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#1
01-26-2010, 06:10 AM
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NEW JERSEY RACING: Major date cuts, Swamp closure?
Future of NJSEA, Meadowlands and Monmouth addressed in this recco and includes possibility ending TB racing at the Swamp and a cut of MTH down to 50 days... Fifty race days would be 10 weeks of 5 day racing or 12+ weeks of 4 day/week racing. Under the current scenario in New Jersey, 50 seems a little light and 91 too much.
Panel out to cut New Jersey races By Matt Hegarty http://www.drf.com/news/article/110351.html Contending that the "status quo is not sustainable," a draft report from a committee examining the finances and future of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority has recommended that Monmouth Park hold a 50-day Thoroughbred meet and that the Meadowlands cease hosting Thoroughbred races altogether. The recommendations, if implemented, would pare the live racing schedule in New Jersey by 91 dates. The report indicates that the 2010 budget for the sports authority's racing operations estimates losses of $13 million under the current racing schedule, which, under an agreement with horsemen in the state, calls for 141 live racing dates a year through 2016. "We encourage consideration of all the options to make horse racing self-sustaining, including consolidation of racing statewide," the report's authors wrote. "The ultimate goal is to continue to have live racing at a venue where the Sports Authority and its [offtrack betting] system can operate without a subsidy." Separately, the report states that "without outside financial resources, the authority will be forced to discontinue racing operations in 2010." Dennis Drazin, the former president of the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, said the report's recommendations had "no chance" of implementation this year because of the existing contract guaranteeing racing dates. Drazin negotiated the existing contract, but he has been prohibited from carrying on any other negotiations because of his recent appointment to the New Jersey Racing Commission. "They have a contract, they have an obligation to race those days," Drazin said. "I don't think there's any serious backing to the threat" to shut down racing at the two tracks.
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All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind. ~ Joseph Conrad A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right. ~ Thomas Paine Don't let anyone tell you that your dreams can't come true. They are only afraid that theirs won't and yours will. ~ Robert Evans The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command. ~ George Orwell, 1984. 
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#2
01-26-2010, 07:13 AM
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No cash, no racing. This state is beyond broke. Corzine was the biggest criminial going.
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#3
01-26-2010, 09:25 AM
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Spin the bottle once again. There will be a full race calendar in NJ this year. Every time there's money problems they threaten to bulldoze the Meadowlands- instead, how about admitting what a debacle the Xanadu project has been and taking the writeoff there???
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please use generalizations and non-truths when arguing your side, thank you
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#7
01-26-2010, 09:42 AM
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But I am curious what people feel about maintaining the TB meet? Is it really a necessary set of dates? Wouldn't those horses simply gravitate to Belmont/Aqueduct and Philadelphia and help fill fields there? This is an ideal candidate for the 'less racing is better racing' discussion.
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All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind. ~ Joseph Conrad A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right. ~ Thomas Paine Don't let anyone tell you that your dreams can't come true. They are only afraid that theirs won't and yours will. ~ Robert Evans The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command. ~ George Orwell, 1984.
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#8
01-26-2010, 09:44 AM
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#9
01-26-2010, 09:54 AM
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As someone who deeply loves racing it is slighty depressing that the best option may be in closing of tracks and that we can't sustain ourselves as we are.
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#10
01-26-2010, 09:57 AM
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please use generalizations and non-truths when arguing your side, thank you
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#11
01-26-2010, 10:50 AM
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Felix Unger talking to Oscar Madison: "Your horse could finish third by 20 lengths and they still pay you? And you have been losing money for all these years?!"
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#12
01-26-2010, 04:07 PM
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#13
01-26-2010, 04:10 PM
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__________________
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ
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#14
01-29-2010, 05:02 AM
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Game Over
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#15
01-29-2010, 08:26 AM
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__________________
Felix Unger talking to Oscar Madison: "Your horse could finish third by 20 lengths and they still pay you? And you have been losing money for all these years?!"
