On Thursday (Oct. 11), the Meadowlands Racetrack announced that it will be forced to reduce the amount of race dates it will host in 2019 and most likely cancel some Standardbred stakes races unless purse subsidy legislation is acted on in the next few weeks.

The Meadowlands has announced that, with the way things currently sit, it will apply for 68 live racing dates for its 2019 season. The New Jersey Racing Commission’s request-for-dates deadline is this coming Monday (Oct. 15).

According to a release from the Meadowlands, the main factor forcing the track to reduce dates is the failure to obtain a purse subsidy which would enable the East Rutherford, NJ oval to compete with the Pennsylvania tracks when they open in late March.

The main factor in forcing the ‘Big M’ to reduce dates is the failure to obtain a purse subsidy that would enable the track to compete with the Pennsylvania raceways when they open in late March. By reducing dates, the Meadowlands believes it will help in attracting enough horses to race during that period. The Meadowlands release goes on to state that the track is quite certain that racing more than 68 days would be impossible without the subsidy. The releases explains that the state’s Thoroughbred interests have also advised the Big M that they would like to race in the fall, and they have the legal right to do that, but the Meadowlands believes that if it was able to get the subsidy – which is split between the Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds – the track might be able to work out a schedule that would be beneficial to both breeds.

The Meadowlands release states that the move will unfortunately force it to drop the fall stakes program, explaining that the Fall Final Four and possibly the TVG Championships will have to be relocated or cancelled along with The Kindergarten series.

The release goes on to state that the purse account deficit is another issue, as without a subsidy the funds available limits the daily average to approximately $110,000, which is not enough to attract enough horses to fill Meadowlands cards when the Pennsylvania tracks open. The Big M states that fewer dates will permit an increase as the track attempts to field races that will be attractive to the horseplayers.

The release states that, as it stands with Monmouth racing in the fall and the purse revenue status quo, the Big M’s schedule will be Friday and Saturday from January 4 through Hambletonian Day (August 3), then Thursday – Saturday the last two weeks of December.

The Meadowlands releases states that it that the legislature will act on the purse subsidy legislation hopes in the next few weeks, in which case the Big M would revisit its plans with the expectation that the track could increase its race dates, including a modified fall schedule.

Later on Thursday, Mark Ford, the president of the NJ Standardbred Owners and Breeders Association, issued a comment on the situation. His comments appear below.

“Contrary to our ongoing dialogue with the Meadowlands, we were not given any notice and were as much surprised as anyone to read their release indicating that they were putting in for a 68-day meet with a significant reduction of added-money events.

“We found this particularly disappointing in that we have been working very hard with various legislators and did feel that we had made progress in getting some assistance from the state.

“That said, a 68-day meet at the Meadowlands in 2019, which does violate their contract with the SBOA regarding a minimum amount of days, is clearly unacceptable and we will address that immediately.”

(With files from the Meadowlands Racetrack and the SBOANJ)