On Friday, April 20, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority denied an appeal by attorneys representing John Brunetti in regard to the process which saw the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association land operating control of Monmouth Park raceway
.
As a report by The Star-Ledger explains, Brunetti's representatives have vowed to take the matter to court.
Brunetti was in the running for operating control of the raceway, but, according to the article, he was taken out of consideration for operating the track due to having made political donations on a county level. Brunetti's representatives contend that the NJTHA also made political contributions --- roughly seven times what Brunetti made --- yet were not tossed from the process.
"We are disappointed the governor, who has done so much to change the way business is done by the state, has accepted the sports authority’s decision to do business for the next 35 years with a group the governor himself called ‘untrustworthy’ and rightly accused of ‘extorting’ the state and its taxpayers," the report has quoted Brunetti attorney Paul Josephson as saying.
Monmouth's 2012 meet is scheduled to kick off May 12.
(With files from The Star-Ledger)