New Jersey Racing

Monmouth Park showed a 25.2% increase in total handle and a 16.07% increase in on-track handle, while Paco Lopez won his ninth riding title and Claudio Gonzalez earned his first training title as the Jersey Shore track closed out its 77th season Sunday. Total handle was $217,243,199 this summer compared to $173,511,611 a year ago. On-track handle was $17,753,794 in 2022 compared to $15,216,978 a year ago. Total attendance was 368,101. Monmouth ran 60 live days of racing this year compared to 55 a year ago. "We're extremely pleased by...

Tickets for the TVG.com Haskell S., Monmouth Park's showcase race, will go on sale Saturday, May 28, starting at 11:30 a.m. The 55th edition of the $1-million race for 3-year-olds, to be held Saturday, July 23, headlines a stakes-filled card that includes the GI United Nations, the GIII Monmouth Cup, the GIII Molly Pitcher, the GIII WinStar Matchmaker and the Wolf Hill. First race post time on Haskell Day is noon. All tickets for Haskell Day (except for the Dining Club Buffet and Lady's Secret Cafe) may be purchased on...

Monmouth Park's Friday cards will begin at 2 p.m. in 2022 and feature an anticipated eight races, the track announced Tuesday. Monmouth's 2022 live season kicks off Saturday, May 7. The first of 14 Friday cards is scheduled for June 3. The track's final Friday is slated for Sept. 2. New for the 2022 season, Monmouth Park will also race four days a week in August, with the addition of five Monday cards. Post times for weekends and Mondays will be announced closer to the start of the season.

Monmouth Park released a schedule of events Thursday for its 2022 meet, which will begin on Saturday, May 7. The track noted that other promotions and events are still in the works. Scheduled events at this time are as follows: May 7 - Opening Day: The Shore's Biggest Derby Party May 8 - Mother's Day May 28-30 - Jersey Shore Food Truck Festival June 5 - Irish Festival June 11 - Cooler Giveaway June 19 - Father's Day June 25-26 - Win, Wine & Dine Festival July 10 - Classic...

Monmouth Park will offer free general parking and has removed the additional Clubhouse admission fee in advance of the 2022 racing season. In a continuation of the track's fan-friendly "We're Back" campaign, all general admission has been set at $6. In a change from previous seasons, that price will be the same for Grandstand and Clubhouse admission. Once inside the racetrack, there will be no additional fee to move from the Grandstand to Clubhouse. There will be a fee for valet parking. As in year's past, general admission will be...

Thoroughbred racing in New Jersey will get a nine-date boost in 2022. The New Jersey Racing Commission (NJRC) on Wednesday unanimously approved 60 dates at Monmouth Park (May 7-Sept. 17) and 11 dates of turf-only racing at the Meadowlands (Sept. 23-Oct. 29). That total of 71 overall dates represents an uptick of seven programs at Monmouth and two at the Meadowlands compared to what had been granted for '21. The NJRC also unanimously approved carrying over into '22 a $21,457 Jackpot Pick 6 pool that was scheduled to be paid...

Monmouth Park is moving its first race post time to 3 p.m. for the next two Fridays of live racing, starting with the 10-race card Friday, Aug. 27. The new Friday post time will also be in effect for the Sept. 3 program that kicks off the four-day Labor Day weekend of racing. The following three Fridays in September--Sept. 10, 17 and 24--will then shift to a 12:15 p.m. first race post time. Prior to the change, Friday post time had been 5 p.m. First race post time remains at...

Trainer Kelly Breen celebrated a milestone Saturday at Monmouth, sending out his 900th winner when Act of Valor (American Freedom) won the day's sixth race. The 2-year-old maiden went off the 6-5 choice and was claimed out of the race by Anthony Margotta. A native of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Breen operated a small stable in the early 90s before going to work as Ben Perkins's assistant, and went back out on his own in 2003. He won the 2011 GI Belmont S. with Ruler on Ice. "It's a great...

A state audit of the New Jersey Racing Commission (NJRC) that sampled the records of 100 individuals listed as never having paid their fines for racing infractions has revealed that at least $272,000 remains uncollected, with 76% of that money being outstanding for penalties that were imposed by the NJRC as long as two decades ago. The Office of the State Auditor, which probed various aspects of the commission for the period between July 2016 through March 2020, also stated that the commission-produced equine fatality reports "are not always complete...

The years-long bid by New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NJTHA) to seek $150 million in alleged damages from the four major team sports leagues and the college sports regulatory body (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and NCAA) ended Jan. 11 with a far lesser settlement approved by a federal judge, who wrote that the case has been "amicably resolved" among the parties. According to the three-page "stipulation and order" signed Monday by United States District Court (New Jersey) Chief Judge Freda Wolfson, in exchange for ending its legal pursuit for more...

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...

New Jersey moved one step closer to becoming the first state in the country to allow fixed-odds wagering on horse races when a bill that would authorize that form of betting was introduced in the New Jersey Legislature Thursday. The bill was introduced by New Jersey State Senator Vin Gopal and an identical bill has been sponsored by Assembly Gaming Committee Chairman Ralph Caputo and Deputy Republican Leader Assemblyman Ronald Dancer. With the bill enjoying bipartisan support, expectations are that it will pass and will be signed into law by...