Monmouth Park Racetrack

Monmouth Park Racetrack is an American race track for thoroughbred horse racing in Oceanport, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and is operated under a five-year lease as a partnership with Darby Development, LLC.[1]

Monmouth Park Racetrack
Racetrack logo
Location175 Oceanport Ave.
Oceanport, New Jersey 07757
United States
Owned byNJSEA
Operated byDarby Development, LLC
Date openedJuly 30, 1870 (1870-07-30)
Screened onNBC (Haskell Invitational Stakes)
Course typeFlat
Notable racesHaskell Invitational Stakes (G1)
United Nations Stakes (G1)
Molly Pitcher Stakes (G2)
Monmouth Cup (G2)
Official website

Monmouth Park's marquee event is the Haskell Invitational, named after Amory L. Haskell. The Haskell was first run in 1968 as a handicap, but was made into an Invitational Handicap in 1981. It is now a 1⅛-mile test for three-year-olds run in late July. Monmouth Park also now showcases the Jersey Derby originally run at Garden State Park until its closure in 2001. The racetrack's season spans from early May to Labor Day in early September.

History

Long Branch Racetrack
The racetrack and part of the stands during the 2007 Breeders' Cup

Three different buildings have been called Monmouth Park throughout the years. The original thoroughbred racing track was opened by the Monmouth Park Association on July 30, 1870 in Eatontown, New Jersey to increase summer tourism for communities along the Jersey Shore.[2][3] Monmouth Park early on earned the nickname as the "Newmarket of America" due to the excellence of its racing. However, after three years of being open financial issues caused the track to close.

In 1878, the track was bought by David D. Withers, George L. Lorillard, James Gordon Bennett, Jr., and George P. Wetmore. The men spent four years renovating the grounds and grandstand and reopened Monmouth Park in 1882. From 1882 to 1890, the track increased in popularity and as a result, a new racetrack was constructed next to the original. The new racetrack opened in 1890 becoming the second Monmouth Park.[3] However, legislation proposed in 1891 and enacted in 1894 barred parimutuel betting in New Jersey, and the track closed its doors. In May 1894, the Township Committee at Eatontown, New Jersey ordered the seizure and sale of the Monmouth Park Association's grandstand and other property for the payment of back taxes and on May 7 was sold at a public auction.[4][5]

Some of the major races held at the Long Branch track included the Champion Stakes, Junior Champion Stakes, Freehold Stakes and the Monmouth Cup. The United States Department of the Army later constructed Fort Monmouth on the site of the former racetrack.[6]

Monmouth Park Jockey Club

In 1946, the New Jersey Legislature passed a bill providing for state regulation of horse racing. The bill was championed by Amory L. Haskell, who led the legislative charge to once again permit wagering on horse racing in New Jersey and Philip H. Iselin, a New York City textile magnate. They also had the backing of Reeve Schley, Joseph M. Roebling, John M. MacDonald, Townsend B. Martin, and James Cox Brady, Jr. The current Monmouth Park, now called the Monmouth Park Jockey Club, opened on June 19, 1946.[3] Thoroughbred racing was back at the facility after a 53-year hiatus with 18,724 in attendance.[7]

Monmouth Park Racetrack

The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority purchased Monmouth Park from its previous owners, the Monmouth Park Jockey Club, in 1985, in a deal valued at $45 million.[8] The NJSEA still retains the corporate name "Monmouth Park Jockey Club".[9]

The Vans Warped Tour, a touring music and extreme sports festival, was successfully held at the racetrack in 2010 and 2011. It marks the New York stop on the nationwide tour, which visits the area during July. In 2012, the festival moved to the PNC Bank Arts Center in nearby Holmdel, New Jersey due to financial considerations.[10]

In 2011, a five-year lease was signed with Morris Bailey, co-owner of Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, to provide a marketing partnership between the casino and racetrack. The agreement allowed Resorts to sponsor the Haskell Invitational, and possibilities include a merging of loyalty programs as well as bringing entertainers' appearances at the casino to the racetrack. The program is part of a strategy to mesh horse racing with casino gambling.[11]

