New Jersey Racing

Monmouth Park continued an upward trend by showing an increase in average total handle and average on-track handle for the third straight year as the 51-day meet came to a close Sunday. Paco Lopez claimed his 10th riding title and Claudio Gonzalez was the leading trainer for the second straight summer. The average total handle was $4,032,648 this year, an 11.4 percent increase over last year's average of $3,620,719. The on-track handle rose 15 percent to $340,257 compared to the 2022 average of $295,896. In addition, the average field size...

Ben Perkins, Sr., a fixture as a trainer on the New Jersey Thoroughbred racing circuit since 1958 whose 854 career winners included 1981 Haskell Invitational winner Five Star Flight, has passed away at the age of 89. Funeral services are pending. Perkins, Sr. took out his trainer's license in 1958, the same year he recorded his first career victory at Monmouth Park. He also trained at Garden State Park, Atlantic City Race Course and the Meadowlands before his retirement in 1999. Following his retirement from training, he set up and...

A federal judge in Kentucky has dismissed the class-action lawsuit against trainer Bob Baffert and Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI), that was initiated by a group of horseplayers who alleged negligence, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment because their losing pari-mutuel bets on the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby weren't honored as winners after Medina Spirit (Protonico) tested positive for and was subsequently disqualified for a betamethasone overage. The July 20 order tossing the case out of United States District Court, Western District of Kentucky (Louisville Division), could have ramifications on a...

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...