Monmouth Park makes its 2013 debut on May 11. The 12-race, opening day card has drawn nearly 10 horses per race. The featured Decathlon Stakes, for three and up going six furlongs on the main track, has drawn eight horses. Todd Pletcher trainee Travelin Man has been installed as the 2-1 morning line favorite.
Monmouth is betting on “family-friendly” as a key way to grow the business moving forward. According to Dennis Drazin, advisor to the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association and Darby Development, which took over the track after the state agency running it bailed, “We inherited a racetrack in turmoil and placed her on the path to prosperity. In just 12 months at the helm we’ve eliminated annual deficits, maintained world-class Thoroughbred racing without a casino purse supplement, and added to the fan-friendly atmosphere of the racetrack, which saw a 22% increase in attendance over the prior year.”
Among the most obvious additions this year to the venerable Jersey Shore track will be 36 holes of miniature golf, which surely is enough mini–golf for even the most hardened putt-putt veteran. (here and here)…
Another spring and summer track nearing its opening is Delaware Park, slated to open May 18, Preakness day, but the future is murkier there. Faced with tough competition throughout the region, the track’s management and horsemen agreed to reduce the racing schedule to 81 days this year — down from 100 mandated by state law and from the 137 the track ran as recently as 2007. The goal, leaders said, was to allow the track to offer large enough purses to entice horses from around the region — a goal which has been a challenge in recent years.
But not everyone thinks this is such a great plan. Longtime leading horseman Rick Porter was blunt about his take on the situation: “I think that if the management had their druthers, so to speak, they’d rather not have racing at all. They’d just have the casino,” Porter said.
Meanwhile, state Representative Dennis Williams has introduced legislation to allow two new casinos in Delaware — casinos that, in a small state, would likely take yet another bite out of Delaware Park’s business. The Delaware Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association has typically opposed prior bills to expand gaming in the state (here and here)…
Following up on a story from last week (here), the Virginia Gold Cup took wagers for the first time ever last Saturday — the first time any race in Virginia had since the early 1990s. The day of racing handled a shade over $81,000 in wagers, which might have been more had long lines at the handful of wagering kiosks not scared some bettors off. Grinding Speed paid $12 to win the big race and capped a $5.60 double. You read that right: the double was less than half the win bet; might be because only $36 was in the double pool (here) …