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#16
01-26-2010, 09:39 AM
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#17
01-26-2010, 06:57 PM
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#18
01-26-2010, 07:40 PM
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#19
02-13-2010, 11:38 PM
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Latest N.J. news
NJ racing hoping for a Plan B
The sky is falling on New Jersey racing. That's not Chicken Little's view. It's mine and that of others in racing who have read the draft suggestions of a report being submitted to new Gov. Chris Christie. The 20-page draft precedes a final version to be submitted to the governor, and its recommendations include the possible closing of the Meadowlands, the nation's top harness track and home of the Hambletonian, harness racing's Kentucky Derby. The draft contains some provocative ideas to fulfill the committee's mission, which is "to harness, distill and focus upon a series of key issues that must be thoroughly examined and integrated into a master plan for the 'Global Good' of New Jersey." The opening paragraph says, "This plan will provide an outline of a roadmap." The road could lead to disaster for racing. The potential impact goes far beyond the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which is treated harshly by the state-appointed committee, headed by the former chairman of the Authority, Jon Hanson. It affects the lives and welfare of 12,000 people employed in the horse industry in New Jersey. The report acknowledges those numbers and avowedly is concerned with "the addition of gaming at New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware racetracks [that] drove New Jersey's on-track live racing from profitable to unprofitable in the past five years." But there is one huge omission. There is not one word in the thousands in the report suggesting the Meadowlands, Monmouth Park, or Freehold Raceway be allowed to meet that slots competition with racinos of their own. This is curious, since the report's executive summary says the commission's goal is "to encourage consideration of all the options to make horse racing self-sustaining," but omits the one most likely to do so. Perhaps, considering the composition of the committee, it is not so curious. The 14-person gaming, sports and entertainment transition team, composed of 13 men and one woman, includes the senior vice president and general counsel of Borgata Casino & Spa, the CEO of Trump Entertainment, the president of Excalibur Amusements, and a vice president of Harrah's Entertainment. Not one racing executive is on the panel, and only one representative of horse racing is: Mike Gulotta, a former Wall Streeter who operates a state-of-the-art harness horse breeding farm in the state. Not a single official representing Thoroughbred racing or harness racing management is included. The report includes this: "We encourage consideration of all the options to make horse racing self-sustaining." It says its goal is to continue to have live racing, but it also says "discontinuing racing at the Meadowlands and restructuring the industry in NJ" is one option. Another option, the report says, is "a feasibility study for the commercial development of the Meadowlands, including examining other potential uses such as NASCAR." If the committee pursues that feasibility study, I suggest it begin in Chicago, where auto racing was introduced, at huge cost, as the salvation of Sportsman's Park. Both auto racing and Sportsman's Park itself are gone, the bold experiment a disaster. Gullota, the committee's lone racing man, has filed a dissenting report to the committee relating to the operations of the Meadowlands and the committee's omission, and presumably rejection, of diversified gaming there. He said he believes New Jersey would lose what is widely considered the premier Standardbred racetrack in the world, an asset that should be leveraged and not wasted. He said those assets include the possibility of new revenues ranging from $250 million a year to $1 billion with the addition of a racino that could be sold or leased to a private sector operator. Such a move also would generate another major source of revenue to address the state's looming budget deficit. Gullota also said he thinks a Meadowlands racino could help restart the huge multi-billion dollar Xanadu entertainment and shopping project, now completely stalled. He said he believes the transition team that drafted the report represents an aggressive head start to address serious issues facing New Jersey, and he said the report "should be the catalyst for continued dialogue and discussion of rather complex issues." The report understandably frightens those in racing in New Jersey. It could, with broader views and more specific suggestions, prove a useful approach to the many problems of racing and Atlantic City, if the adversarial relationship between the two can be resolved. As for Gov. Christie, it is hard to believe that a successful lawyer and former U.S. federal attorney will not see the huge downside to the end of an industry that contributes as much as horse racing and its related activities do to the green areas and overall economy of the state he runs. Stan Bergstein's Daily Racing Form columns With permission of Daily Racing Form, Big M Expansion Left Off Report It has been reported that New Jersey governor Chris Christie's transition team was starting to grow fond of the idea of a casino resort at the Meadowlands Racetrack, but all mention of the idea was excluded from the final recommendation. According to the Asbury Park Press, Atlantic City executives are fighting horse racing officials' attempts to bring a 'gaming mall' to the Meadowlands. The article states that the gaming mall idea was 'embraced in a report dated January 4, but deleted from the final January 5 report.' Among other individuals, the committee is made up of a Harrah's vice president, a Borgata senior vice president and the chief executive officer of Trump Entertainment. The Asbury Park Press report states that the apparent change in stance from January 4 to 5 incited panel member Mike Gulotta, a standardbred horse breeder, to submit a minority report. His report protested the issue of omission of the possibility of introduction of video lottery terminals at the Meadowlands Racetrack. The article cites the deleted recommendation as saying: 'Utilizing existing investment and existing infrastructure at the Meadowlands . . . move forward with the planning and implementation of a world-class, full-service casino resort at the Meadowlands Sports Complex as a way to recapture New Jersey's gaming market share, tax revenues and as a huge job creation mechanism. In addition, certain revenues will be directed to help support purses and NJ (sic) breeding funds.' (With files from Asbury Park Press)
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