By John Burton
OCEANPORT – While Monmouth Park continues to face its challenges and has support for its continuing existence, there is doubt the proposed voter referendum on gambling will provide the necessary relief.
Oceanport Mayor John “Jay” Coffey and Monmouth County Freeholder Thomas A. Arnone both acknowledged that, anecdotally, attendance at the 70-year-old thoroughbred horseracing track has declined this year after seeing a spike in attendance in 2015. But the officials continue to voice support for the track as a vital destination for the tourism industry.
“Tourism is not just the beaches,” Arnone pointed out.
The county Board of Chosen Freeholders recently passed a resolution in support of the racetrack, calling upon state government, by way of the county’s state legislators, to offer their muscle. “The board is united in fighting to assist Oceanport and the racetrack. We’re 100 percent behind them,” Arnone said.
And while attendance is down this year, “Monmouth Park is not going to close,” assured Coffey. “There will continue to be racing there. It’s just not going to be the quality of racing that we’ve been used to.”
The reason for that comes down to gambling other than just on the ponies.
With any racing year “there’s always plusses and minuses,” said Dennis Drazin, the Red Bank attorney and advisor for the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association and Darby Development, which has been operating Monmouth Park for the last few years. According to Drazin, the season has been showing losses over the prior year. But 2015 was an up-year. “We’ve reversed the trend of losses we had prior to us taking over the track,” he said.
But New Jersey doesn’t allow alternative gaming outside of Atlantic City casinos. The surrounding states Pennsylvania, New York and Maryland permit racetracks to operate gambling venues in addition to horserace betting. And that money allows the tracks to offer larger purses, which attracts higher profile horses and prominent trainers, in turn, pulling in large crowds of racing enthusiasts – who bet and spend money on incidentals.
OCEANPORT – While Monmouth Park continues to face its challenges and has support for its continuing existence, there is doubt the proposed voter referendum on gambling will provide the necessary relief.
Oceanport Mayor John “Jay” Coffey and Monmouth County Freeholder Thomas A. Arnone both acknowledged that, anecdotally, attendance at the 70-year-old thoroughbred horseracing track has declined this year after seeing a spike in attendance in 2015. But the officials continue to voice support for the track as a vital destination for the tourism industry.
“Tourism is not just the beaches,” Arnone pointed out.
The county Board of Chosen Freeholders recently passed a resolution in support of the racetrack, calling upon state government, by way of the county’s state legislators, to offer their muscle. “The board is united in fighting to assist Oceanport and the racetrack. We’re 100 percent behind them,” Arnone said.
And while attendance is down this year, “Monmouth Park is not going to close,” assured Coffey. “There will continue to be racing there. It’s just not going to be the quality of racing that we’ve been used to.”
The reason for that comes down to gambling other than just on the ponies.
With any racing year “there’s always plusses and minuses,” said Dennis Drazin, the Red Bank attorney and advisor for the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association and Darby Development, which has been operating Monmouth Park for the last few years. According to Drazin, the season has been showing losses over the prior year. But 2015 was an up-year. “We’ve reversed the trend of losses we had prior to us taking over the track,” he said.
But New Jersey doesn’t allow alternative gaming outside of Atlantic City casinos. The surrounding states Pennsylvania, New York and Maryland permit racetracks to operate gambling venues in addition to horserace betting. And that money allows the tracks to offer larger purses, which attracts higher profile horses and prominent trainers, in turn, pulling in large crowds of racing enthusiasts – who bet and spend money on incidentals.
“We try to compete but you can’t compete with that argument,” Drazin said.
Coffey noted there have been races at Monmouth Park that have had as few as four horses. Drazin added there are days when the total number of races, usually at 10 or 11, were reduced because of lack of equine participation.
Monmouth Park offered larger winning purses for the 2015 season to attract marquee horses. And it did, as well as attracting larger attendance, but track operators decided it would scale back the purses this year.
Monmouth Park supporters had hoped this year’s voter referendum would help reverse this trend but now express reservations.
On Nov. 8 voters will be asked to cast ballots to amend the state Constitution to allow gambling outside of Atlantic City. But given the influence of South Jersey lawmakers who are looking to protect the struggling and troubled Atlantic City, they included a provision that any other casinos would have to be a minimum of 72 miles away from the city.
And that provision was directly aimed at Monmouth Park and Monmouth County, both Drazin and Coffey charged. “No question about it,” Drazin maintained. “We’ve been told that directly.”
A.C. casinos draw approximately 28 percent of their revenue from Monmouth and Ocean counties. “If there is a casino in close proximity,” the reasoning goes, Drazin said, “people would stay home.”
