Meadowlands Racetrack operator Jeff Gural has reiterated his position that he is committed to the East Rutherford, NJ raceway for the long haul, and that the track will not survive without the introduction of additional gaming at the premises.
Gural recently sat down with the editorial board of The Press of Atlantic City. During the discussion, Gural touched on many of the points that he has brought up in the past.
He conveyed that he is a ‘horse guy’ as opposed to a ‘casino guy,’ and that he is trying his hardest to get casino gaming at the Meadowlands so that the on-track product can thrive once again. He also stated that he knows what the outcome will be if additional gaming is not introduced at the iconic harness track.
Gural said that he would have “no problem” making the Meadowlands Racetrack profitable if he could consistently attract harness racing’s top horses. Top horses tend to follow the top purses, and it is very tough to offer the top purses without the revenue from hosting casino gaming. “The only thing that will save me at the Meadowlands is a casino,” he said.
This past November, Gural dug in on his position with the Meadowlands. After the ‘Big M’ tasted defeat on the expanded-gaming front, Gural let the industry know that he and his partners were not abandoning the racetrack. Instead, they opted to refinance debt and wait until the topic of gaming expansion rears its head once again in the coming years.
(With files from The Press of Atlantic City)