from Harness Tracks of America

Tucson, AZ — The Newark Star-Ledger, the state’s largest newspaper, reported this morning that the state’s top Democrat, Senate President Steve Sweeney, said he was committed to keep horse racing at the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park.

The story, by the paper’s Statehouse Bureau reporter Matt Friedman, said Sweeney had accused the governor of “abandoning” the state’s horse racing industry. Sweeney was quoted as saying, “We have to find a way to keep the tracks open. The governor basically said if they die, they die. I think that’s too flippant a statement.”

The Sweeney pronouncement, while encouraging, does not mean he will support slots at the tracks or the Atlantic City casino subsidies. He made that clear, saying, “I think it’s extremely important that we find a way to make sure there are no losers in this.”

Sweeney’s co-chairman of Friday’s gaming summit, State Senator Jim Whelan, a former longtime mayor of Atlantic City, was less conciliatory. He dismissed the possible end of horse racing in the state as “what happens in a capitalist society,” but added, “I don’t want to be hostile to the racing industry.”

The all-Democrat gaming summit in Atlantic City Friday drew criticism from Republicans, including the governor, who was not pleased with Sweeney’s criticism.

Meanwhile, it turns out Christie’s special commission chair Jon Hanson kept no minutes of six months of discussions.