Horseracing and More at Monmouth Park

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By Meghan Loder
OCEANPORT – Each weekend at Monmouth Park, there’s a lot more than horse racing.
The landmark Jersey Shore track will be hosting something special each weekend during this season. Some of these events have been going on for decades while others just started last year. With a wide range of events, including an Irish festival, a car show, wine tasting and food events, there is something for everyone.
Most of the events do not require advanced tickets or reservations. A large majority of the participants have never been to Monmouth Park, said Nicole Lincé, the marketing assistant at Monmouth Park.
“Most come in for the events then they find out that there is horse racing here,” she said.
“We want to attract tourists who are at the Jersey Shore, and expose them to the racetrack, and turn them into a horse racing fan,” Lincé said. “There is a great tourist market on the Jersey Shore and we just try to bring them in.”
The planning by the three-person team for these events is year-round for the season that begins in May and ends in September. That’s why the staff creates an ongoing list of contacts during the summer so they can think about ways to improve the numerous calendar offerings next year.
Sometimes an event proves popular enough to bring in its own following, which cuts down on next year’s planning. Some events are not instant successes. The food truck event, for example, started out as a backyard barbecue with simple food and patrons did not particularly take to it. The Monmouth Park team then brought in an outside marketing group and the result featured 20 trucks for the weekend and helped to start what is now the biggest event at Monmouth Park. The now twice-annual gathering is in its third year and is quickly becoming the most popular event. During the Memorial Day weekend, more than 44,000 people came to see all the different vendors and trucks.
Missed it the first time? It will be back again Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 13-14, and will be called “Trucktoberfest.” The trucks will keep with the Oktoberfest theme and help to showcase the Oktoberfest beers that will be available.
The food truck events are not the only events for local foodies. Monmouth Park also will feature a “Chef Crab Cake Cook-Off,” a wine event and a “BBQ & Craft Beer Festival.”
The food events seem to be the most popular as they offer participants the opportunity to sample a wide range of foods and allow for the casual racing fan to see some horse racing while enjoying the food, Lincé said.
It can’t always be about the food as it is a horseracing track, after all.
The William Hill Haskell Invitational, this year scheduled for Sunday, July 27, features the nation’s top 3-year-old horses. It is the biggest horseracing event at the Jersey Shore, and the richest invitational in the U.S.
The marketing team at Monmouth Park is looking to make the race weekend an even bigger event with a full slate of activities. It kicks off with a mini-golf tournament on Friday, July 25, followed by a Ladies Day, sponsored by Lilly Pulitzer, and a cigar luncheon for men on Saturday, July 26.
Other new events this year include, a back to school day filled with free giveaways for anyone who comes in with a student I.D.
The opportunity to get free stuff seems to draw more people to an event, Lincé said. The school supplies day will be a first-time event in 2014 and track officials hope to have school-related vendors on site and create a fun, fair atmosphere, with wing-eating competitions and other activities for children of all ages.
Here is the 2014 lineup:
June 8:  44th Annual Irish Festival. The gates open at 10 a.m. with an 11 a.m. Catholic Mass. The festival will feature live entertainments on two stages, with theme vendors and activities for the whole family. Also: First Kid’s Club Day at Monmouth Park, from noon to 2 p.m. The event is free but reservations are required.
June 15: For Father’s Day, admission to the park is free for all men. There will be numerous sporting event ticket giveaways.
June 20: The 6:30 p.m. Tee Off to Summer Mini- Golf Tournament at the park’s Bluegrass Mini Golf course will benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
June 21 – 22: “Win and Wine Weekend” will feature New Jersey wineries. No tickets are required. The celebration will be from noon to 6 p.m.
July 4 – 5: The weekend will feature the Heroes’ Backyard Picnic Celebration with food specials from the Red, White and Brew Beer Garden as well as games and entertainment.
July 12: Jockey poster Signing and Giveaway will be in the paddock area from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Participants can meet their favorite Monmouth Park jockeys.
July 13: The Second Monmouth Park Kids Club Day will take place from noon to 2 p.m.
July 13: The 21st Annual Haskell Classic Car Show will feature cars from the 1930s, ‘40s, ‘50s and more.
July 25: During the Joes vs. Jocks Mini-Golf Festival “regular Joes” can challenge jockeys at a game of mini-golf, until 10 p.m.
July 26: Ladies Day, sponsored by Lily Pulitzer Shops at Riverside, will permit any woman wearing a fancy hat to receive free track admission and be able to participate in a hat contest. There will be a Heineken Cigar Luncheon for men; reservations are required.
July 27: The William Hill Haskell Invitational.
Aug. 9:During Back to School Day, students with an  I.D. will receive free track admission and a free drawstring pack stuffed with school supplies.
Aug. 10: The Kortney’s Challenge Fun Run ends at Monmouth Park. The organization supports and raises money for pediatric brain cancer research. All participants will receive free grandstand admission. It is the last Kid’s Club day of the season. Reservations are required but the event is free.
Aug.16 – 17: The annual Shore Chef Crab Cake Cook-Off will feature chefs who will compete for the best crabcake award and the coveted People’s Choice Award.
Aug. 30 – 31: The BBQ & Craft Beer Festival will feature some of the best BBQ places from around New Jersey.
Sept. 6: The Thoroughbred Festival will feature a long-sleeve shirt giveaway.
Sept. 13 – 14: Food Trucktoberfest will feature foods and German Oktoberfest beers, and fans wearing lederhosen receive free grandstand admission.
Sept. 28: Fan Appreciation Day will be held during the final day of live racing at Monmouth Park for 2014. There will be free general parking and grandstand admission plus half-price clubhouse admission to all fans.