Superstar Horse and His Successful Host

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American Pharoah a Superstar and Monmouth Park His Successful Host

The Crowd Left With a Memory

By John Burton
OCEANPORT, August 6 – American Pharoah, our new equine Boss and our own Jersey boy, was a rock star Sunday and Monmouth Park proved to be a fantastic venue.
“It went great. We’re very happy,” said Oceanport Police Lt. Michael Kelly about the record-breaking day at Monmouth Park with a crowd just shy of 61,000.
Kelly wasn’t alone. By all accounts, the William Hill Haskell Invitation went without a hitch. And a memory was made for all.
“I’m really enjoying being here,” on race day, said Toni Duffy, Atlantic Highlands. “It’s fantastic.”
Duffy conceded “I had to drag him,” she said of her companion, Gary Groves, also of Atlantic Highlands, with Groves acknowledging he was apprehensive about attending given the large crowds expected. But once there, he warmed to the day, whose temperature hovered in the sunny 90s by afternoon. “We love the track,” Groves said. “I hope they never close it and develop it. That would be a crime.”
Debbie Roche convinced her husband, John W. Roche, both Tinton Falls residents, to come to see American Pharoah. “I’m not going to be around for another 37 years,” so she had better see a Triple Crown winner while she can, Debbie said.
“I told her to buy a $100 win ticket,” on American Pharoah, the clear favorite prior to the 6 p.m. running of the Haskell, John said. With a wink he added, “And I would cash it in when she’s not looking.”
The 48th running Invitational brought this year’s Triple Crown Winner – the first in 37 years – and super star of the thoroughbred horseracing orbit, Jersey’s own American Pharoah, to the Jersey Shore to compete and ultimately handily win the $1.75 million purse. The purse marked the largest prize in state horseracing history and American Pharoah’s appearance was the first Triple Crown winner to grace a Garden State track. Sunday also was a first for Monmouth Park, which had a record attendance of 60,983, its most attendees for a single day since the park first opened in 1946.
“Monmouth Park is here to stay forever,” proclaimed Dennis Drazin, a Red Bank lawyer who serves as an advisor to the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s and Darby Development, LLC, which operates the park. Track officials had increased the purse for the Haskell by $750,000, which Drazin maintained will make this race “the fourth jewel in the Triple Crown,” ensuring marquee name horses traveling here to compete and drawing crowds to Monmouth Park. “This will be a day to remember,” he said.
“Dennis Drazin is the man,” said state Sen. Joseph Kyrillos (R-13), also in attendance.
“This has been an amazing day,” Kyrillos said, noting it was necessary “to keep the momentum going. We have to save the track.” By that the senator meant he would continue to support legislation that would allow sports gambling at racetracks. That has been advocated by Drazin and track proponents who have lobbied Trenton, with Drazin arguing for it – so far unsuccessfully – in federal court. Horseracing supporters continue to argue the added influx of cash sports gam bling would allow tracks to continue to operate.
“Horse breeding has long been a very important part of Monmouth County’s heritage and economy,” noted state Sen. Jennifer Beck (R-11), “and a wonderful day like this reminds us how important it is for the county and state, as well as what we have to offer.”
John Heims, Monmouth Park’s in-house legal counsel and director of media relations, said total betting on Sunday’s 14 races amounted to a record-breaking $20 million, with $6.5 million bet at the park that day. The last time anything close was bet was in 2008 with a Haskell Day handle of $17 million and a Haskell race handle in 2010 at $4.4 million.
“I got up at 6 o’clock a.m. and drove from Pennsylvania,” said Martha Vetter.
Vetter, who came with her son Bob Vetter, and 7-year-old granddaughter Bella Enturrino, Toms River, had her own reasons for coming to Monmouth Park.
In addition to Bella’s love of the pony rides, Martha Vetter’s mother, Dorothy Dollard knew the Haskell family, with family members riding their horses on the Dollard farm, in Manalapan’s Tennent section, in the 1940s -50s. Dollard died in 1978, the year of the last Triple Crown winner, Affirmed. “So, it’s special to me,” Vetter said.
“I never miss the Haskell,” said Maria Gemignani, a Long Branch woman. Gemignani, an elderly woman who is originally from Italy, also explained “I came to see the big race, to see the horse,” meaning American Pharoah.
Barbara and Scott Swaim, now living in Charlotte, North Carolina, but formerly of Rumson, have been coming for the running of the Haskell since 1986. “It’s just a happy event on the Jersey Shore,” Scott said.
Barbara noted they traditionally spend their day at the same table at the park’s outdoor Ladies Secret Café and see what the day brings. They bet just enough with “Our goal is to pay for dinner,” with their day’s winnings, Scott said.
“It’s been great. It’s been one big party,” offered Oceanport Borough Councilman Joseph Irace about Sunday’s activities. “Everyone is smiling, everyone is happy. It’s been a great day.”
It’s also been “A great day for Oceanport,” Irace explained, “because people can see what Oceanport has to offer and what Monmouth County has to offer other than the beach.”
“It’s nice to see the crowds here,” said Brian Nelson, a Middletown lawyer, whose firm had a private box for the races.
“It’s a huge economic boost to the county, no doubt,” Nelson observed. “A lot of people made the weekend out of it,” staying in area hotels and dining in local restaurants, all to the area’s benefit.
“I think it’s a great way to showcase that Monmouth County is a great place to be,” said Monmouth County Freeholder Serena DiMaso.
“I’ve never been to the races before,” said Ernest Olivera, a Morris County resident. “I do think I would like to come again, though I haven’t won any money,” he added with a chuckle.
“What an amazing day,” Drazin said. “We were prepared and it showed.”
“We had a plan we put in place and everything fell into place,” Police Lt. Kelly agreed.
There were hundreds of police officers from surrounding departments who worked with Oceanport’s department on security and traffic flow; security inside the park was the responsibility of NJ State Police.
With the tens of thousands expected law enforcement had detours established and some road closures lined up to try to keep traffic moving at a reasonable rate, according to Kelly.
And it worked, he said. But what contributed greatly, Kelly explained, was the public’s own planning. “People carpooled. We saw minivans filled with people; we saw cars filled with people,” he said.
Along with the carpooling, “Another surprise was a lot of people rode their bikes,” Kelly said.
“There were so many bikes locked up along the fences, which I never saw before,” with cyclists coming from as far away as Deal and Keansburg, Kelly found out when speaking with them over the course of the day.
What helped greatly was the number of people who opted for mass transit.
NJ Transit put on additional commuter trains for the day, ultimately transporting 11,734 to and from Monmouth Park. That was a five times greater number than took the train for last year’s Haskell, said Jennifer Nelson, a NJ Transit spokeswoman, which required transit to make some quick makeshift improvements to the local station (adding a new concrete slab and laying additional gravel).
Overall, “We couldn’t be more pleased with how it went,” Nelson said.
State police had six arrests for minor disorderly persons offenses – a remarkably low number for a nearly 61,000 crowd. And there were just three very minor traffic collisions for the day, Kelly noted.
“So far, it’s been trouble-free,” Oceanport Mayor Michael Mahon observed late on Sunday.
The final verdict for the police, “We’re all smiles,” Kelly added.