Monmouth Meet Holds Up in Face of Competition
Sept 28, 2015 21:27:54 GMT -5
Post by Evelyn on Sept 28, 2015 21:27:54 GMT -5
I think Zayat deserves some credit for running AmP at Monmouth!
Monmouth Meet Holds Up in Face of Competition
By Tom LaMarra
BloodHorse
Monmouth Park officials said given the intense competition for gambling dollars and horses in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions, the numbers from its just-completed 2015 race meet held up fairly well versus last year.
Based on the reported average for the 58-day meet that ended Sept. 27, the New Jersey racetrack's total pari-mutuel handle on live races was $266,614,458, up 1.9% from $261,389,403 for 57 programs in 2014. Average daily handle of $4,596,801 increased 0.24% from $4,585,779 last year.
Purses this year averaged $392,745 per day, up slightly from $391,687 in 2014, according to The Jockey Club Information Systems. Purses paid at Monmouth this year totaled $22,779,230.
On-track handle on live racing averaged $526,821, down 2.2% less than last year's average of $538,540. Monmouth reported average attendance 9,646, up 3.8% from 9,296 last year.
Because the meets of multiple tracks in the region overlap in the summer, this year's average number of horses per race was solid. According to TJCIS, Monmouth fielded 8.11 horses per race, up 1.5% from 7.99 in 2014.
"Considering what we are up against, it's hard not to call this a success," Dennis Drazin, an adviser to Monmouth operator Darby Development, said in a release. "We're surrounded by jurisdictions that offer casino gaming at racetracks. We saw Saratoga put on a record-setting meet, and now Parx is offering purses that are unrivaled in the Mid-Atlantic. Yet through all that, we were able to post solid figures and set records of our own."
Drazin referred to the Parx Fall Festival, during which about $20 million in purses will be paid between late August and early October in exchange for the Pennsylvania track closing for live racing for seven weeks in the winter of 2016.
The highlight of the Monmouth meet on several fronts was the victory by Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in the Aug. 2 William Hill Haskell Invitational (gr. I).
"This year's Haskell proved a historic day for New Jersey and certainly for Monmouth Park," Drazin said. "And it wasn't just Haskell Day itself, it was the entire week. From the thousands that came out to see American Pharoah in the morning to the tens of thousands that saw his impressive victory in the Haskell, everyone was treated to what was likely a once-in-a-lifetime event."
Midwest Thoroughbreds won 17 races to take home its first Monmouth leading owner title. Paco Lopez, with 74 victories, topped the rider standings for the third time in four years, while Jorge Navarro earned his third consecutive title as leading trainer with 42 wins.
The 2015 New Jersey Thoroughbred racing season will wrap up with 13 scheduled all-turf programs at Meadowlands. The meet is held by Darby Development, the operating entity of the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, which leases Monmouth from the state.
Racing at Meadowlands will be held Thursdays through Saturdays from Oct. 1-10, followed by a Columbus Day program Oct. 12. Racing will then be held Fridays and Saturdays from Oct. 16-31.
First post will be 7 p.m. EDT for the six-race cards and 2:15 p.m. Columbus Day. Post times for last two programs, which fall on Breeders' Cup World Championships days, haven't been determined
Monmouth Meet Holds Up in Face of Competition
By Tom LaMarra
BloodHorse
Monmouth Park officials said given the intense competition for gambling dollars and horses in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions, the numbers from its just-completed 2015 race meet held up fairly well versus last year.
Based on the reported average for the 58-day meet that ended Sept. 27, the New Jersey racetrack's total pari-mutuel handle on live races was $266,614,458, up 1.9% from $261,389,403 for 57 programs in 2014. Average daily handle of $4,596,801 increased 0.24% from $4,585,779 last year.
Purses this year averaged $392,745 per day, up slightly from $391,687 in 2014, according to The Jockey Club Information Systems. Purses paid at Monmouth this year totaled $22,779,230.
On-track handle on live racing averaged $526,821, down 2.2% less than last year's average of $538,540. Monmouth reported average attendance 9,646, up 3.8% from 9,296 last year.
Because the meets of multiple tracks in the region overlap in the summer, this year's average number of horses per race was solid. According to TJCIS, Monmouth fielded 8.11 horses per race, up 1.5% from 7.99 in 2014.
"Considering what we are up against, it's hard not to call this a success," Dennis Drazin, an adviser to Monmouth operator Darby Development, said in a release. "We're surrounded by jurisdictions that offer casino gaming at racetracks. We saw Saratoga put on a record-setting meet, and now Parx is offering purses that are unrivaled in the Mid-Atlantic. Yet through all that, we were able to post solid figures and set records of our own."
Drazin referred to the Parx Fall Festival, during which about $20 million in purses will be paid between late August and early October in exchange for the Pennsylvania track closing for live racing for seven weeks in the winter of 2016.
The highlight of the Monmouth meet on several fronts was the victory by Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in the Aug. 2 William Hill Haskell Invitational (gr. I).
"This year's Haskell proved a historic day for New Jersey and certainly for Monmouth Park," Drazin said. "And it wasn't just Haskell Day itself, it was the entire week. From the thousands that came out to see American Pharoah in the morning to the tens of thousands that saw his impressive victory in the Haskell, everyone was treated to what was likely a once-in-a-lifetime event."
Midwest Thoroughbreds won 17 races to take home its first Monmouth leading owner title. Paco Lopez, with 74 victories, topped the rider standings for the third time in four years, while Jorge Navarro earned his third consecutive title as leading trainer with 42 wins.
The 2015 New Jersey Thoroughbred racing season will wrap up with 13 scheduled all-turf programs at Meadowlands. The meet is held by Darby Development, the operating entity of the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, which leases Monmouth from the state.
Racing at Meadowlands will be held Thursdays through Saturdays from Oct. 1-10, followed by a Columbus Day program Oct. 12. Racing will then be held Fridays and Saturdays from Oct. 16-31.
First post will be 7 p.m. EDT for the six-race cards and 2:15 p.m. Columbus Day. Post times for last two programs, which fall on Breeders' Cup World Championships days, haven't been determined
