Story and Photos by Art Petrosemolo
OCEANPORT – Tucked away in the stable area of every thoroughbred race track is a restaurant catering to the horsemen, grooms, exercise riders, stable hands, trainers and owners who are up before dawn and need a place to eat that is close and quick.
Ron’s Backstretch Kitchen serves the needs of the horse crowd at Monmouth Park. Ron Finley, his wife, daughter and small staff have been doing it in Oceanport for three seasons.
The big difference at Ron’s Kitchen is grooms and stable hands – who might normally order a burger and fries to go – are greeted daily with hearty entrees and not your usual quick, cafeteria fare. Finley has been told his Backstretch Kitchen is one of the best stable-area restaurants of its kind and his customers agree.
Finley opens the doors at 5 a.m. and stable workers hustle in for coffee and a bite of breakfast as another workday begins at the historic thoroughbred-racing venue.
With diners and fast food restaurants a drive away from Monmouth Park’s stable area, the workforce, who maintain the track and its equine guests, are a captured community but one Ron does not take lightly. He has learned what race people like and works hard with his wife Debbie, daughter Shannon and staff to see that customers leave the restaurant filled, with a contented grin and still a few dollars in their jeans.
“I took over the backstretch dining in 2012,” Finley said, “and have been working hard to implement what I call ‘Ron’s Way’ in this business.
“It’s simple,” he says, “The food must be made from all fresh ingredients, taste good and look appetizing in its presentation.”
The horsemen appreciate his efforts both at Monmouth Park and Philadelphia Park in Bensalem, Pa., where his family has run the backstretch cafe (now under the direction of his son) for more than a dozen years.
Finley isn’t too proud to say that many in the thoroughbred community, especially the long-haul drivers moving horses from track to track for whom a home-cooked meal is a rarity, find a way to stop for a meal at the backstretch kitchen as they move thoroughbreds in and out of Monmouth Park.
Although breakfast usually begins with gallons of coffee that wash down bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches, it’s at lunch where Finley, working with his chef, pulls out the stops.
“We offer four entrees seven days a week,” he said, “with vegetables, potatoes and usually rice, besides burgers, sandwiches and the fast food many backstretch workers take out and back to the barn to consume.”
On any given day diners will find main courses, like chicken or veal parm, beef and pork specials. It isn’t unusual for roast beef to be on the menu or stuffed pork loin. Last season Finley even served lobster to wide-eyed grooms, riders and trainers.
Everything in the kitchen is a la carte and cash, and, unfortunately, unlike your kids at college, there is no meal plan available.
Finley’s wife Debbie and daughter Shannon work with him on the register and, as needed, serving hungry workers up before the sun to tend to their thoroughbred charges each day.
A Pennsylvania native, Finley still calls Upper Darby, Pa., home. His family is well known for its catering business and a number of ballroom locations popular for weddings and corporate events including Philadelphia’s Ballroom At The Ben in the historic Ben Franklin Hotel. The ballroom was featured in the Bradley Cooper – Jennifer Lawrence film “Silver Linings Playbook.”
The kitchen is open until mid-afternoon on non-race days and until 6 p.m. when the thoroughbreds are racing a few hundred yards away. With the huge crowd at the track on Haskill Day in late July, Finley also saw a big crowd at the Backstretch Kitchen and worked late into the evening feeding Monmouth Park employees and visiting horsemen.
The Finleys do their best to be sure their customers – many without automobiles who rely on bicycles to get around – have a good variety of wholesome food to choose from daily.
They listen to what they like and don’t like but find that grooms, stable hands and exercise riders are generally quiet and for many English is a second language. They will talk to the women – Araceli and Hazel – behind the counter and they will pass the requests along to the Finleys.
Finley also feeds the riders on race days with a smaller, separate operation in the Monmouth Park jockeys’ quarters. He also caters throughout the park for events, like the employee picnic, coffee and doughnuts for backstretch meetings or giant hoagies for stable parties. The Finleys have an apartment near the track to be on-site for days that can be more than 12 hours long.
“We wouldn’t do it unless we loved it, Finley said, “and I don’t expect this to be short term. We plan to be back next season. You can count on it!”
