By Sunayana Prabhu
FREEHOLD – Freehold Raceway, one of New Jersey’s most historic horse racing venues, will permanently close all live racing and simulcasting operations Dec. 28, 2024, marking the end of a nearly 170-year chapter in the state’s horse racing history.
Racetrack officials announced the closure last week. It follows years of financial struggles and a lack of investment from its ownership.
“This was an extremely difficult decision, especially given the historical importance of Freehold Raceway to the local community and the New Jersey horse racing industry,” general manager Howard Bruno said in a press release Sept. 19 announcing the closing of the half-mile racetrack. “Unfortunately, the operations of the racetrack cannot continue under existing conditions, and we do not see a plausible way forward. We are incredibly thankful for our dedicated employees, horsemen, and fan base for their support over the years.”
Located at 130 Park Ave., the racetrack, which predates the Civil War, has been a beloved institution in Freehold, hosting generations of race fans and creating countless memories.
According to the timeline posted on the racetrack’s website, the birth of Raceway dates to December 1853 when the Monmouth County Agriculture Society was formed to hold an annual fair with harness racing in the Township of Freehold. The Raceway changed ownership multiple times over the years. It has been rebuilt, reconstructed and revived from major incidences, including an electrical short in an odds board that caused a fire in May 1984 that destroyed the Freehold Raceway grandstand and dining room.
One of the oldest racetracks in the United States, it was acquired in 1999 by Pennwood Racing (now Pennwood Entertainment), a joint venture between two Pennsylvania-based companies Greenwood Racing Inc. and Penn Gaming. The racetrack has since been marked by declining interest and little effort to adapt to changing times. Greenwood Racing is the operator of Parx Casino in Pennsylvania.
A Community in Shock
The announcement has hit harness racing fans and Freehold borough officials hard, even though the signs were apparent. Freehold Mayor Kevin Kane told The Two River Times in a phone conversation Sept. 23 that the borough was blindsided.
“This is a shock,” Kane said. Borough officials found out about the closure after Raceway management called a Sept. 19 meeting with their employees, but they “never reached out to us to inform us they were going to close down at the end of the year,” Kane said. He did concede the “writing was on the wall.”
“The current ownership really hasn’t promoted it or put any money into it in many, many years,” he said. “That’s the disturbing part.”
According to Kane, racetrack management did not capitalize on sports betting, which was legalized in New Jersey in 2018, offering a potential revenue boost. “It took them a long time before they eventually got a sportsbook open, and then they closed it down,” Kane said. The sportsbook closed in August just as the racetrack re-opened after a summer break.
“We tried to get them to do a few different things,” Kane noted, such as “creating events for the family” similar to Monmouth Park’s recent endeavors, but “there was never really any interest from the racetrack management to do anything like that.”
Born and raised in Freehold, Kane reminisced about the glory days of the racetrack he visited as a child. “My dad used to take me up there to watch the horses racing on a Saturday. You couldn’t get in that place there were so many people coming to the races,” he said.
But there has been “a slow decline over the years (and) it didn’t look like there was an interest from them to try to do anything to make it better. So, it’s very frustrating for us from a governing body standpoint,” he said.
An overall decline in the popularity of horse racing, particularly harness racing, has led to a downturn in at- tendance and wagering for some of the major racetracks in the state, including the Garden State Park Racetrack, which shut down in 2001, and the Atlantic City Racecourse, which ceased operations in 2015. Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment in East Rutherford will be the only remaining harness racing venue in New Jersey when Freehold Raceway closes.
While specific recent revenue figures for Freehold Raceway are not publicly available, the track, which Pennwood purchased for $46 million, had been facing significant finan- cial challenges and has consistently appealed its property tax assessments, leading to court settlements that did low- er the taxes.
“The only time we would hear from track management is through a tax appeal when they were trying to get their taxes lowered,” said Kane, explaining that it was difficult for the borough to properly assess the value of the Freehold Raceway property since there were not many comparable proper ties.
A Broader Impact on New Jersey’s Horse Racing Industry
The New Jersey Racing Commission has been involved in the closing process, ensuring the winddown of operations is handled properly. Allison Inserro, public information officer for the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, said in an email response to The Two River Times Sept. 23, that the commission was notified of Freehold’s plans to cease operations at the end of its current fall meet.
“The New Jersey Racing Commission will work with Freehold Raceway to ensure an orderly shutdown and to safeguard the integrity of racing and wagering during the winddown period,” Inserro said. As part of the closure, the track’s affiliated off-track wagering facilities in Toms River and Gloucester Township will also cease operations. The remainder of the approved live racing schedule for 2024 will be completed and daily simulcasting will continue until the closure date.
Looking Ahead
Monmouth County Commissioner Director Thomas A. Arnone said in an emailed statement Sept. 23, that the “anticipated closure of the Freehold Raceway is a large economic blow for both Freehold Borough and Freehold Township, especially after the Nestle plant shut down in November 2023. As always, my fellow Commissioners and I stand with our municipal partners and are dedicated in their economic success.”
Freehold Borough officials plan to authorize a redevelopment study to explore future uses for the site, which is dependent on many variables, Kane noted, such as determining the feasibility of horse racing in the future and whether it is “still strong enough to sustain a racetrack like this.”
Despite the closure, Kane remains optimistic that the site can be redeveloped in a way that honors its history while positioning the borough for new opportunities.
“There’s tremendous potential,” he said, such as the possibility of an entertainment and sports complex with a “live racing component.”
Freehold Borough was incorporated in 1919, when it split from Freehold Township. “All they know is the track,” Kane said about the racetrack community. “Some of the best standardbred racehorses in the country raced at Freehold. It was exciting times and I would love to see that happen again.”
The article originally appeared in the September 26 – October 2, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
