Visiting Monmouth First Time

[thespaah]

Originally Posted by charm city whizz

Looking forward to the trip report....

Think the bottom line is monmouth means a lot to a lot of people on this board, give me monmouth over saratoga any day of week, some may think Im crazy but MTH is just a hidden gem in racing

Monmouth is NJ's Saratoga equivalent.
The track management does it pretty good there.

[alhattab]

Originally Posted by FlintAtTheFetlock

Thanks for the great info. Yep, I'm staying overnight FRI and maybe SAT if doing well. Hotel very close in W. Long Branch. FRI is my main day at the track and back to Boston for Father's Day. I'll have a small cooler and a chair (great news you can carry canned beer around). Now that I think about it I may set up near the paddock or wherever they parade the horses. I may try paddock picking with a separate pile of money just to see if I have any talent there. Don't know why I would having never been around horses before, but I can at least eliminate the agitated angry ones acting up. A Happy Horse is a winning horse they say.

Pizza sounds good, and will keep in mind the chowder (if its not too hot out).

I want to go to a beach Saturday morning to do some capping and perhaps spend the day if bankroll toast. Prefer quite over rowdy. Also looking for great fried clams strips.

Cheers.

Presume you are staying at LaQuinta or Holiday Inn Express?

You have lots of options. If you don't mind driving a bit (or getting a taxi/UBER) you could head to Sea Bright where you have a few dining and drinking options include Sea Bright Fish Company in central Sea Bright, or Eventide Grill in southern Sea Bright where you can get your clam strips. If you'd rather be very local, go to the Sitting Duck just down Myrtle Ave near the stable gate. Sea Bright will give you much more of a Jersey Shore vibe, but it will take you 15 mins to get there. Eventide especially is a great spot and easier to deal with if driving as compared to downtown Sea Bright. Right on Shrewsbury River with west (sunset) view and live music outside if the weather is good. Food is ok not gourmet, bit you'll be ok if you keep it simple like fried stuff or fish tacos. Eventide has the Moroccan Sheepherders scheduled for next Friday. Last time I saw them they were pretty good and had a nice following. A home run if the weather is nice and you don't mind getting over there.

-Pier Village in Long Branch is another more highbrow option that has a variety of eats. Can get busy and parking can be a challenge, but you could do a lot worse than Sirena or Avenue, both right in the ocean and both higher end, but not overly dressy. The Turning Point in that area or the Bacon Beach Grill in North Long Branch would be decent breakfast options, as would Edies in Little Silver or the All Seasons Diner. Long Branch also features The Windmill which is a local institution known for hot dogs. Max's hot dogs is where Baffert goes before the Haskell- at least before his heart problems.

-beach options would be 7 Presidents (closest) in Long Branch, Pier Village a little further south in Long Branch, Monmouth Beach (park on street and walk on at public access points) or Sea Bright.

-At the track, the grassy area adjacent the Walking Ring is labeled as "no BYOB" but not sure how strictly enforced. When I hung out there we put our coolers behind the structure and nobody bothered us. The apron would be another great option as previously noted.

Wish I could be at the track to meet but I can't go Friday feel free to PM for more info

[RunForTheRoses]

http://thesconepony.com/

This place is most righteous and worth a stop.

[RunForTheRoses]

-At the track, the grassy area adjacent the Walking Ring is labeled as "no BYOB" but not sure how strictly enforced. When I hung out there we put our coolers behind the structure and nobody bothered us. The apron would be another great option as previously noted.

Do you mean the "Chicken Coop" the shack across from the racing office and saddling area where 4 teller windows are? I worked there a bunch in 99-2000.

If OP can afford Clubhouse, imho it is worth it as you can get access to some unique areas. It won't be crowded on a Friday though, not at all. Ever since OTBs opened attendance has dwindled.

[alhattab]

Originally Posted by RunForTheRoses

-At the track, the grassy area adjacent the Walking Ring is labeled as "no BYOB" but not sure how strictly enforced. When I hung out there we put our coolers behind the structure and nobody bothered us. The apron would be another great option as previously noted.

