New Jersey’s two harness tracks – the Meadowlands Racetrack and Freehold Raceway – have been awarded a combined 200 racing dates for 2016.

The dates were approved at the New Jersey Racing Commission meeting on Wednesday, November 18, 2015 in Trenton, NJ.

Mark Ford, attending his first commission meeting as president of the Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association of New Jersey, advised the commission that the SBOANJ was reluctantly accepting the Meadowlands’ dates as an experiment for 2016.

“We are concerned about losing dates in January and February and replacing them with September and October dates,” Ford said.

The Meadowlands requested 90 dates, Fridays and Saturdays only (plus Sunday, May 8), from January 2 through August 6 and from September 9 through December 31 (dark on Saturday, December 24). First-race post time is 7 p.m.

Freehold received 110 dates, racing January 1 through May 21 plus August 26 and 27, and September 2 through December 10. Racing days will be Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays plus three holiday Mondays – January 18, February 15 and September 5. Dark days are September 1 and November 24. First-race post time is 12:30 p.m.

(SBOANJ)