Horse Racing: New Jersey Horseman vow to fight for horse racing
New Jersey’s Horse owners, jockeys and anyone else affiliated with racing, have decided to fight for horse racing in New Jersey. The deficit plagued state, had decided that it would be walking away from its money losing racetracks, Monmouth Park and Meadowland Racetrack.
Without support from the state the racetracks cannot be sustained. Governor Chris Christie want to enact a plan according to which the tracks would either be sold or shutdown. At present there is simply no way that the tracks could find a buyer so what Governor Christie really is saying is that Horse Racing in New Jersey is finished. Go elsewhere.
Not so fast said New Jersey’s Horsemen. One organization after another has been making its voice heard and their supporters have been coming out strong in opposition to the Governors plan. The United States Trotting Association sent a letter to the governor asking him to consider more thoroughly the ramifications of the plan. They were really just being polite though. What they really wanted to say was that Governor Christie has lost his marbles. “To eliminate an established industry of thousands just doesn’t make sense,” the letter read. The letter also made it clear that abandoning the racetracks would be a tremendous loss to New Jersey and the lost revenue would make the $20 million in subsidies paid look like peanuts.
Supporters of horseracing also gathered at Meadowland Racetrack. Addressing a gathering of well over a hundred people, the head of the Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association of New Jersey (SBOANJ), Tom Luchento, told attending trainers, owners and Jockeys that they wouldn’t be abandoned. “Notwithstanding the governor's report prepared by Jon Hanson, we are not folding, fading or leaving,” he said. “We are not done here.”
Tom rallied the gathered crowd to prepare for ‘battle.’ He said that horsemen were united in the struggle to save their livelihoods. There are about 7000 jobs at stake and close to $800 million. Hall of famer John Campbell was also present at the event and said that there were many options the industry could still pursue to ensure its survival but the state was denying them the opportunity to do any of them.
He further criticized the Hanson report for being limited only to impossible options. He asked those present to take their grievance to representatives and attend the Gaming Summit scheduled to be held in August. That however might be too little too late. There is inherent friction between Atlantic City and horse racing. The so called ‘subsidy’ that gambling pays to the state is actually payment to the state to not compete with gambling and the reason why slot machines have thus far eluded New Jersey’s racetracks. The gaming interests in New Jersey have launched an extensive public relations campaign to swing public opinion in their favour and get representatives on board.
In a statement published online in response to the Governor’s plan, the SBOANJ emphasized again the need to take handcuffs off horse racing placed on them by gaming interest. The statement expressed the desire to implement a racino model that has proved successful in neighbouring states.
Atlantic City would suffer if its business is diverted into the racetracks. That loss would far exceed the payments it makes to the state to boast horse racing purses. The slot machines don’t look like a promising option.
The few remaining options and their viability was the agenda for the day when legislatures representing Monmouth country met with Governor Christie. The governor reportedly discussed options that did not include subsidies. According to reports the governor offered his support to establishing additional off-track betting parlours to boast revenues. Each such parlour could provide up to $8 million in revenues but those figures could fluctuate and may or may not be enough to rescue New Jersey racing.
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