In April 2013, Monmouth Park opened the Bluegrass Miniature Golf Course near the Port-au-Peck Ave. entrance. The Course features two 18-hole courses, the Haskell Course and the Triple Crown Course.[12]

In July 2016, the luxury restaurant Blu Grotto, named after the Blue Grotto sea cave on the Italian island of Capri, opened at Monmouth Park. The restaurant is open year-round and is located near the racetrack's quarter-pole.[13] The Beer Garden at Blu Grotto opened in 2017.[14]

On June 14, 2018, the Monmouth Park Sports Book by William Hill sportsbook opened and Monmouth Park became the first location in New Jersey to offer sports betting. Monmouth Park had pushed to legalize sports betting, which was legalized by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association.[15]

Physical attributes

The main track is a one-mile (1.6 km) dirt oval with chutes for 6 furlong and 1¼ mile races.

The long infield chute at Monmouth Park leads to the main turf course and allows for races of up to 1⅛ miles.

The turf course is seven furlongs in circumference, with a diagonal chute for races between 1-mile (1.6 km) and 1⅛ miles. A re-design of the grass course for the 2006 season brought with it a new, second chute to accommodate 5½ furlong sprint or rarely 1 9/16 mile races. Turf races can be run along the hedge, or with the portable rail out 12 feet (dubbed the "Haskell Course"), 24 feet ("Monmouth Course") or 36 feet ("Lennox Course").[16]

The Stable Area, located directly to the north of the backstretch of the main track, contains a total of forty barns and stables, twelve north of the New Jersey Transit's North Jersey Coast Line (connected by its own service and access road) and twenty eight on the main complex.

The Wolf Hill Farm, which served Monmouth Park as a private stable and practice facility, was located adjacent to and immediately west of the main complex. Wolf Hill, owned and operated by the Valentino Family from the nearby City of Long Branch, New Jersey featured barns, stables and a practice track featuring a dirt oval and turf course identical to that at Monmouth Park's main facility only built to 50% scale. The Valentino Family sold Wolf Hill Farm to the Monmouth Park Jockey Club in 1963 which then became part of the greater Monmouth Park Complex. It was transferred to state ownership in the 1986 takeover by the NJSEA and was eventually sold to the Monmouth County Park System in 1998 which now operates the site as Wolf Hill Recreation Area that features a 4-acre dog park, an 18-hole disc golf course, a baseball field and two softball fields.[17] While Wolf Hill ceased operating as a farm following the 1963 sale, owners and trainers continued to use Wolf Hill's practice track well into the 1990s. Remnants of the practice were clearly visible on the site until after the 2009 meet. After the 2009 meet, construction began in the Wolf Hill area, eliminating the last of the practice track.[18]

Racing
Horse racing at Monmouth Park

Breeders' Cup World Championships

On October 26 and 27, 2007, Monmouth Park hosted the Breeders' Cup for the first time in its history.[19]
The 2007 Event also marked the first time the event has been held over two days and also the creation of three new races held on Day 1 of the Championships.

Winners of Races:
Day 1
Filly & Mare Sprint-Maryfield
Juvenile Turf-Nownownow
Dirt Mile-Corinthian
Day 2
Juvenile Fillies-Indian Blessing
Juvenile-War Pass
Filly & Mare Turf-Lahudood
Sprint-Midnight Lute
Mile-Kip Deville
Distaff-Ginger Punch
Turf-English Channel
Classic-Curlin

The Classic was marred by a fatal injury suffered by George Washington, the 2006 European 3-year-old champion who had returned to training when his stud career was scuttled by fertility problems. He suffered a dislocated fracture of his right front ankle and was euthanized on the track.

Million Dollar Meet

In March 2010, it was announced that Monmouth Park would shorten its summer meet, conducting only 50 days of live racing (down from 141 total thoroughbred days in the state) for a total of $50 million in purse money for the 2010 meet. This was done due to the recent monetary losses of the racetrack industry in New Jersey and made it the most expensive purse structure in North America at the time.

