by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications
Trenton, NJ — The New Jersey Racing Commission on Wednesday approved 2014 race dates for the state’s Standardbred and Thoroughbred meets.
The Meadowlands will conduct 81 days of harness racing split over two meets. Racing will be held from Jan. 2 through Hambletonian Day, Aug. 2, followed by a 14-day program from Nov. 14 through Dec. 27. The Breeders Crown will be held at the Meadowlands next November.
Freehold Raceway will conduct 110 days of racing, also split over two meets. The first, consisting of 62 dates, will run from Jan. 2 through May 17 and the second will run from Aug. 28 through Dec. 13.
On the Thoroughbred side, Monmouth Park will race 57 days from May 10 through Sept. 28. In addition, there will be a 14-day all-turf meet at the Meadowlands, running from Sept. 18 through Oct. 18. The Monmouth Park at the Meadowlands program is expected to feature nighttime racing.
Atlantic City will conduct a six-day meet, from April 24 through April 30.
After the approval of the race dates, Meadowlands Director of Racing Operations Darin Zoccali told the commission that the track was looking forward to Saturday’s grand opening of the facility’s new grandstand. He said a crowd in the vicinity of 10,000 people was possible.