With the arbitrary 72-mile line drawn, “it might as well say gambling anywhere outside of Atlantic City other than Monmouth Park,” Coffey said. “We were excluded purposely.”
“I question some of the motives when that was decided,” Arnone said.
The two likeliest locations for new casinos, if the referendum passes, would be the Meadowlands Sports Complex, East Rutherford, which includes Meadowlands racetrack, and Jersey City.
Coffey noted there have been races at Monmouth Park that have had as few as four horses. Drazin added there are days when the total number of races, usually at 10 or 11, were reduced because of lack of equine participation.
Monmouth Park offered larger winning purses for the 2015 season to attract marquee horses. And it did, as well as attracting larger attendance, but track operators decided it would scale back the purses this year.
Monmouth Park supporters had hoped this year’s voter referendum would help reverse this trend but now express reservations.
On Nov. 8 voters will be asked to cast ballots to amend the state Constitution to allow gambling outside of Atlantic City. But given the influence of South Jersey lawmakers who are looking to protect the struggling and troubled Atlantic City, they included a provision that any other casinos would have to be a minimum of 72 miles away from the city.
And that provision was directly aimed at Monmouth Park and Monmouth County, both Drazin and Coffey charged. “No question about it,” Drazin maintained. “We’ve been told that directly.”
A.C. casinos draw approximately 28 percent of their revenue from Monmouth and Ocean counties. “If there is a casino in close proximity,” the reasoning goes, Drazin said, “people would stay home.”
With the arbitrary 72-mile line drawn, “it might as well say gambling anywhere outside of Atlantic City other than Monmouth Park,” Coffey said. “We were excluded purposely.”
“I question some of the motives when that was decided,” Arnone said.
The two likeliest locations for new casinos, if the referendum passes, would be the Meadowlands Sports Complex, East Rutherford, which includes Meadowlands racetrack, and Jersey City.
But here in Monmouth County, “we have a facility that is essentially a turnkey operation,” with Monmouth Park, Coffey said. The racetrack already has the infrastructure in place, access to NJ Transit rail line and major traffic thoroughfares in the Garden State Parkway and state Highway 36, “in a self-contained unit with plenty of parking,” Coffey stressed.
Trenton lawmakers said if the referendum passes, they would draft enabling legislation that would provide Monmouth Park a percentage of the eventual gambling proceeds. That amount has been found too fungible, however.
At first dealmakers offered 10 percent of the gross. That has since changed to 2 percent, of net proceeds after other state and county entities are paid.
And what sticks in Coffey’s craw is that there is still no drafted legislation – so it remains at this point solely a gentleman’s agreement.
“There are now more hands in the pie than slices,” the mayor said.
“This legislation does nothing to fix horseracing,” Coffey charged.
The other problem, Drazin noted, is that even if the enabling legislation is passed by both chambers in Trenton, the unknown is whether Gov. Chris Christie could veto it. The Governor’s Office hasn’t expressed any opinion and a phone call and email this week for a comment were not returned.
Coffey has come out vocally in opposition to the referendum, wanting to throw it out and start all over with something that offers parity for the track, county and Oceanport.
Drazin has yet to take a position, but expressed disappointment for the referendum’s final drafting after offering some early tentative support.
For the park’s future, “All concerned, the senators, all who have a voice in Trenton, have to make sure there is enough money to protect Monmouth Park,” Drazin stressed.
Trenton lawmakers said if the referendum passes, they would draft enabling legislation that would provide Monmouth Park a percentage of the eventual gambling proceeds. That amount has been found too fungible, however.
At first dealmakers offered 10 percent of the gross. That has since changed to 2 percent, of net proceeds after other state and county entities are paid.
And what sticks in Coffey’s craw is that there is still no drafted legislation – so it remains at this point solely a gentleman’s agreement.
“There are now more hands in the pie than slices,” the mayor said.
“This legislation does nothing to fix horseracing,” Coffey charged.
The other problem, Drazin noted, is that even if the enabling legislation is passed by both chambers in Trenton, the unknown is whether Gov. Chris Christie could veto it. The Governor’s Office hasn’t expressed any opinion and a phone call and email this week for a comment were not returned.
Coffey has come out vocally in opposition to the referendum, wanting to throw it out and start all over with something that offers parity for the track, county and Oceanport.
Drazin has yet to take a position, but expressed disappointment for the referendum’s final drafting after offering some early tentative support.
For the park’s future, “All concerned, the senators, all who have a voice in Trenton, have to make sure there is enough money to protect Monmouth Park,” Drazin stressed.
