Monmouth Park Racetrack
Encyclopedia
Monmouth Park Racetrack is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 race track
Race track
A race track is a purpose-built facility for racing of animals , automobiles, motorcycles or athletes. A race track may also feature grandstands or concourses. Some motorsport tracks are called speedways.A racetrack is a permanent facility or building...

 for thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

 in Oceanport
Oceanport, New Jersey
Oceanport is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 5,832.Oceanport was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 6, 1920, from portions of Eatontown Township , based on the results of a...

, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

. It is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority
New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority
The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority is an independent authority established by the State of New Jersey in 1971 to oversee the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Originally consisting of Giants Stadium and the Meadowlands Racetrack in 1976, Brendan Byrne Arena was added to the complex in...

 and is operated under a five-year lease as a partnership with Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...

.

Monmouth Park's marquee event is the Resorts Casino & Hotel Haskell Invitational, named after Amory L. Haskell. The Haskell was first run in 1968 as a handicap, but was made into an Invitational Handicap in 1981. It is now a 1⅛-mile test for three-year-olds run in early August. Monmouth Park also now showcases the Jersey Derby
Jersey Derby
The Jersey Derby is a $100,000 American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in late July/early August at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. Since 1993 it has been raced on grass at a distance of 1 1/16 miles....

 originally run at Garden State Park
Garden State Park
Garden State Park was a harness and thoroughbred race track in Cherry Hill, Camden County, New Jersey. It is now the site of a high-end, mixed-use "town center" development of stores, restaurants, apartments, townhouses, and condominiums...

 until its closure in 2001.

Long Branch Racetrack

The original track was opened by the Monmouth Park Association on July 30, 1870 in Long Branch, New Jersey
Long Branch, New Jersey
Long Branch is a city in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 30,719.Long Branch was formed on April 11, 1867, as the Long Branch Commission, from portions of Ocean Township...

. It was later bought by David D. Withers
David D. Withers
David Dunham Withers was an American businessman and a Thoroughbred horse racing track owner and an owner/breeder...

, George L. Lorillard
George L. Lorillard
George Lyndes Lorillard was an American tobacco manufacturer and a prominent Thoroughbred racehorse owner.-Biography:He was born in Westchester, New York, the son of Pierre Lorillard III and Catherine Griswold. In 1760, his great-grandfather founded P. Lorillard and Company in New York City to...

, James Gordon Bennett, Jr.
James Gordon Bennett, Jr.
James Gordon Bennett, Jr. was publisher of the New York Herald, founded by his father, James Gordon Bennett, Sr., who emigrated from Scotland. He was generally known as Gordon Bennett to distinguish him from his father....

, and George P. Wetmore
George P. Wetmore
George Peabody Wetmore was the 37th Governor and a United States Senator from Rhode Island.-Early life:George Peabody Wetmore was born in London, England, during a visit of his parents abroad. His father was William Shepard Wetmore, a wealthy Yankee trader. George Wetmore received his early...

 after which Withers ran the facility for more than a decade during which time he helped found racings Board of Control, a predecessor to The Jockey Club
The Jockey Club
The Jockey Club, formed on February 9, 1894, is the keeper of The American Stud Book. It came into existence after James R. Keene spearheaded a drive in support of racehorse trainers who had complained about the Board of Control that governed racing in New York State.-History:On its formation, The...

. From 1882 to 1890, the track increased in popularity, but legislation proposed in 1891 and enacted in 1894 barred parimutuel betting
Parimutuel betting
Parimutuel betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vig" is removed, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winning bets...

 in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, and the track closed its doors. In May 1894, the Township Committee at Eatontown, New Jersey
Eatontown, New Jersey
Eatontown is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 census, the borough population was 12,709.What is now Eatontown was originally incorporated as Eatontown Township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 4, 1873, from portions of Ocean Township and...

 ordered the seizure and sale of the Monmouth Park Association's grandstand
Grandstand
A grandstand is a large and normally permanent structure for seating spectators, most often at a racetrack. This includes both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium in that it does not wrap all or most of the way...

 and other property for the payment of back taxes and on May 7 was sold at a public auction.

Some of the major races held at the Long Branch track included the Champion Stakes
Champion Stakes (United States)
The Champion Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in August at the Monmouth Park Association's racetrack in Long Branch, New Jersey...

, the Freehold Stakes
Freehold Stakes
The Freehold Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early August at the Monmouth Park Association's racetrack in Long Branch, New Jersey...

, and the Monmouth Cup.

