Darby Development

Race caller and TVG analyst Larry Collmus, whose distinguished career includes a 20-year stint as Monmouth Park's track announcer, has been named the winner of the 2023 Bill Handleman Award for outstanding coverage of last year's GI TVG.com Haskell S. First presented in 2012, the Handleman Award honors the late Bill Handleman, one of New Jersey's top sportswriters for nearly three decades for the Asbury Park Press. Handleman, a fixture at Monmouth Park and a passionate chronicler of the sport, died in June of 2010 at the age of 62....

Fixed Odds wagering moved a step closer to becoming a reality during the upcoming Monmouth Park meet after the New Jersey State Assembly approved a bill on Thursday by a 74-0-1 vote that would permit the new betting platform. The bill now moves onto to the State Senate and if successful would then go to Gov. Phil Murphy for a signature. Monmouth Park's 76th season gets underway Friday, May 28. "This is an exciting new wagering opportunity for our fans and we're grateful for the support from our legislators and...

Monmouth Park will switch to a 12:15 p.m. post time during live racing on Saturdays and Sundays while continuing to offer free parking and admission when the track's 76th season gets underway Friday, May 28. Post time on Fridays throughout the 53-day meet will be 5 p.m. The lone exception to the new 12:15 post time, as well as to the free parking and admission policy, will be July 17, when the $1 million TVG.com Haskell Stakes will be contested for the 54th time. Monmouth Park's live racing schedule runs...

After a $20 million purse subsidy that was used to bolster purses at New Jersey's Thoroughbred and Standardbred tracks was left out of an initial budget proposal from Governor Phil Murphy, lawmakers have approval a final budget that will include a $15 million subsidy for the 2021 racing season. The money will be divided evenly between the two breeds. "I am pleased that the governor has seen fit to give us back 15 of the $20 million that is going to go support purses next year," said Dennis Drazin, Chairman...

Darby Development CEO and Monmouth Park Operator Dennis Drazin issued the following statement Friday regarding the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act: As Chairman and CEO of Monmouth Park Racetrack and as counsel and advisor to the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NJTHA), I am pleased to announce Monmouth Park's support for the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act. I had the opportunity to listen carefully to the press conference at Keeneland where Senator Mitch McConnell announced his support for this historic legislation designed to improve the integrity and safety...

Monmouth Park, which has delayed the start of its racing season until July 3, has revised its stakes schedule to include 35 races totaling $5,050,000. The schedule's traditional anchor race, the $1-million GI TVG.com Haskell S. remains scheduled for July 18, but will not be run as an invitational in 2020. The nine-furlong race will be contested as a stakes race and nominations  will close June 26. The July 18 card will also feature the $300,000 GI United Nations S., GIII $300,000 Monmouth Cup S., $250,000 GIII Molly Pitcher S.,...

Choosing not to comment last week as the horse racing world responded en masse to the bombshell announcement of indictments against 27 figures in the sport, including high-profile trainers Jorge Navarro and Jason Servis, Darby Development CEO and Monmouth Park Operator Dennis Drazin has weighed in with a lengthy statement that was released Monday, shortly after Monmouth announced it will close and push back the start of its racing meet due to coronavirus concerns. The statement reads in part, "First and foremost, Monmouth Park and Darby Development, as well as...