Average attendance rises during Monmouth's meet

Monmouth Park concluded its 2009 meeting on Sunday, showing a significant gain in

average attendance even as wagering followed what has become this year's

national downward trend.

During the

93-day meeting that opened on May 9 (the program of September 11 was

canceled due to adverse weather conditions), total attendance reached 646,268

for a daily average of 6,949, a gain of 6 percent over last year.

At the same

time, wagering on Monmouth races from all sources totaled $293,019,640 for 93

days, a daily average of $3,150,749. The average daily handle was 5 percent

lower than the 2008 average of $3,308,135. On-track handle was $38,072,385, a

daily average of $409,380, down 4.9 percent from last year.

"Overall, we

can clearly say that the Monmouth meeting was a success," said Dennis Robinson,

president and CEO of the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority. "The numbers

were what we expected and are in line with the national trend.

"To see an increase in attendance and only a slight dip in handle is proof

positive that more people stayed close to home this summer, and in this economic

climate had less discretionary money to spend."

Monmouth's

midsummer promotion of "Dollar Days" every Friday during the month of July was

declared the top summer sports deal in the United States by the Sports

Illustrated website www.SI.com, on its list of best bargains in sports for

summer of 2009.

"I'm proud of

the events we put on this season," Robinson said, "particularly Rachel Alexandra

(Medaglia d'Oro) running in the Haskell (G1), bringing the Vans Warped Tour to Monmouth Park for the

first time, the tremendous success of this year's crab cake cook-off, and the

steeplechase festival late in the season. These events demonstrate Monmouth

Park's importance not only as a racing venue, but as a community partner in the

region, and an economic engine for the state of New Jersey."

Without question, the Thoroughbred star of the 2009 meeting was filly superstar

Rachel Alexandra, who solidified her Horse of the Year credentials with an

emphatic victory over colts in the $1.25 million Haskell Invitational,

where she beat Belmont S. (G1) winner SUMMER BIRD (Birdstone) by six lengths.

A crowd of

37,090 turned out to see racing's reigning queen, a remarkable number given the

fact that August 3 was one of the worst weather days of the year in New Jersey,

with fierce thunderstorms that brought rain, lightning and tornado warnings to

much of the state.

Elvis

Trujillo won his first Monmouth riding title, finishing with 129 victories.

Eddie Castro was second, with Joe Bravo and Carlos Marquez Jr. tied for third.

Bruce Levine

dominated the early part of the meet and cruised to a second straight training

title, saddling 46 winners. Scott Volk was second and Jason Servis finished

third in the standings.

Repole Stable

was the leading owner for the second straight year with 24 winners, followed by

George and Lori Hall and Patricia Generazio.

Live

Thoroughbred racing in New Jersey shifts to the Meadowlands starting Thursday for a 47-day meet that runs through December 5.