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By Wandering Eyes · Posted
New Jersey racing has not had it easy, and has not had it easy for a long time. Monmouth was in such dire straits that, after the end of the 2025 meet, there was so little money in its coffers that the track wasn't able to pay horsemen money that was owed to them for months. That problem arose despite the fact Monmouth was receiving an annual $10-million subsidy from the state to supplement purses. Worried that the subsidy, never a sure thing, might go away under the newly elected Governor Mikie Sherrill, Dennis Drazin, who heads Darby Development, the company that manages the track's operations, has advanced the idea that the meet should be reduced to 25 days if the subsidy is no longer available. New Jersey racing was once as great as it gets. It had a circuit of Garden State, Atlantic City and Monmouth, one of the most beautiful tracks in the sport. Then the Meadowlands came along, and it was a behemoth in its day. But it all started to fall apart on May 26, 1978 when the first Atlantic City casino opened. Backed by powerful politicians from the southern half of the state, the Atlantic City casinos have successfully kept gaming out of the New Jersey tracks for 48 years. That damage has been immense. It became so difficult to compete with states like Pennsylvania, Virginia, Delaware and New York, where purses were fattened by one form or another of casino gaming, that New Jersey racing was always fighting a losing battle. Monmouth is all that is left on the Thoroughbred side, and the track runs for only 50 days each year. Yet, and finally, help may be on its way. That was apparent last week when the New York Times published an in-depth story under the headline “New Jersey Is Reconsidering Legalizing Casinos Outside Atlantic City.” Legislation has been introduced by two pro-racing Democratic State Senators in Vin Gopal and Paul Sarlo, that would allow for casinos to be constructed at Monmouth and the Meadowlands. The New York Times story hardly predicted a victory for the racing industry, but neither did it imply that the effort was doomed to fail. “We're already doing sports betting on site, we're already betting on horse racing on site,” Gopal told the Times. “Gambling is already happening. How is this any different?” Getting this done is not as easy as it may seem. The New Jersey Constitution specifically restricts casino gambling in the state to Atlantic City, so a simple legislative bill is not enough. The first step will require a constitutional amendment. The only way that can happen is if both chambers of government pass the resolution with a three-fifths (60%) supermajority in a single year. If that happens, and happens quickly, the referendum will appear on the 2026 ballot in November. When it comes to the vote, the Public Question will pass if a simple majority of the voters approve of it. Those pushing for casinos at Monmouth and the Meadowlands believe they have a new and important talking point. Three new casinos are being built in the New York metropolitan area. Once they open, they will give New Jersey gamblers yet one more convenient out-of-state option to spend their gambling dollars, gambling dollars, they believe, that should be staying home. New Jersey gamblers are already flocking to casinos in Pennsylvania. Parx, the racetrack and casino just north of the Philadelphia border, has purchased several billboards on the New Jersey Turnpike inviting Jersey gamblers to visit what is one of the most successful casinos in the nation. “The time has come to expand casinos outside of Atlantic City,” Drazin said. “In reality, when they started online gaming with servers in Atlantic City, that meant that you could bet from any place in the state. But the real game changer was the awarding of three downstate casinos in New York, which will certainly hurt New Jersey casinos in Atlantic City. New Jersey has to do something to protect the state revenues that we should be gaining from gaming. So the picture has changed a little bit. At this point, there's no longer as big a stranglehold on Atlantic City as there was in the past.” Atlantic City has fallen on hard times and is down to just nine casinos. Yet, it still has legions of supporters in the state legislature, who have successfully warded off every effort to allow casinos to operate in the state outside of Atlantic City. Michael Suleiman, the chairman of the Atlantic County Democratic Committee, told the Times, “We will have to defeat it,” referencing the bill to allow casinos at the state's two remaining racetracks. In order to appease the Atlantic City casino owners and their political allies, both Drazin and Meadowlands owner Jeff Gural have said that Atlantic City must be cut in on the action. Drazin has already lined up an important Atlantic City ally in Morris Bailey, the owner of the Resorts Casino Hotel. Bailey is partnering with Monmouth on an ambitious plan to develop the property to include housing, a hotel, an indoor community center, and, hopefully a casino. “Before, Morris was part of the opposition,” Drazin said. “Now Morris is our partner and part of the push. Morris is committed to do everything possible to get this passed. I think that between Jeff Gural and Morris and the others that support this, we will be able to put together a war chest to address the opposition.” Another factor in favor of the racetracks is that Steve Sweeney, the former Senate President–a powerful figure in New Jersey politics and a staunch supporter of Atlantic City–suffered a stunning defeat in 2021, losing his seat to a truck driver named Edward Durr. It was considered one of the greatest upsets in the history of New Jersey politics. This time around, the opposition will come not just from the Atlantic City casinos, but the new casinos being built in New York and the Pennsylvania casinos. That was part of the problem in 2016 when the question of expanding casinos outside of Atlantic City was put to the voters, none of whom could have ignored the deluge of anti-casinos ads that received funding from those who stood to see their casino profits slip if New Jersey moved ahead and moved out of Atlantic City. It was a rout, with 77.2% of the voters voting against casino expansion. But many believe that the referendum was flawed because it was vague and didn't specify what the locations