Do you mean the "Chicken Coop" the shack across from the racing office and saddling area where 4 teller windows are? I worked there a bunch in 99-2000.

If OP can afford Clubhouse, imho it is worth it as you can get access to some unique areas. It won't be crowded on a Friday though, not at all. Ever since OTBs opened attendance has dwindled.

There is some cool shit in the club house. After a while they stop checking. Easiest thing to do is to cross over to the clubhouse side by the paddock under the tote board (not the cross over closer to the grandstand. The security guys will let you cross, then keep walking around past the Breeders Cup Gardens toward the Lady's Secret and voila you're in the clubhouse. Can't bring your cooler though else Dottie the security guard will detain you.

Roses maybe after you left there they built a shed like structure across from walking ring that has self serve terminals. The chicken coop is at 12:00 relative to walking ring. The self service machines are 3:00. There
Is a grassy knoll there that is a good spot to watch the horses pre
Race and also convenient for simulcasts as the shed has 10 or so tvs in it.

[alhattab]

Originally Posted by RunForTheRoses

http://thesconepony.com/

This place is most righteous and worth a stop.

Pretty far from the track and WLB though. Not sure I'd drive that far for a pastry! If you have a sweet tooth Flint the Little Silver Pie Shop or Hoffmans Ice Cream (a shore institution) will serve you well.

[MonmouthParkJoe]

Flint, how was the visit?

I braved fathers day. Track reported attendance at almost 21,000. It was busy for sure but was still easy to get around, no long lines outside and bathrooms were fine. Got there about 945, gates opened at 1130. Some people were there at 8am .

Managed to snag a table running like a madman. within 1 minute of opening all the tables were gone. Call me crazy but i enjoy the madness. At Belmont today, Monmouth tomorrow.

[lamboguy]

Monmouth has a great fan base, they will get a bigger attendance than all the other tracks in the area. but they don't have great purses and there is a good chance that the place will close this year after the Haskell and might not re-open.

[castaway01]

Originally Posted by lamboguy

Monmouth has a great fan base, they will get a bigger attendance than all the other tracks in the area. but they don't have great purses and there is a good chance that the place will close this year after the Haskell and might not re-open.

Any evidence for this or just your usual BS?

[FlintAtTheFetlock]

Originally Posted by charm city whizz

Looking forward to the trip report....

Think the bottom line is monmouth means a lot to a lot of people on this board, give me monmouth over saratoga any day of week, some may think Im crazy but MTH is just a hidden gem in racing

I finally found some time to share my first experience at Monmouth. Bottom line is I’m going back, maybe more than once per summer, but many WTF moments. First, what is with these divided highways with few left turns and sneaky U-Turns popping out of nowhere on the right? I must have driven 5 extra miles trying to circle back to places I missed. A Cop chastised me for attempting a left turn the GPS was sending me. Also, why does the Jersey Shore (near Monmouth) have so few hotels? Seems all condos and private beach clubs... That’s very different than the Northeast. But enough of the babble…

I’ll start with the bummers:
That FRI card 6/17 was one of the worst cards I’ve ever seen. They only carded 8 races and two were hurdles. This stunned me. So that left 6 races to get my mind around. I hit my first race ($30 WIN) but it went off at 3/5. Late scratches f*’d up several races both FRI and SAT as horses were freaking out. Something was in the air. I hit the PICK 4 Saturday (3 times) thanks to scratching into favorites. You would think something to chirp about. It paid $17.00 I think the lowest pick 4 I ever had. So even X3 it was no Big Wup. I think I bought a Yuengling with the profits  CHALK, CHALK, CHALK

Now the highlights:

What a quaint and inviting venue. So easy, you can park right near the gate for a modest fee. All the staff very friendly, helping me on options for setting up shop. I never imagined the BYOB area would be anywhere near the finish line. How great is that? And people carrying glass bottles around? You don’t see that in Boston. Too worried about law suits, so we get cheap plastic cups and forget BYOB.

