By Jody Calendar
THERE IS NO doubt American Pharoah brought the always-popular Monmouth Park William Hill Haskell Invitational to a new level. Pharoah’s appearance raised the purse from $1 M by $750,000 to $1.75, making it the richest invitational in the country. That’s in a class all by itself and Monmouth is clearly establishing itself as the fourth leg of the Triple Crown. Just shy of 61,000 fans came to watch the Triple Crown Winner breeze by six opponents Sunday, capping a spectacular day of racing that included a major $200,000 stake race as well as several stunning turf races.
Yes, the most deserving horse won the Haskell and deserves every cent of that purse as well as our thanks. Our own racetrack was a big winner as well because it proved during a three day Phan Phest what a great place it is to showcase great horses, offer family activities and wonderful entertainment as well as Grade 1 horses. Hopefully, horse farms and open space will benefit from the shot of adrenaline this great horse is injecting into
horse racing and ultimately the horses will find more welcoming and safer environments and larger purses to encourage owners to stay in the game. But the big winner is Monmouth County. Economists have predicted Pharoah’s appearance at the Haskell could bring in as much as the Breeders Cup in 2007, which was a whopping $40M but some are saying it will be even more. The Breeders Cup, although a
three-day event, was a wash out with weather. The Haskell bragged sunshine and the first Triple Crown Winner in 37 long years. Area restaurants and hotels repor ted packed houses from coastal areas ranging from Highlands to Asbury Park and as west as Colts Neck and Holmdel. Windansea actually thought they would take a loss but they had over flow crowds and places like Huddy’s in Colts Neck and The Lincroft Inn in
Middletown, whose clientele is typically trainers, owners and fans, were SRO at times. The Jersey Shore put on a show and a bunch of people from all over the country – as far as Australia actually – saw what we have to offer. So, thanks for the impact, American Pharoah, thanks for the star quality and the extraordinary ability but mostly, thanks for the memory. New Jersey’s never seen anything like you before.
