Racing saved at Monmouth Park

The state of New Jersey and its horsemen reached an agreement on Monday

allowing Monmouth Park to remain open in 2012, according to the Asbury Park

Press. The horsemen had been given a Monday deadline by Gov. Chris Christie.

The deal calls for 141 Thoroughbred dates in 2012, with five days of racing

from May 12 to November 25. Daily purses at Monmouth Park would average between

$150,000 and $175,000 if the track is open for 141 days, said Dennis Drazin, a

consultant to the horsemen's association. That is approximately half the daily

purses offered during the 71-day meet in 2011.

The New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association agreed to reduced,

projected purses in exchange for a promise by state officials to quickly try

again at leasing the track to a private manager. Real estate executive Morris

Bailey had been expected to sign a five-year deal to lease the track until

negotiations collapsed earlier this month. Under the arrangement with the

horsemen, the lease will be rebid next month under terms similar to the Bailey

contract.

Christie had recently blamed the horsemen's association for the collapse of

the deal with Bailey, and he threatened that racing at Monmouth Park "will

disappear" if a new deal didn't take shape quickly.

Leaders of the horsemen's group countered that state officials fouled things

up with Bailey when they reneged on a promise to transfer a license for a small

portion of race dates to the horsemen.

Drazin said that gross purses will be about $4 million shy of maintaining the

track's stakes program, including the $1 million Haskell Invitational, which

receives national TV coverage and is attended by more than 30,000 racing fans

each year. He said the horsemen's association has "respectfully requested" that

the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which operates the track, fund

the stakes races "to keep the quality of Monmouth Park racing up."