The food options were quite good. I had a tasty hot dog, an ultra thin pizza slice, and a flavorful Sausage w/peppers and onions. I love the pass through to view horses and the paddock area. What a fan friendly fantastic layout. Weather was perfect and I was harkening to the glory days of racing and what a shame nothing like this is near a great city like Boston.

I went to the beach both mornings and was nearly alone. Where is everyone? Jersey people must sleep in on weekends. Those are beautiful beaches with great rollers and the sounds of crashing waves made me hate to leave. Sea Bright, 7 Presidents, and Pier Village hit them all, and parking was dirt cheap 1$ per hour. Mind blowing. I pay $30.00 up here. That big Resort at Pier Village with the huge ocean side pool looks inviting. Maybe I will splurge next time and stay there.

For dinner I kept it local. You weren’t kidding about the Sitting Duck (talk about locals)  Everyone friendly and I got a Martini for $5.00. Crazy! It must have been happy hour. The uptight politicians in MA banned happy hours 30 years ago. This placed had a very funky menu and I was scratching my head as many meals were coming out with a big bowl covering them. Is that a Jersey thing? I also hit Zachary’s and I think that is the place I’d go back if my family joins me. I had Grouper pasta dish that was amazing.

I left with money in my pocket being slightly down FRI and up a little SAT. I'll take that considering nothing was paying at all.

Thanks to all for the recommendations and information to make this a memorable trip.

Cheers,
Flint

[alhattab]

Originally Posted by lamboguy

Monmouth has a great fan base, they will get a bigger attendance than all the other tracks in the area. but they don't have great purses and there is a good chance that the place will close this year after the Haskell and might not re-open.

I have heard similar rumors about closing after the Haskell. It is a complete shame that Monmouth has been put in this position by slot-fueled venues like Parx. Monmouth still draws decent crowds and young people but just can't compete purse wise and as an independent. Stronach is killing Monmouth with GP running all year and the leverage he has over the snowbirds with his control of MJC. Ultimately Monmouth is going to have to make a deal with him to survive unless they can find some additional revenue sources. Stronach's group has said they plan to remake Mid Atlantic racing. I'm hopeful Monmouth is part of their plans, and that right now he's just putting the screws to Monmouth hard so they have to come to the table.

I've said before I could see a European type model working in the region, with Monmouth running a shorter meet like Memorial Day or Fathers Day to Haskell Day (4 day weeks) or at most to Labor Day. Monmouth could also go to a schedule where it runs the same 4 days on the calendar each year e.g. Memorial Day weekend, Fathers Day weekend, weekend after July 4, Haskell weekend then maybe last week of August into Labor Day. Labor Day weekend could even be some sort of festival like the Monmouth Hunt or something that they can turn into something unique.

Flint nice to see you had a good time despite the racing, which has been of relatively poor quality all meet.

[alhattab]

Originally Posted by FlintAtTheFetlock

I finally found some time to share my first experience at Monmouth. Bottom line is I’m going back, maybe more than once per summer, but many WTF moments. First, what is with these divided highways with few left turns and sneaky U-Turns popping out of nowhere on the right? I must have driven 5 extra miles trying to circle back to places I missed. A Cop chastised me for attempting a left turn the GPS was sending me. Also, why does the Jersey Shore (near Monmouth) have so few hotels? Seems all condos and private beach clubs... That’s very different than the Northeast. But enough of the babble…

I’ll start with the bummers:
That FRI card 6/17 was one of the worst cards I’ve ever seen. They only carded 8 races and two were hurdles. This stunned me. So that left 6 races to get my mind around. I hit my first race ($30 WIN) but it went off at 3/5. Late scratches f*’d up several races both FRI and SAT as horses were freaking out. Something was in the air. I hit the PICK 4 Saturday (3 times) thanks to scratching into favorites. You would think something to chirp about. It paid $17.00 I think the lowest pick 4 I ever had. So even X3 it was no Big Wup. I think I bought a Yuengling with the profits  CHALK, CHALK, CHALK

Now the highlights:

What a quaint and inviting venue. So easy, you can park right near the gate for a modest fee. All the staff very friendly, helping me on options for setting up shop. I never imagined the BYOB area would be anywhere near the finish line. How great is that? And people carrying glass bottles around? You don’t see that in Boston. Too worried about law suits, so we get cheap plastic cups and forget BYOB.

