Monmouth Park opens this Saturday with a 12-race program that attracted a
total of 117 entries. Topping the day’s card is the $75,000
Decathlon
for three-year-olds and upward, which features a field of eight, including Grade
2 veteran Travelin Man.
A six-furlong dash, the Decathlon is the first of this year’s stakes events,
which includes 16 graded stakes. As always, the centerpiece of Monmouth’s summer
will be the Grade 1, $1 million Haskell Invitational, which has its 46th running
on July 28. Monmouth’s Grade 1 turf race, the $500,000 United Nations, will be
the highlight of the Fourth of July weekend when it’s renewed on July 6.
Gates will open at 11:30 a.m. (EDT) and first post is set for 12:50 p.m.
every day except Haskell Day, when gates will open at 10:00 a.m. and first post
will be noon.
After taking the helm of historic Monmouth Park nearly one year ago, the New
Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (NJTHA), at the direction of Darby
Development LLC, has enjoyed a successful first year as they optimistically look
to the future of horse racing in the state of New Jersey.
“To say it’s been a successful first year for us is an understatement,” said
Dennis Drazin, advisor to Darby Development LLC and the NJTHA. “We inherited a
racetrack in turmoil and placed her on the path to prosperity.
“In just 12 months at the helm we’ve eliminated annual deficits, maintained
world-class Thoroughbred racing without a casino purse supplement and added to
the fan-friendly atmosphere of the racetrack, which saw a 22 percent increase in
attendance over the prior year.”
In 2012 Monmouth Park saw the addition of four large video boards on-track,
the installation of a 36-hole miniature golf course, a new caterer, and
additional group areas.
“Last year was just the beginning,” Drazin said. “The near future will see
the finalization of a lease agreement to build a new OTB, an on-site concert
venue, a boardwalk and a new restaurant near the miniature golf course.
“The long-term will continue to focus on alternative revenue streams, both
gaming and non-gaming, as well as marketing initiatives that attract racing fans
and newcomers, alike.”
Like everywhere else on the New Jersey Shore, the first order of business in
the new year for Monmouth Park was to repair the damage inflicted by Hurricane
Sandy last October.
With that $5.7 million project now complete, the track is putting the
finishing touches on some new projects that will greet visitors on Saturday.
Tom Newman, a veteran Monmouth employee who took over as the track’s Director
of Operations this year, said that additions to the amenities this year include
two new bars, one in the grandstand and one in the picnic area.
“We built a bar on the grandstand apron,” Newman said. “It faces the
racetrack, and it will have a deck for better viewing. We also added a bar in
the picnic area. It will offer draft beer only.”
Another new development this year is a fire suppression system (sprinklers)
in the clubhouse and parterre boxes. This is Phase 2 of the project that started
with refitting the grandstand fire suppression system.
Those fans who visit Monmouth’s extensive and popular picnic area will also
see a new tent that replaces the big top destroyed by the storm.
Because of flooding in the stable area during the storm, nine barns had to be
completely rebuilt (Barns 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,30). In addition, the stall office
building, which also houses the New Jersey Racing Commission backstretch office,
was completely rebuilt, as was the stablegate guard shack.
“Of course, everything got painted again. Everything gets painted every year.
Plus we added some new signage and painted the new Monmouth logo in key areas,”
Newman said.
Monmouth Park’s wagering menu will expand to include a new exotic bet and an
old favorite for the 2013 racing season.
The new wager is the Jersey Shore Six, a pick six with some key differences
from prior multiple-race bets offered at Monmouth. The old favorite is a
quinella, which makes its return to New Jersey programs as a $5 wager on the
last race each day.
The Jersey Shore Six, which will encompass the final six races each day, has
a base price of 10 cents. The only way to win the entire pool is to have the
lone ticket with six winners that day.
If there is more than one ticket with all six winners, then all winning
tickets will share 60 percent of the total betting pool each day. The other 40
percent of the day’s pool will be carried over until the next racing day. The
carryover will accumulate until the day there is just one winning pick six
ticket.
On days when no ticket has six winners, payouts (based on 60 percent of the
total pool) will be made to the tickets with the most winners that day.
Monmouth’s Jersey Shore Six is the same wager as the “Rainbow Six,” which
proved so popular during the 2013 winter meeting at Gulfstream Park in Florida.
“Fans really loved this pick six bet at Gulfstream,” said Bob Kulina,
president of Monmouth Park. “Because it was so successful there, we think our
fans will appreciate the chance to play the Jersey Shore Six here.”
During the Gulfstream meeting, the wager paid out more than $1 million twice,
with a better than $3 million ticket sold in New Jersey.
The quinella, which has been absent from New Jersey racing for 50 years,
makes its return at Monmouth in the final race on opening day. To win the
quinella, a ticket must have the horses that run first and second, in either
order. The minimum bet on the quinella will be $5.
Monmouth Park’s meet runs through October 6. Racing will then shift north for
all turf cards at the Meadowlands through Breeders’ Cup Saturday on November 2.
Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com