Jeff Gural, a long-time New York real estate magnate, Standardbred breeder and owner, and, more recently, harness track owner and operator in New Jersey and New York, has been selected as the recipient of the John W. Galbreath Award, given each year since 1990 to a person or persons who have led successful equine enterprises, the University of Louisville Equine Industry Program announced Wednesday. Gural operates the Meadowlands, Vernon Downs and Tioga Raceway, and owns two farms of his own.
“The Galbreath Award recognizes people who have built successful enterprises that serve the industry and act in a positive way to build marketing initiatives that encourage participation in the horse industry by others,” said Tim Capps, the director of the Equine Industry Program. “Jeff Gural's love of horses and of the game of harness racing has driven his desire to sustain the sport and make it a better place, first for fans, then for participants. He's a believer in the sport, and has invested a lot of his money and time into making it more vibrant and more deserving of peoples' attention.”
Gural, a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a degree in Civil Engineering, became interested in horse racing as a young adult and maintained interest in the game throughout his successful career in the real estate business, in which he heads the company Newmark Grubb Knight Frank. Taking a more active role in the Standardbred industry later in life, Gural is the leader of American Racing and Entertainment LLC, which operates Vernon, Tioga and the Meadowlands. While he is credited with drastically improving the outlook for harness racing in upstate New York, Gural is best known for his work at the Meadowlands–where he built a new, state-of-the-art grandstand and has made significant efforts to improve the integrity of the racing product.
“We have to change in order to survive,” Gural said. “Having said that, I continue to believe that change–positive change–is a possibility, and a necessity.”
The Galbreath Award will be presented at the Speed Art Museum on the campus of the University of Louisville Thursday evening. For more coverage of the event, please read Saturday's edition of the TDN.
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