[Holland Hacker]

Alright I'm one of the Guilty ones who was at Monmouth on Saturday instead of Belmont. Would I have preferred to be at Belmont, Hell yes. But a friend of mine had his annual picnic at Monmouth Park on that day so I was obliged to be at Monmouth. I think my friend would have prefered to be at Belmont as well but since he scheduled his picnic in January I don't think it was really an option especially since he was expecting about 140 people.

I too was shocked that the attendance at Monmouth was > than Belmont.

I live in Western NJ (almost is Pa) and go to NYRA tracks more than I go to Monmouth. Monmouth is just such a pain to get to if you have to take the Garden State Parkway South and fight all of the Shore / Beach traffic. It took about two hours to get to Monmouth and about the same to get home. So for me going to Monmouth is the same kind of committment as it is going to Belmont. Without summer traffic is should only take about an hour. Actually it would probably be quicker to go to Belmont as long as the Yankees aren't play an early afternoon game at the Stadium.

I think you also have to figure into the equation that a lot of people are away on vacation, some of which are down on the Jersey Shore. This plays against Belmont and in favor of Monmouth.