Monmouth Park Jockey Club

In 1946, the New Jersey Legislature
New Jersey Legislature
The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the Senate...

 passed a bill providing for state regulation of horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

. Spurred on by Amory L. Haskell, who led the legislative charge to once again permit wagering on horse racing in New Jersey and Philip H. Iselin
Philip H. Iselin
Philip H. Iselin was a New York City women's apparel manufacturer who was a shareholder and President of the New York Jets football team and Chairman of Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. He was a member of the original Board of Directors that bought the New York Titans in 1963 and...

, a New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...

 magnate, along with the backing of Reeve Schley, Joseph M. Roebling, John M. MacDonald, Townsend B. Martin, and James Cox Brady, Jr., the new Monmouth Park (organized as the Monmouth Park Jockey Club) opened on June 19, 1946 after a 53-year hiatus with 18,724 in attendance.

Monmouth Park Racetrack

The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority
New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority
The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority is an independent authority established by the State of New Jersey in 1971 to oversee the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Originally consisting of Giants Stadium and the Meadowlands Racetrack in 1976, Brendan Byrne Arena was added to the complex in...

 purchased Monmouth Park from its previous owners, the Monmouth Park Jockey Club, in 1985, in a deal valued at $45 million. The NJSEA still retains the corporate name "Monmouth Park Jockey Club".

The Vans Warped Tour, a touring music and extreme sports festival, is held annually at the racetrack. Monmouth Park marks the New York
New York metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also known as Greater New York, or the Tri-State area, is the region that composes of New York City and the surrounding region...

 stop on the nation-wide tour, which visits the area during July.

In 2011, a five-year lease was signed with Morris Bailey, co-owner of Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, to provide a marketing partnership between the casino and racetrack. The agreement allowed Resorts to sponsor the Haskell Invitational, and possibilities include a merging of loyalty programs as well as bringing entertainers' appearances at the casino to the racetrack. The program is part of a strategy to mesh horse racing with casino gambling.

Physical Attributes

The main track is a one mile (1.6 km) dirt oval with chutes for 6 furlong and 1¼ mile races.

The turf
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...

 course is seven furlongs in circumference, with a diagonal chute for races between 1 miles (1.6 km) and 1⅛ miles. A re-design of the grass course for the 2006 season brought with it a new, second chute to accommodate 5½ furlong sprint races. Turf races can be run along the hedge, or with the portable rail out 12 feet (dubbed the "Haskell Course"), 24 feet ("Monmouth Course") or 36 feet ("Lennox Course").

The Stable Area, located directly to the north of the back stretch of the main track, contains a total of forty barns and stables, twelve north of the New Jersey Transit
New Jersey Transit
The New Jersey Transit Corporation is a statewide public transportation system serving the United States state of New Jersey, and New York, Orange, and Rockland counties in New York State...

's North Jersey Coast Line
North Jersey Coast Line
The North Jersey Coast Line is a New Jersey Transit commuter rail service operating between New York Penn Station or Hoboken Terminal and Bay Head, New Jersey...

 (connected by its own service and access road) and twenty eight on the main complex.

The Wolf Hill Farm, which served Monmouth Park as a private stable and practice facility, is located adjacent to and immediately west of the main complex. Wolf Hill, owned and operated by the Valentino Family from the nearby City of Long Branch, New Jersey
Long Branch, New Jersey
Long Branch is a city in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 30,719.Long Branch was formed on April 11, 1867, as the Long Branch Commission, from portions of Ocean Township...

 featured barns, stables and a practice track featuring a dirt oval and turf course identical to that at Monmouth Park's main facility only built to 50% scale. The Valentino Family sold Wolf Hill Farm to the Monmouth Park Jockey Club in 1963 which then became part of the greater Monmouth Park Complex. It was transferred to state ownership in the 1986 takeover by the NJSEA and was eventually sold to the Monmouth County Park System in 1998 which now operates the site as a passive recreation park. While Wolf Hill ceased operating as a farm following the 1963 sale, owners and trainers continued to use Wolf Hill's practice track well into the 1990s. Remnants of the practice were clearly visible on the site until after the 2009 meet. After the 2009 meet, construction began in the Wolf Hill area, eliminating the last of the practice track.

TV Personalites

  • Caton Bredar (1995–1998)
  • Barbara Foster (1995–1997)
  • Jennifer Burke (2000–2004)
  • Carolyn Conley
  • Brad Thomas (?-present)
  • Thomas Cassidy (?-present)
  • Larry Collmus
    Larry Collmus
    Larry Collmus is a Thoroughbred horse racing announcer. A native of Baltimore, Collmus has called at numerous racetracks around the country. He is currently the announcer at Gulfstream Park and Monmouth Park, and has sometimes called at Suffolk Downs.Collmus got his start by calling his first race...

