John Heims

Monmouth Park will offer a weekend-long trainer bonus totaling $150,000 around the track's signature race, the GI Haskell S. Trainers will accumulate points covering races from from July 19 through 21, with $75,000 awarded to the winning trainer. "This is a great way to expand Haskell Day into Haskell Weekend and provide our fans with an amazing racing experience for three straight days," said Monmouth Park director of racing and racing secretary John Heims. "While Haskell Day is already circled on many conditioners' calendars, this new bonus will hopefully attract...

Jockey Tomas Mejia has been removed from his mounts at Monmouth Park this weekend after meeting with the stewards Friday morning and will have a hearing before them Wednesday, according to Monmouth racing secretary and director of racing John Heims. No reason was provided and the New Jersey oval will not issue a statement until after Wednesday's hearing.

The Week in Review, by Bill Finley We will need a bigger sample size before being able to fully evaluate how Monmouth's experiment with whip-free racing has fared. But this much is certain: Three days in and after hysterical fomenting from the pro-whip side of the argument, the whip-less races amounted to a big nothingburger. That is to say there were no incidents, no major form reversals, no mass boycotts from the horseplayers, etc. Perhaps this was just round one in what figures to be a long, drawn-out battle that...

The Monmouth Park racing office appeared to have no problem attracting horses and jockeys for Saturday's card when entries were taken Thursday. A 12-race card attracted 107 entries and there are 22 jockeys named to ride. There had been concerns that the track would fall short in both categories because some of the top riders have decided to sit out the opening weekend at Monmouth because they are concerned about new rules that prohibit whipping in the races, with the only exception being instances when there are safety concerns. "We...

Even as a separate bill to allow fixed-odds wagering on in-state horse races is making its way through the New Jersey Legislature, the state's racing commission voted 4-0 Nov. 18 to give consent for licensees to try a fixed-odds pilot program during 2021 that would be limited to bets on out-of-state Grade I races. The vote was unanimous but not without misgivings, as several commissioners voiced concerns prior to the vote that fixed-odds betting would cannibalize the existing pari-mutuel system and eventually erode New Jersey's racing industry. And one New...

Cameron Beatty, a co-owner of Horologist (Gemologist), has been banned from Monmouth Park for the remainder of the 2020 meet after he appeared in the winner's circle following her win in the June 18 GIII Molly Pitcher S. Because of the coronavirus, Monmouth is not allowing owners in the winner's circle or in the paddock. Dennis Drazin, who heads the management team that runs Monmouth, said that, for now, the suspension means only that Beatty is not allowed on the premises. However, he said further disciplinary actions could be taken...