Dennis Drazin

The planned return of autumn Thoroughbred racing on both dirt and turf at the Meadowlands will have to wait for another year. The New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NJTHA) and track management at the Meadowlands have come to a mutual decision not to convert the facility's main dirt track from a Standardbred to a Thoroughbred setup for 19 already-allotted Friday and Saturday dates between Oct. 2 and Dec. 5. Under an agreement reached last year, dual-surface Thoroughbred racing was to be conducted at the Meadowlands for the first time since...

BetMakers Technology Group will sponsor a $1-million bonus for any horse that manages to sweep the GI TVG.com Haskell S., the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Breeders' Cup Classic. The promotion will be known as the 'BetMakers Bonanza.' Todd Buckingham, CEO of BetMakers, confirmed that they will offer the bonus structure for the next three years. "We are delighted to sponsor this bonus for the next three years and hope it can attract the best horses to attempt the lucrative quest beginning with the Haskell at Monmouth Park this year,"...

Hoping to allow crowds as large as 15,000 to its live racing days, Monmouth Park management has been given new guidelines by Governor Phil Murphy's office that will cap live attendance at a much smaller number. Dennis Drazin, chairman and CEO of Darby Development LLC., which operates the track, was still crunching the numbers yesterday prior to opening day at the abbreviated meet and going over what he could and could not do, but estimated that the amount of people that would be allowed in the track would be between...

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced Monday that, as of July 2, the state's casinos and racetracks can open at 25% capacity. Dennis Drazin, who heads the operations team at Monmouth Park, said that while some details still need to be clarified by Murphy's office, he is of the belief that Monmouth can allow as many as 15,000 people a day at the races. Drazin bases that number on Monmouth being able to accommodate as many as 60,000 fans, roughly the number that attended American Pharoah's GI Haskell Invitational in...

Longtime owner and breeder Leonard Green, whose D J Stable has been a fixture at Monmouth Park for nearly four decades, has been named the 2020 winner of the New Jersey track's Virgil "Buddy" Raines Distinguished Achievement Award. Dennis Drazin, chairman and CEO of Darby Development, operator of Monmouth Park, said Green "exemplifies everything that is good about Thoroughbred racing." Drazin continued, "The Raines Award honors the very best in our sport and Leonard Green has represented that for many years now." Leonard and Lois Green's D.J. Stable has been...

During his daily press briefing on the coronavirus pandemic in New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy announced that horse racing in the state can return, spectator-free, as early as next week. Sticking to its original plan, Monmouth Park will conduct its first day of live racing Friday, July 3. "We're incredibly thankful to Governor Murphy for letting us get back to work," said Dennis Drazin, Chairman and CEO of Darby Development, LLC, operators of Monmouth Park. "This is welcome news for horsemen and even better news for New Jerseyans. "The Governor...

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.,...

Dennis Drazin is a good man who has done much to keep racing alive in New Jersey, but his press statement released last Monday staggers the senses. The last paragraph of his statement reads, "I should also add that this indictment is particularly sad in that Jason Servis was my trainer. During my 45 years as an attorney, chairman of the NJRC, and racetrack operator, I have always advocated that cheating cannot be tolerated and I would never tolerate illegal conduct. My horses are being moved to Pat McBurney." This...

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...

Monmouth Park Racetrack will close for simulcasting and sports wagering beginning at 8 p.m. Monday, Mar. 16, as the State of New Jersey and the rest of the country continue to take proactive measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus). Wagering will continue as normal on 4NJBets.com as well as online sports betting apps. In addition, based on the recommendation of the Center for Disease Control to limit public gatherings to fewer than 50 people, Monmouth Park will postpone its opening day originally scheduled for May 2, 2020 until...

Valedictorian (Temple City), a two-time graded-stakes winner in 2019, has been named New Jersey-bred Horse of the Year, champion older female and champion turf runner by the Thoroughbred Breeders' Association of New Jersey. Trained by Kelly Breen for Epic Racing, the daughter of Smart N Classy (Smart Strike) posted a 9-1 upset of the GIII Suwannee River S. last February and added Monmouth Park's GIII Eatontown S.--won by her dam in 2005--as the odds-on favorite in June while also hitting the board in the GIII Honey Fox S. and GIII...

In an effort to promote integrity and legal compliance in the gaming industry, Seton Hall Law School will host a Gaming Law, Compliance and Integrity Bootcamp Mar. 9-11. The bootcamp will provide legal, compliance and ethics education to professionals working or seeking to work in the gaming space, along with law students aspiring to practice in the field. Funding for the program has been provided by GVC Foundation US, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting responsible gambling, sports integrity and corporate compliance in the U.S. "Seton Hall Law School, a leading...