would be for the two new casinos that would be allowed. Its opponents claimed it amounted to a “blank check” for wealthy developers. That the then very unpopular governor Chris Christie was behind casino expansion didn't help either. Why would it be different this time? “I may not give you a popular answer, so people may not be thrilled,” Drazin said. “But I always tell the truth. The last time around in 2016, it was set up to fail. There was no enabling legislation that the public could look at and see where the casinos were going to go, what the tax rate would be, and who would benefit from it. It was all destined to fail, and they didn't put it at Monmouth. They concocted this rule that you have to be 71 miles away from Atlantic City and we are 70. I'm not criticizing Gural, but the casinos outspent him. The casinos probably spent $30 million opposing it. They questioned, 'Where's the money going?' and they were able to paint a very negative picture. “I expect opposition from parts of New York. I expect opposition from Pennsylvania. I do expect some opposition from Atlantic City, but you're going to have to put things in the bill to work that out. You're going to have to probably start with the requirement that you have to partner with an Atlantic City casino in order to be eligible for a license.” The legislation specifies that at least 10% of tax revenue from any new casinos be “dedicated to provide funding for the support of Atlantic City tourism.” Drazin also expressed his concern that the bill does not specify whether the tracks would be allowed to have a full-fledged casino or just slot machines. But even slots would make a tremendous difference. “It would mean more days and higher purses,” Drazin said. “We would be a world-class destination that would do very well. Morris believes, and I agree, that here in Monmouth County, there's a lot of wealth. We have the ocean right here, just a couple of miles down the road. There's a lot of development going on. We have Netflix coming here and the home prices are going up. Monmouth County has always been affluent, but it's getting more and more affluent. We think a casino at Monmouth Park in its location would be a wonderful thing for horse racing and for breeding in the state. And my goal has always been, and Morris shares that vision, to have higher purses and more days at Monmouth Park.” This needs to happen. While there is no additional revenue coming in from gaming, the Meadowlands and Monmouth are both struggling mightily. Some feel that if they do not get casinos, it is imminent that both tracks will eventually close, particularly if they stop receiving the $20-million purse supplement that is divided between the breeds. That is why everyone in the racing industry sees getting the casino bill over the finish line as nothing less than something that will save New Jersey racing. Jaramillo Tearing It Up at Santa Anita Emisael Jaramillo, who picked up another three winners on Friday at Santa Anita, went into Sunday's card tied for the leading rider spot with Juan Hernandez. Both had 34 winners at the meet. That Jaramillo is doing so well has to come as a surprise. He did well in Florida, but had to take a back seat to riders like John Velazquez, Irad Ortiz Jr. and Tyler Gaffalione when they came in for the Championship Meet. One of the reasons he has taken off is that Chief Stipe O'Neill is riding him on just about everything. Sixteen of his winners have come on O'Neill-trained horses. “He's always been a successful rider,” O'Neill said. “I think he won every big race you can think of in Venezuela and he really thrived in Florida, as well. He's just a very talented rider. One of his greatest assets is his ability to stay off a horse's mouth leaving the gate and put him in a good spot without the horse expending a lot of energy. He reminds me so much of Joel Rosario. “We have a lot of good riders here, but he came at a time when it was a good idea to bring in a new face. We were itching for some new blood to come in. Then Antonio Fresu got hurt and that opened up some opportunities for him. His work ethic is as good as I've ever seen. He's here every morning working horses. If you give him a horse with a chance he will help. He's a tremendous rider.” Speaking of Hot Riders, It Was a Huge Week for Pietro Moran After taking most of the winter off, 2025 Eclipse Award-winning apprentice Pietro Moran showed up at Gulfstream last week and won with five of his first eight mounts. He was second on the other three. Moran will go from Gulfstream to Keeneland, where he'll hope to continue to show off his abilities to U.S.-based trainers. He was planning to return to Woodbine this year after his Keeneland stint, but says he's keeping his options open. “The plan was to go from Keeneland to Woodbine, but things might change, especially if I keep getting good opportunities,” he said. “So, I'm not sure what is happening yet.” Moran no longer has his apprentice allowance. The post The Week in Review: Is Casino Gaming Finally on its Way to Save Monmouth? It’s a Definite Maybe appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article -
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By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Tom Ryan of co-owner SF Racing confirmed March 15 that the undefeated colt Taj Mahal will make his next start in the $750,000 Wood Memorial (G2) at Aqueduct Racetrack April 4.View the full article -
By Chief Stipe · Posted
Well there are lazy ways most often taken by the intellectually challenged. Is someone elses opinon repeated your opinion or theirs? Who's in whose head? The person who feels they need to comment on an opinion from another site because they have an inferiority complex and need to put people or stables down?https://bitofayarn.com Or the person who is asked for an opinion - gives one and then justifies it with the analysis they used to derive that opinion. The lazy one is so motivated to prove someone wrong that they feel they need to "ring a couple of valuers" to get an opinon. Nameless valuers at that. For a horse that the lazy one has no interest in and is adamant it is "only average and not up to Group level in OZ". I can think of over $2m+ reasons why I wouldn't mind a share in it and that's not counting its residual value!https://bitofayarn.com @Comic Dog
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