The food options were quite good. I had a tasty hot dog, an ultra thin pizza slice, and a flavorful Sausage w/peppers and onions. I love the pass through to view horses and the paddock area. What a fan friendly fantastic layout. Weather was perfect and I was harkening to the glory days of racing and what a shame nothing like this is near a great city like Boston.

I went to the beach both mornings and was nearly alone. Where is everyone? Jersey people must sleep in on weekends. Those are beautiful beaches with great rollers and the sounds of crashing waves made me hate to leave. Sea Bright, 7 Presidents, and Pier Village hit them all, and parking was dirt cheap 1$ per hour. Mind blowing. I pay $30.00 up here. That big Resort at Pier Village with the huge ocean side pool looks inviting. Maybe I will splurge next time and stay there.

For dinner I kept it local. You weren’t kidding about the Sitting Duck (talk about locals)  Everyone friendly and I got a Martini for $5.00. Crazy! It must have been happy hour. The uptight politicians in MA banned happy hours 30 years ago. This placed had a very funky menu and I was scratching my head as many meals were coming out with a big bowl covering them. Is that a Jersey thing? I also hit Zachary’s and I think that is the place I’d go back if my family joins me. I had Grouper pasta dish that was amazing.

I left with money in my pocket being slightly down FRI and up a little SAT. I'll take that considering nothing was paying at all.

Thanks to all for the recommendations and information to make this a memorable trip.

Cheers,
Flint

Flint you experienced the "Jersey Left" which confuses many out of towners. Those turns are everywhere down here and throughout the state.

Not sure about the meals with the big bowls covering them. Maybe steamers or mussels with the covering bowl used for shells? Not a Jersey thing. But did you notice the grill was in the middle of the bar at the Duck? I don't see that too many other areas but that sort of thing is a fixture down here for some reason.

The big Pier Village hotel is called Ocean Place. Seems popular with New Yorkers. Never stayed there but have been there for live music which they have all summer on the patio.

Come back for the Haskell. Haskell Day itself will be busy but manageable and hopefully the racing is good.

[FlintAtTheFetlock]

Originally Posted by alhattab

Flint you experienced the "Jersey Left" which confuses many out of towners. Those turns are everywhere down here and throughout the state.

Not sure about the meals with the big bowls covering them. Maybe steamers or mussels with the covering bowl used for shells? Not a Jersey thing. But did you notice the grill was in the middle of the bar at the Duck? I don't see that too many other areas but that sort of thing is a fixture down here for some reason.

The big Pier Village hotel is called Ocean Place. Seems popular with New Yorkers. Never stayed there but have been there for live music which they have all summer on the patio.

Come back for the Haskell. Haskell Day itself will be busy but manageable and hopefully the racing is good.

What is the music scene like at Ocean Place? I'm a big music guy, play guitar, sing. Any recognizable acts or just local bands? Still another reason to consider...

[alhattab]

Originally Posted by FlintAtTheFetlock

What is the music scene like at Ocean Place? I'm a big music guy, play guitar, sing. Any recognizable acts or just local bands? Still another reason to consider...

All local stuff at Ocean Place and the other bars in the immediate area. However there are a few venues nearby that pull various national acts. In Red Bank at the Count Basie Theatre which gets a lot of older classic rockers and an otherwise eclectic mix (eg Eric Burdon and Hot Tuna are playing this summer). Asbury Park mainly at The Stone Pony which is a bit more current (Dead Kennedys, Umphreys Magee, Gin Blossoms) and a major venue in the PNC Bank Arts Center which has A-grade acts. The music scene is vibrant here with a great tradition

[biggestal99]

Originally Posted by lamboguy

Monmouth has a great fan base, they will get a bigger attendance than all the other tracks in the area. but they don't have great purses and there is a good chance that the place will close this year after the Haskell and might not re-open.

Depends on the sports betting case outcome, still pending an opinion on the 3rd
Court of appeals opinion.

Complex case.

Allan