanson?
Lease of Meadowlands in negotiations; track to race in January

Return Home (http://www.harnessracing.com/)December 17, 2010Send To A Friend (http://www.harnessracing.com/send_to_friend.php?id=16542&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.harnessracing.com%2Fnews%2Fle aseofmeadowlandsinnegotiationstracktoraceinjanuary .html) | Print View (http://www.harnessracing.com/news/leaseofmeadowlandsinnegotiationstracktoraceinjanua ry.html?print_friendly)


New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced at a news conference this afternoon that the state will front a loan to a Standardbred group so the track can open its winter meet in January. The loan, through April, will allow racing to take place while a private invester--Standardbred breeder-owner and racetrack owner Jeff Gural--negotiates a lease of the Meadowlands racetrack.

A post by Michael Symons on the Asbury Park Press website said Christie "said he always wanted racing to continue but that the state can't afford continued subsidies."

Earlier on Friday, meetings took place between Standardbred leaders and the office of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Among those in attendance in the meetings were Gural, former horseman and New Jersey Assemblyman Ron Dancer (R-Ocean), the son of the late Hall of Famer Stanley Dancer, and Jennifer Beck (R-Monmouth), who has supported horse racing in the legislature and attended a gathering of legislators at Perretti Farms in late September, and Tom Luchento, president of the Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association of New Jersey.

[Bluto Blutarsky]

Trenton, NJ - Governor Chris Christie today announced a break-through agreement to keep live Standardbred racing at the Meadowlands beginning in January via a secured short-term financing plan to bridge the gap to a potential long-term solution that will make the Meadowlands racetrack a privately run, self-sustaining venture without taxpayer subsidies.

The agreement meets the Governor's foremost requirement that operating and
purse subsidies for Standardbred racing come to an end. To ensure that
racing at the Meadowlands can continue uninterrupted on its January schedule, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA) will extend operations, secured by simulcast racing revenues, through only March 31, with no costs being absorbed by state taxpayers.

~~read the rest~~

http://www.state.nj.us/governor/news/news/552010/approved/20101217a.html

[The_Knight_Sky]

Bill Finley:
http://www.harnessracingupdate.com/restricted/pdf/hru/hru120810.pdf

"We have to get our operating expenses way down, which means that the unions will have to agree to allow us to have fewer employees and, possibly, pay them less. I don't even know what these people make. To give you an idea, it costs 10 times more to run the Meadowlands than it costs to run Vernon Downs. I don't know exactly why that is. The Meadowlands has expenses they have to pay; they pay $2.5 million for regulatory issues. That's $2.5 million we don't pay at Vernon. That's a big number."

Gural has had a chance to take a preliminary look at the financial workings of the Meadowland and was pleased with what he saw.

"The only thing I was able to do in the last 24 hours was to get a grip on what their handle, revenue and operating costs are," he said. "I now understand those numbers. I was very pleased that their revenue was so high. It's roughly $30 million."

Luchento also expressed confidence that the Meadowlands would be saved.

__________________________________________

Mr. Gural's idea of a new grandstand on the backstretch interests me on many fronts. But of immediate importance is that the new owner will not tolerate wasted salaries and excessive overhead. Those who are employed at The Meadowlands might want to start reading the classifieds today instead of waiting till April 1st.

[onefast99]

Bill Finley:
http://www.harnessracingupdate.com/restricted/pdf/hru/hru120810.pdf

"We have to get our operating expenses way down, which means that the unions will have to agree to allow us to have fewer employees and, possibly, pay them less. I don't even know what these people make. To give you an idea, it costs 10 times more to run the Meadowlands than it costs to run Vernon Downs. I don't know exactly why that is. The Meadowlands has expenses they have to pay; they pay $2.5 million for regulatory issues. That's $2.5 million we don't pay at Vernon. That's a big number."

Gural has had a chance to take a preliminary look at the financial workings of the Meadowland and was pleased with what he saw.

"The only thing I was able to do in the last 24 hours was to get a grip on what their handle, revenue and operating costs are," he said. "I now understand those numbers. I was very pleased that their revenue was so high. It's roughly $30 million."

Luchento also expressed confidence that the Meadowlands would be saved.

__________________________________________

Mr. Gural's idea of a new grandstand on the backstretch interests me on many fronts. But of immediate importance is that the new owner will not tolerate wasted salaries and excessive overhead. Those who are employed at The Meadowlands might want to start reading the classifieds today instead of waiting till April 1st.
Governor Christi didn't need to assemble a panel of individuals to tell him that the NJSEA may indeed be the real culprit behind the demise of horse racing in NJ. All he had to do was ask to have the NJSEA open its books, I am sure they would have cited some privacy act as in the concert promoter debacle.

