Big $ MTH "uber meet" experiment moving forward
 

Monmouth may offer $1M a day in purses
By Matt Hegarty

http://www.drf.com/news/article/111078.html

Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey, will run a 50-day meet in 2010 with purses averaging $1 million a day under a plan proposed by Gov. Chris Christie and supported by the state's horsemen, according to a report in the Newark Star-Ledger. The plan calls for racing on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, from May 22 to Labor Day, and would also entail dropping the Meadowlands's fall Thoroughbred meet, according to the Star-Ledger.

Monmouth and the Meadowlands are operated by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, a state agency. Earlier this year, a report commissioned by Gov. Christie called for the elimination of the Meadowlands meet and a 50-day meet at Monmouth, a dramatic reduction of the 141 live Thoroughbred racing dates that are required under a contract between the NJSEA and the state's horsemen through 2016. According to the report, horseracing operations at the NJSEA lost $13 million in 2009 [it has been widely but incorrectly reported that the racing operations lost $22 million].

At the time the report was released, Dennis Drazin, the former president of the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, said that horsemen and management of the NJSEA had discussed the possibility of a 50-day meet, but that horsemen would not support the plan unless the state could guarantee that purses would be $1 million a day. According to Drazin, the state had balked at providing that guarantee.

Wow indeed. Now that is a boutique meet.

Future of racing..like it or not

Less racing, but presumably of higher qualty. No complaints here.

Yeah, if they can coordinate boutique meets accross the country so one is winding down and another is coming up, that would be cool.
Satish could work out the details as $1 year Commish!

If an allowance race is going to be carded with a 75k purse, MDN SPL at 75, and 50k claimers 75k you are going to see a bunch of nice races. Plus maybe some people will come to NJ vs. WB.. I can't see people running to poly in Canada when they wil have dirt and grass on the Jersey shore in JULY.

I can live with Fri-Sun only since those are the days I go to the track anyway. I'm always skeptical of anything this screwed up state proposes however. I need to hear more opinions from better informed people.

I think it is a wonderful idea.

It would figure to weaken Saratoga's cards if it runs through labor day.

I think that is the objective.

In other words .... we can look forward to MUCH better weekend racing cards in Jersey .. and more NY breds and turf sprints at Saratoga? ... I dunno if that's the greatest of trade offs.

Turning out there's a bit 'less' to this than it looks..

Original reporting of the story by Tom Luicci/The Star-Ledger
http://www.nj.com/sports/njsports/in...outh_park.html

It's not just 50 days in the summer, and the $50MM number includes the stakes AND overnight programs...There's also a 21 day Sept-Nov meet that will run for $250-$300k/day ($5.5MM), and the stakes program is worth about $5MM. So take $10-$11MM off the $50MM total and you are actually around $775-$800k a day for the summer meet. And even that number is not purse money exclusively.

And I'm being told that the Star-Ledger was very premature releasing this. There are many i's to dot and t's to cross yet...

If they install some lights at Monmouth and run at night a few times a meet to make up for the nights they would have done at the Swamp, I think this is a blockbuster idea. Who needs a Wednesday card full of $5k claimers at the Shore? Weekends there are wonderful, might as well beef up those and leave the meat and potatoes racing to Philadelphia and Delaware where slots can prop up the lower level racing.

Steve what would your thoughts be on running Saratoga 4 days a week Memorial Day through labor day and have Belmont take some of AQU early spring and late fall dates?

Sounds good to me

Not really logistically possible - the Belmont is after Memorial Day anyways - and Saratoga has been watered down enough already with the added days.

800k a day ain't to shabby..Quarter Claimers will go for 50k THAT WORKS and there will be 12 in the box with 3 on the AE list.. Guys will be racing 50 claimers in 25's in a heart beat. You want to see great MDN SPL besides the SPA card? Watch what happens when the purse is 78k vs. NYRA's 48.. Can I get a Carolina franchise?

Anything's gotta be a much tougher racket than selling Stone Cold Steve Austin T-shirts to a bunch of degenerate trashy wrestling fans.

I printed not less then 2 mil Stone Cold WWE tees.. He was a G-d

FreddyMo 3:16