As explained in an article by The New York Times, on Saturday at the Meadowlands Racetrack, Jeff Gural will be taking some time away from trying to save harness racing so he can try to capture the industry's most desired stakes crown.
Dewycolorintheline, a three-year-old son of the great Deweycheatumnhowe, will have Gural's full attention when he faces the gate for his Hambletonian elimination at the Meadowlands.
Gural, the operator of the 'Big M' that co-owns Dewycolorintheline along with trainer Ray Schnittker, is hoping that his colt can find success much like how he has with the Meadowlands, widely known as the 'Mecca of Harness Racing' for decades.
The New York Times report explains that Gural has handed the daily operation control of his commercial real estate company, Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, over to family members in order to try help save the harness-racing industry.
“We have got to clean the sport up,” the report has quoted Gural as saying. “People want a level playing field. They want to trust in our integrity.”
In the article, Gural also took the opportunity to state that funds should be taken from racing's purse pool in order to really promote the product.
“We should be taking $4 or $5 million on promoting the sport, getting on television and reaching a new audience…otherwise, we’re doomed.”
(With files from The New York Times)