[alhattab]

Bill Finley:
http://www.harnessracingupdate.com/restricted/pdf/hru/hru120810.pdf

"We have to get our operating expenses way down, which means that the unions will have to agree to allow us to have fewer employees and, possibly, pay them less. I don't even know what these people make. To give you an idea, it costs 10 times more to run the Meadowlands than it costs to run Vernon Downs. I don't know exactly why that is. The Meadowlands has expenses they have to pay; they pay $2.5 million for regulatory issues. That's $2.5 million we don't pay at Vernon. That's a big number."

Gural has had a chance to take a preliminary look at the financial workings of the Meadowland and was pleased with what he saw.

"The only thing I was able to do in the last 24 hours was to get a grip on what their handle, revenue and operating costs are," he said. "I now understand those numbers. I was very pleased that their revenue was so high. It's roughly $30 million."

Luchento also expressed confidence that the Meadowlands would be saved.

__________________________________________

Mr. Gural's idea of a new grandstand on the backstretch interests me on many fronts. But of immediate importance is that the new owner will not tolerate wasted salaries and excessive overhead. Those who are employed at The Meadowlands might want to start reading the classifieds today instead of waiting till April 1st.

Yet another example of why you can't take numbers in the Hanson report at face value. I don't believe them at all- I'm sure the $2.5 million regulatory related expenses are included in the losses, but that is complete BS.

On a separate but sort of interesting note, I got my mailer to reserve picnic area space at Monmouth Park for 2011. They are only offering Fri-Sun again, with the first date being May 14 (btwn KY Derby and Preakness) with July 31 noted as Haskell Day.

[NY BRED]

Is our friend from Vernon Downs contemplating a racino??

My fondest hope would be the return of tbreds during September-Early November..


:jump: :jump: :jump: :jump:

[point given]

Is our friend from Vernon Downs contemplating a racino??

My fondest hope would be the return of tbreds during September-Early November..


:jump: :jump: :jump: :jump:

At $1mil to resurface, Dream on,,,, Gural is a harness guy,,,

[The_Knight_Sky]

Yet another example of why you can't take numbers in the Hanson report at face value. I don't believe them at all- I'm sure the $2.5 million regulatory related expenses are included in the losses, but that is complete BS.

On a separate but sort of interesting note, I got my mailer to reserve picnic area space at Monmouth Park for 2011. They are only offering Fri-Sun again, with the first date being May 14 (btwn KY Derby and Preakness) with July 31 noted as Haskell Day.




$2.5 million for what exactly? :ThmbDown:
There is a reason why the NJSEA has not spoken up to this point.

It's good to know that Monmouth may be planning to cater to the weekend warriors next year. I can only hope they cut the fat out from the November racing and use the funds to bolster the summer meet.

[onefast99]

$2.5 million for what exactly? :ThmbDown:
There is a reason why the NJSEA has not spoken up to this point.

It's good to know that Monmouth may be planning to cater to the weekend warriors next year. I can only hope they cut the fat out from the November racing and use the funds to bolster the summer meet.
Nothing has been resolved as of yet. If MP is telling anyone they are racing on Friday thru Sundays in 2011 that would be a guess as the racing schedule hasn't been approved yet. On Wednesday we will know what 2011 has in store for the thoroughbreds and sometime in early January we will know the plans of the NJSEA.

[The_Knight_Sky]

On Wednesday we will know what 2011 has in store
for the thoroughbreds and sometime in early January
we will know the plans of the NJSEA.



Wednesday is the day. Not Thursday as it is erroneously posted on the NJRC website:

http://i53.tinypic.com/n71v05.jpg


To revert back to racing 5 days a week and vying for mediocre purse money
would be a mistake.

The momentum must be kept going with the 3 day/wk sked. The NJTHA should know this and accept it. The three day concept started from that very group. At this point, why do a complete 180 turn around? It simply doesn't make sense.

If some kind of a "bridge loan" is secured for next year's Monmouth meet,
that would be even more of a reason to roll for 3 days.

Should be a lot of fireworks tomorrow.
Especially involving the topic of OTW's around the state.

[The Hawk]

I wonder if anyone will reference this report, from 2005, in the coming months?

http://www.oceanportboro.com/pdf/mptf/20101217_CCA-Meadowlands-White-Paper.pdf

Excerpt:

"Near-term and intermediate-term competition for Atlantic City casinos from neighboring Pennsylvania and New York markets will far out-weigh any sustained competition of a VLT facility at the Meadowlands."


How will the casinos ultimately hide the fact that they're just hoping that horse racing will die in NJ?