Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Monmouth adds dates, stakes
With sports betting revenue rolling in since June and legislation that will provide purse subsidies of $10 million for each of the next five years expected to be signed soon by Gov. Phil Murphy (D), Monmouth Park this season will add racing dates, increase overnight purses, and offer a much more enticing stakes program than in 2018.
The stakes schedule released Thursday consists of 64 races worth a combined $7.1 million. Last year, 39 stakes worth $4.34 million were held.
There will be at least one stakes every Saturday and Sunday. Six bundled-stakes cards are planned – one in May, June, July, and August, and two in September.
The bottom stakes purse has been raised from $60,000 to $75,000, and 30 races have received purse increases, ranging from $15,000 to $50,000. Nine graded stakes have had their purses boosted by $50,000.
There are 25 stakes on the schedule that are either new or were discontinued and are being brought back.
Monmouth, which the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association leases from the state, has been fighting an uphill battle in recent years to compete for horses. Virtually all other tracks in the MidAtlantic region either receive revenue from a casino on their grounds or have a casino subsidy.
In 2016, Monmouth held 41 stakes. In 2017, that figure dropped to 33. Last year, six stakes were added and the stakes program was increased by $615,000. But to make that work, Monmouth raced only 52 days, four fewer than 2017 and five fewer than 2016.
John Heims, Monmouth’s director of racing, believes the richer stakes program is an important first step in turning around the racing program.
“We are looking to build back what we have lost in recent years,” Heims said. “We have moved all of our graded stakes back to at least $150,000 and our listed stakes are all worth $100,000. We are looking to move our races up in grade and improve the quality of the horses we attract.”
Heims soon will make recruiting trips to Tampa Bay Downs, South Florida, Fair Grounds, and Oaklawn Park to line up stables for the meet.
Dennis Drazin, the chairman of Darby Development, which operates Monmouth on behalf of the horsemen, has fought long and hard for sports wagering and to replace the casino subsidy former Gov. Chris Christie (R) took away in 2011. While Monmouth may still not be on a level playing field with tracks in Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, it certainly is on firmer ground than in a long time.
“This year will be a gamechanger for Monmouth Park and for racing in the State of New Jersey,” Drazin said. “For too long we have seen our neighbors enjoy casino-fueled purses, placing New Jersey at a competitive disadvantage.”
As usual, the highlight of the Monmouth season will be the Grade 1, $1 million Haskell Invitational, a Win and You’re In for the Breeders’ Cup Classic. The Haskell, traditionally run on a Sunday in late July, will be moved up eight days to Saturday, July 20, due to a scheduling conflict at NBC, which televises the race.
Typically, July 20 would fall during opening weekend of Saratoga, but the New York Racing Association is set to get approval for a July 11 opening and the Haskell will likely be held during the second weekend of the Spa meet.
There will be five supporting stakes on the Haskell card. The other Grade 1 at the meet, the $300,000 United Nations, will top a four-stakes program June 22. The Grade 2, $200,000 Monmouth Stakes is the May 25 headliner on the first bundledstakes card of the session.
A 56-day Monmouth racing calendar has been posted on the track’s web site, but the meet is being expanded to 61 days. From opening day of May 4 to Sept. 29, Monmouth will race Saturdays and Sundays, with Friday racing added from July 14 through Aug. 23. Monmouth will also race on Memorial Day, July 4, and Labor Day.
In October, Monmouth will race on Sundays, and there will be all-turf cards at The Meadowlands on Friday and Saturday evenings.
In 2018, the Monmouth meet ended on Sept. 8 and six all-turf cards at The Meadowlands were scheduled from Sept. 14-29.
Total purse funds for the 61 racing dates at Monmouth will be approximately $30.5 million, an average of $500,000 per day. That figure includes stakes purses, overnight purses, and workmen’s compensation, which Monmouth provides free of charge for its horsemen.
“Beaten nickel claimers will race for a purse of about $20,000,” Heims said. “We haven’t set maiden special weight purses yet but they will be around $40,000.”
At the start of the 2018 meet, purses for maiden races were $34,700 and conditioned $5,000 claiming horses were running for $15,000.