TV personalities
  • Caton Bredar (1995–1998)
  • Barbara Foster (1995–1997)
  • Jennifer Burke (2000–2004)
  • Carolyn Conley
  • Brad Thomas (?-present)
  • Thomas Cassidy (?-present)
  • Larry Collmus (1994–2014)
  • Mike Curci
  • Gordon Richards
  • Matt Carothers (1998)
  • Travis Stone (2014)

TV and film appearances

Accessibility & transportation

The Park is served by the Monmouth Park station on New Jersey Transit's North Jersey Coast Line during the racing season.[20]

A special train called the "Pony Express" was discontinued after the 2005 racing season. This train operated between Hoboken Terminal and the racetrack, terminating on a rail siding near the grandstand entrance. It was often scouted out by railfans due to the variety of equipment that were used on the train in recent years, ranging from the 1970 vintage Pullman Standard Erie Lackawanna Comet I cars to modern Alstom Metro-North Comet Vs.

Monmouth Park is also served by the 831 New Jersey Transit Bus route.[21]

The Park is accessible by car via NJ-36 with connections to the Garden State Parkway, I-195, New Jersey Turnpike (I-95) and other highways and roads. Parking is available in several on site lots.[22]

See also

References
  1. "AS MONMOUTH PARK OPENS, CHANGE IS A WAY OF PRESERVATION". theracingbiz.com. May 9, 2014. Archived from the original on September 22, 2014. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  2. "Inauguration of the New Monmouth Park Race-Course". The New York Times. July 31, 1870. p. 1. Archived from the original on 2018-07-26. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
  3. "History of Monmouth Park". Monmouth Park Racetrack. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  4. "Monmouth Park's Troubles". The New York Times. May 3, 1894. p. 3. Archived from the original on 2018-07-25. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
  5. "Monmouth Park Effects Sold". The New York Times. May 8, 1894. p. 3. Archived from the original on 2018-07-25. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
  6. "A Concise History of Fort Monmouth, NJ and the U.S. Army CECOM Life Cycle Management Command" (PDF). FortMonmouthNJ.com. 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 27, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  7. "Races Start Today At Monmouth Park". The New York Times. June 19, 1946. section Sports, p. 34. Archived from the original on 2018-07-23. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
  8. "Monmouth Park Track Sold to N.J. State Sports Agency". The Philadelphia Inquirer. April 11, 1985. p. B05. Archived from the original on 2011-06-10. Retrieved 2007-10-08. The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, operator of the Meadowlands Race Track, tentatively agreed yesterday to buy Monmouth Park for about $45 million.
  9. "About Monmouth Park". Monmouth Park. Archived from the original on July 17, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  10. "Warped Tour changes its address, but little else". NJ.com. July 13, 2012. Archived from the original on August 3, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  11. Donald Wittkowski (24 Jul 2011). "Resorts Casino Hotel gets business partner in Monmouth Park". Press of Atlantic City. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 Jul 2011.
  12. "Bluegrass Miniature Golf OPENS". Monmouth Park. April 27, 2013. Archived from the original on August 3, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  13. "Luxury Restaurant Added to Monmouth Menu". Thoroughbred Daily News. July 27, 2016. Archived from the original on August 3, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  14. "Blu Grotto". Monmouth Park. August 2, 2017. Archived from the original on July 17, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  15. Edelson, Stephen (August 23, 2018). "NJ sports betting: Will Monmouth Park be online by start of NFL season?". Asbury Park Press. Archived from the original on August 20, 2020. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  16. "Monmouth Racetrack Layout". Advantage wagering.com. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  17. "Wolf Hill Recreation Area". Monmouth County Parks. August 2, 2017. Archived from the original on August 3, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  18. "Wolf Hill Recreation Area Disc Golf". Professional Disc Golf Association. August 2, 2017. Archived from the original on August 3, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  19. "Curlin Is Favorite for Haskell". The New York Times. Associated Press. August 3, 2007. Archived from the original on 2015-06-05. Retrieved 2007-10-08. It is a pivotal one-and-one-eighth-mile race for 3-year-olds with the Breeders' Cup World Championships being held at Monmouth for the first time Oct. 26-27.
  20. "By Train". Monmouth Park. Archived from the original on July 17, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  21. "831 Schedule" (PDF). NJ Transit. September 3, 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 29, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  22. "By Car". Monmouth Park. July 28, 2017. Archived from the original on July 19, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
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