Monmouth Park Gallops Into the Racing Season

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Dennis Drazin, CEO of Darby Development, revealed a list of changes for Monmouth Park’s 78th season. Stephen Appezzato

By Stephen Appezzato

OCEANPORT – As Monmouth Park gears up for its 78th racing season, racetrack leadership held a press conference to share what’s new for 2023.

This season, which opens May 13 and runs through Sept. 10, will feature 48 stakes in addition to festivals and family-friendly events. 

A number of changes and additions for the 2023 racing season are designed to improve the parkgoer’s experience. 

On the back end, racecourse staff completed several maintenance and grounds projects, as well as stable improvements, drawing in more riders and horses. According to Dennis Drazin, chairman and CEO of Darby Development, which operates Monmouth Park, this season will feature more horses than in recent years, competing in the 48 different stakes. 

“I think we’ve got a great mixture of some very good racing,” said the park’s general manager Bill Anderson, to go along with upgrades that will continue throughout the season.

Monmouth Park announced its new Winner’s Circle Terrace Suite for guests seeking a luxury experience, expanded access to fixed odds wagering self-service terminals around the park, as well as a new video board in the infield for spectators.

Additionally, Drazin announced a new development with the park’s sportsbook.

“I think that by the end of the summer, we will break ground on the new Caesars Sportsbook” which will be located near valet parking and overlook the track, he said. Currently, Caesars Sportsbook is located within the grandstand.

“We’ve been busy with the design, busy with some modifications to make sure we get it right,” Drazin said.

“Caesars intends to make it a flagship for sports betting and try and get people to come and spend more time here.”

Additionally, Monmouth Park announced it will once again permit outside coolers within picnic areas for the 2023 season. 

Continuation of
Fixed Odds Wagering

This season marks the second year of fixed odds wagering at Monmouth Park. Fixed odds wagering allows bettors to lock in the odds at the time of a wager, as opposed to pari-mutuel wagering, in which odds can change until all bets are in. Fixed odds wagering was introduced to the track last season, when Australian-based company BetMakers Technology Group partnered with Monmouth Park to oversee the operation and implementation of the format. Monmouth Park was the first racetrack in the United States to offer fixed odds wagering.

“We are really excited to get to year two and to start to show everyone the progress we’re making and to lay the foundations for what’s to come,” said BetMakers CEO Jake Henson. 

Henson also announced that his company is working on creating a Monmouth Bets app, where bettors can place fixed odds wagers on Monmouth Park races from their phones.

“We’re really excited to complement the Monmouth races and, as Dennis (Drazin) mentioned, going forward over a 5-to-10-year vision, a racebook should be a global product just like a sportsbook is,” Henson said. 

Drazin commended BetMakers, saying the company was “committed to making us a success and growing the industry.”

Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act –
the Elephant in the Room

After seven horses died for various reasons in the lead-up to last weekend’s Kentucky Derby, safety is at the forefront of the sport. To combat horseracing scandals, doping and animal mistreatment across the United States, the federal government passed the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) in 2020, codifying universal regulations for the sport across the country. Prior to HISA, individual states set horseracing regulations. The mandates within HISA’s Anti-Doping and Medication Control Program are administered by the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU).

HISA took effect July 1, 2022. The 2023 season marks the first full racing season under the oversight of federal legislation, with HIWU’s testing protocols beginning
this month. 

Effective May 22 there will be “testing for medication violations, integrity, things of that nature in order to make things uniform throughout the country, instead of every state having its own rules and its own penalties. This will be a national standard,” said Drazin. “Every state in the country is subject to this because the federal law preempts state law,” he added.

A Bright Outlook and
Legislative Support

Drazin commended the many parties that helped Monmouth Park thrive throughout the past decade since sports wagering was legalized in the state in 2012. He explained it was a difficult period to navigate although Monmouth Park is now making ends meet.

Among those Drazin thanked were state lawmakers. State Sen. Vin Gopal praised Monmouth Park for its success in drawing visitors to the county. “People are coming into this area in droves, not just to go to the beach, but they’re coming here,” to the racetrack, he said. “It’s not just about this industry, it’s about the veterinarians, it’s about all the alternate industries that this affects here. This is such a big part of our economy,” Gopal said. 

The article originally appeared in the May 11 – 17, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.