The 60-day meeting at Monmouth Park closed Sunday, Oct. 27, with across-the-board increases for final handle and attendance.
Total wagering on races from the Jersey Shore oval from outside sources was $184,592,101, an increase of a whopping 18.92% over the 2018 total of $155,220,476. On-track wagering over the course of the meet was $20,953,740, a 1.03% bump over the 2018 figure. All-sources handle totaled $205,545,841, a 16.81% jump over last year.
Total attendance was 545,767, easily surpassing the 2018 figure of 465,244.
Monmouth Park was originally supposed to host 61 days of live racing in 2019, but officials were forced to cancel the July 21 program owing to excessive heat which also forced a restructuring and the cancellation of six races on Haskell Day July 20. Haskell Day attendance of 25,173 was the lowest since 1993.
“The positive overall numbers reflect the high quality of the product we were able to offer, thanks in large part to the purse supplement from the state of New Jersey,” said Dennis Drazin, Chairman and CEO of Darby Development, LLC, the operators of Monmouth Park. “Despite the challenges we faced on Haskell Day, our biggest day of the year, we're grateful to the fans who stuck with us and for everyone who helped make the best of a very difficult day.
“To be able to show gains across the board without the benefit of a typical Haskell Day is significant and a sign that the quality of racing was consistently at a high level throughout the meet.
“This was also the first year of the purse subsidy and the first full year of sports betting, which were instrumental in this year's success. The state subsidy was a key factor in being able to add more live racing dates to our schedule.”
Track officials were especially pleased with the uptick in attendance, given the shift towards on-line betting.
“When you remove uncertainty from any equation, the end result is typically success,” said Drazin. “The combination of the first full year of sports betting and the subsidy from the state have help to erode some of the uncertainty pervading our industry. We're optimistic about the future, not only for racing at Monmouth Park in general but specifically for the breeding sector in the state. We're already starting to see that trend tick upward.”
Paco Lopez took down the riding title at the meet, edging out Nik Juarez by a count of 109 to 107. Jorge Navarro won his seventh straight training title, unsaddling the winners of 68 races, a total second only to the 85 winners he registered last season. Joe Besecker was leading owner with 23 wins.
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