by Carol Hodes, for the SBOA of New Jersey

Manalapan, NJ — The responsibilities of the Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association of New Jersey include the conditions under which horsemen operate at the state’s tracks.

“While we came to an agreement with the management of Freehold Raceway on Thursday to move ahead with qualifying races on Friday morning, we will continue to scrutinize the conditions of the racing surface for the safety of our horsemen,” said SBOANJ President Tom Luchento.

“We did not ‘retract’ our concerns over past issues with the track,” he noted. “There have been multiple issues and many complaints by drivers and trainers, warranting our intervention. We hope those problems are in the past and that there will be no issues when the track re-opens on August 30.”