     (1994–present)
  • Mike Curci
  • Gordon Richards
  • Matt Carothers (1998)

Transportation

The Park is served by New Jersey Transit
New Jersey Transit
The New Jersey Transit Corporation is a statewide public transportation system serving the United States state of New Jersey, and New York, Orange, and Rockland counties in New York State...

's North Jersey Coast Line
North Jersey Coast Line
The North Jersey Coast Line is a New Jersey Transit commuter rail service operating between New York Penn Station or Hoboken Terminal and Bay Head, New Jersey...

 during the racing season.

A special train called the "Pony Express" was discontinued after the 2005 racing season. This train operated between Hoboken Terminal
Hoboken Terminal
Hoboken Terminal is one of the New York Metropolitan area's major transportation hubs. The commuter-oriented intermodal facility, is located on the Hudson River in Hoboken, New Jersey...

 and the racetrack, terminating on a rail siding near the grandstand entrance. It was often scouted out by railfan
Railfan
A railfan or rail buff , railway enthusiast or railway buff , or trainspotter , is a person interested in a recreational capacity in rail transport...

s due to the variety of equipment that were used on the train in recent years, ranging from the 1970 vintage Pullman Standard Erie Lackawanna Comet I cars to modern Alstom Metro-North Comet Vs.

Racing

  • Grade 1:
    Graded stakes race
    A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...

    • Haskell Invitational Handicap
      Haskell Invitational Handicap
      The Resorts Casino & Hotel Haskell Invitational is an American Grade I race for thoroughbred horses. In 1968, the Board of Directors of Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey honored its former President and Chairman Amory L. Haskell with the Amory L. Haskell Handicap, a race for older...

    • United Nations Stakes

  • Grade 2:
    • Molly Pitcher Stakes

  • Grade 3:
    • Boiling Springs Stakes
      Boiling Springs Stakes
      The Boiling Spring Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the last week of June at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey...

       (Turf
      Grass
      Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...

      )
    • Eatontown Handicap
      Eatontown Handicap
      The Eatontown Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. Raced in mid June, it is open to fillies & mares, three years of age and older...

    • Jersey Shore Breeders' Cup Stakes
      Jersey Shore Breeders' Cup Stakes
      The Jersey Shore Breeders' Cup Stakes is an American Grade III Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey...

    • Long Branch Stakes
      Long Branch Stakes
      The Long Branch Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. Open to three-year-olds, it is contested on dirt over a distance of 11/16 miles...

    • Matchmaker Stakes
      Matchmaker Stakes
      The Matchmaker Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. The Grade III race is open to Fillies and Mares, Three-years-old & up and is run on turf over a distance of 1⅛ miles ....

    • Monmouth Oaks
    • Oceanport Stakes
      Oceanport Stakes
      The Oceanport Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early August at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. Open to horses age three and older, the Grade III event is contested on turf over a distance of 1 1/16 miles.Inaugurated in 1947 as a six furlong sprint race...

    • Pegasus Stakes
      Pegasus Stakes
      The Pegasus Stakes is an American Grade III Thoroughbred horse race run annually in June at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey.An event for three-year-olds of either gender, it is contested at a mile and an eighth on the dirt, and offers a purse of $250,000.There was no race run in...

    • Philip H. Iselin Stakes
    • Red Bank Handicap
      Red Bank Stakes
      The Red Bank Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually since 1974 at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. A Grade III event raced in late August/early September, it is open to horses age three and older and is contested at a distance of one mile on turfInaugurated in...

    • Salvator Mile Handicap
      Salvator Mile Handicap
      The Salvator Mile Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the first week of July at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. Open to horses age three and older, it is contested on dirt at a distance of one mile . A Grade III event, it offers a purse of...

    • Sapling Stakes
      Sapling Stakes
      The Sapling Stakes is an American Grade III Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early September at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey. Open to 2-year-olds, it is raced on dirt over a distance of six furlongs for a purse of $150,000....

    • Monmouth Stakes
      Monmouth Stakes
      The Monmouth Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race on turf at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. It took place for the first time on September 13, 2008...


  • Ungraded stakes
    • Colleen Stakes
      Colleen Stakes
      The Colleen Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the first part of August at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey...

