Meadowlands to apply for 68 live racing dates for 2019

from the Meadowlands Media Relations Department

East Rutherford, NJ — The Meadowlands will apply for 68 live racing dates for the 2019 season by the Oct. 15 request for dates deadline of the New Jersey Racing Commission.

The main factor in forcing us to reduce dates is the failure to obtain a purse subsidy that would enable us to compete with the Pennsylvania tracks when they open in late March. By reducing dates we believe it would help to be able to attract enough horses to race during that period and we are quite certain that without the subsidy racing more than 68 days would be impossible. The Thoroughbreds have also advised us that they would like to race in the fall and they have the legal right to do that but we believe that if we were able to get the subsidy, which is split between the Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds, we might be able to work out a schedule that would be beneficial to both breeds.

This will unfortunately force The Meadowlands to drop the fall stakes program. The Fall Final Four and possibly the TVG Championships will have to be relocated or canceled along with the Kindergarten series.

The purse account deficit is another issue as without any subsidy the funds available limit the daily average to approximately $110,000 which is not enough to attract enough horses to fill Meadowlands cards when the PA tracks open. Fewer dates will permit an increase as we attempt to field races that will be attractive to the horseplayers.

As it stands with Monmouth racing in the fall and the purse revenue status quo, the schedule will be Friday and Saturday from Jan. 4 through Hambletonian Day Aug. 3 then Thursday-Saturday the last two weeks of December.

We hope in the next few weeks that the legislature will act on the purse subsidy legislation in which case we would revisit this with the expectation that we could increase the race dates including a modified fall schedule.

Related Articles:

  • SBOANJ response to Meadowlands 2019 dates (Thursday, October 11, 2018)
    Contrary to our ongoing dialogue with the Meadowlands, we were not given any notice and were as much surprised as anyone to read their release indicating that they were putting in for a 68 day meet with a significant reduction of added-money events.
  • Update on Meadowlands 2019 live racing schedule (Tuesday, October 16, 2018)
    At the request of the New Jersey Racing Commission, The Meadowlands has submitted a revised 2019 live racing schedule application comprised of 76 dates with the addition of eight racing dates in September.

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