    • Longfellow Stakes
      Longfellow Stakes
      The Longfellow Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run each year in early June at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. A six furlong sprint for either gender aged three and up, the ungraded Longfellow offers a purse of $70,000 and a trophy.The race, inaugurated in 1952,...

    • Miss Woodford Stakes
      Miss Woodford Stakes
      The Miss Woodford Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run each year in August at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey open to three-year-old fillies...

    • Jersey Derby
      Jersey Derby
      The Jersey Derby is a $100,000 American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in late July/early August at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. Since 1993 it has been raced on grass at a distance of 1 1/16 miles....

    • Lamplighter Stakes
      Lamplighter Stakes
      The Lamplighter Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the last week of May at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey...

    • Monmouth Beach Stakes
      Monmouth Beach Stakes
      The Monmouth Beach Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey.Raced near the end of May, it is open to fillies and mares, age three and older. It is contested on dirt at a distance of one mile and seventy yards. Weights are...

    • Regret Stakes
      Monmouth Regret Stakes
      The Regret Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. Raced in early August, it is open to fillies and mares, age three and older...

    • Rumson Stakes
      Rumson Stakes
      The Rumson Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. Open to three-year-olds, it is contested on dirt at a distance of six furlongs. It currently offers a purse of $70,000....

    • Tyro Stakes
      Tyro Stakes
      The Tyro Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually near the of July at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. A non-graded stakes race offering a purse of $65,000, it is open to two-year-old horses weighted at 122 pounds with allowances...


Breeders' Cup World Championships

On October 26 and 27, 2007, Monmouth Park hosted the Breeders' Cup
Breeders' Cup
The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Thoroughbred horse races, most but not all Grade I, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, it expanded to two days. The location...

 for the first time in its history.

The 2007 Event also marked the first time the event has been held over two days and also the creation of three new races held on Day 1 of the Championships.

Winners of Races:

Day 1

Filly & Mare Sprint-Maryfield

Juvenile Turf-Nownownow
Nownownow
Nownownow is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the inaugural running of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf in 2007....



Dirt Mile-Corinthian
Corinthian (horse)
Corinthian is an American Thoroughbred racehorse.He was purchased at the Fasig-Tipton 2004 Saratoga yearling sale for $385,000 by the Centennial Farms racing partnership led by Donald V. Little Sr...



Day 2

Juvenile Fillies-Indian Blessing
Indian Blessing
Indian Blessing is an American Champion Thoroughbred filly racehorse.Out of the mare Shameful, a descendant of the very influential sire Mr...



Juvenile-War Pass
War Pass
War Pass was an American champion Thoroughbred racehorse and winner of the 2007 Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Owned by Robert V. LaPenta and bred by Cherry Valley Farm, he was out of the mare Vue, a daughter of the influential Champion sire Mr. Prospector...



Filly & Mare Turf-Lahudood

Sprint-Midnight Lute
Midnight Lute
Midnight Lute is an American Thoroughbred stallion racehorse. He is owned by Michael E. Pegram and Watson and Weitman Performance, LLC, and was named for Lute Olson, the University of Arizona basketball coach....



Mile-Kip Deville
Kip Deville
Kip Deville was an American Thoroughbred racehorse whose most important win came at age four in the 2007 Breeders' Cup Mile. Bred in Oklahoma by Dr...



Distaff-Ginger Punch
Ginger Punch
Ginger Punch is an American Thoroughbred filly racehorse. Owned and bred by operations belonging to automotive parts magnate, Frank Stronach, she is out of the mare Nappelon and sired by the Canadian-bred Awesome Again, winner of his country's 1997 Queen's Plate and the 1998 Breeders' Cup Classic...



Turf-English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...



Classic-Curlin

The Classic was marred by a fatal injury suffered by George Washington, the 2006 European 3-year-old champion who had returned to training when his stud career was scuttled by fertility problems. He suffered a dislocated fracture of his right front ankle and was euthanized on the track.

Million Dollar Meet

In March 2010, it was announced that Monmouth Park would shorten its summer meet, conducting only 50 days of live racing (down from 141 total thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 days in the state) for a total of $50 million in purse money. This was done due to the recent monetary losses of the racetrack industry in New Jersey and will make it the most lucrative race meet in history, surpassing Saratoga Race Course
Saratoga Race Course
Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. It opened on August 3, 1863, and is the oldest organized sporting venue of any kind in the United States. It is typically open for racing from late July through early September.-History:John...

 in Saratoga Springs, NY. Monmouth Park will also host a 21-day fall meet featuring purses of approximately $250,000 per day.

External links

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