Horse Racing Out, Quickie Weddings In

The State of New Jersey is setting it self up to to replace the the $780 million that the horse racing industry contributes to the economy, including $115 million in tax revenue, by drawing tourists to the state for quickie weddings.

During his press conference in Trenton yesterday Governor Chris Christie said that Monmouth Park Racetrack would close unless the “completely untrustworthy,” “millionaire” thoroughbred horsemen offer the state acceptable terms to keep the track open within the next week.  

The deal to transfer Monmouth Park from state control to the management of developer and casino investor Morris Bailey apparently fell apart over the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association’s demand that they have the rights to a small number of racing days or receive $5 million for not getting those rights for which they had previously negotitated but the state  later didn’t want to give them.

Christie said, ““I am no longer going to permit millionaire horsemen to take money from waiters and waitresses and police officers and teachers or the taxpayers of this state to fund their industry,” according to The Asbury Park Press.

Those waiters and waitresses can serve food and drink to lovestruck tourists rushing to New Jersey for a quickie weddings.  Down the hall from Christie’s press conference, the Assembly Judiciary Committee was unanimously passing a bill that, if passed by the full Assembly, the Senate and signed by the Governor, will eliminate the 72-hour waiting period for marriage licenses.

The police can take domestic dispute calls involving those tourists who come back to New Jersey within 30 days for the no questions asked annulments that the bill allows.   The teachers can educate the offspring of those marriages, annulled or not, that stay in New Jersey and are not aborted.

The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Louis Greenwald, D-Norcross, is designed to give New Jersey a competitive edge over neighboring states in attracting couples who want to get married immediately.

A bill to allow Atlantic City casinos to accept bets on the success or failure of new marriages has not been introduced yet.

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Monmouth Park Privatization Deal Unraveling

Monmouth Park is in jeopardy of closing  due to a dispute over the licensing of thoroughbred races at the Meadowlands, according to a report in The Star Ledger.

The New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Associated successfully negotiated for the rights to the Meadowlands races on June 21.   Now the investor slated to take over the Meadowlands track, Jeffrey Gural, wants the rights back because he didn’t realize he was giving up proceeds of off-track wagering on the races.  Evidently, the Christie administration is siding with Gural and is refusing to issue the license to the horsemen.

The Meadowlands license impacts Monmouth Park because races licensed for the Meadowlands are frequently transferred to Monmouth.

As a result of the dispute, Morris Baily, the investor slated to take over Monmouth Park from the state, says he wants out of the deal, according to the Ledger.

The parties would have a lot more money to fight over, while keeping the tracks open, if  slots were permitted at the racetracks, as they are in a growing number of tracks throughout the region.

Assemblyman Ronald Dancer has introduced two pieces of legislation that would permit slots at racetracks.

A-4294 directs the Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), in consultation with the New Jersey Racing Commission, to implement and oversee slot machine gambling operations at horse racing venues.

ACR-209 is a resolution proposing a constitutional amendment that gives the Legislature the authority to establish slot machine gambling at racetracks. If approved by voters, the specific restrictions and control of operations of slot machines, as well as the use of the State’s share of revenues derived from the machines, would be provided by law.

“Both proposals represent an incentive for the major stakeholders in this issue – the casino and horse racing industries – to come together and work out a fair and mutually beneficial agreement. Allowing slot machines at racetracks will generate revenues that will help both industries,” said Dancer. “One industry’s success does not have to be at the expense of the other. Permitting slot machines at racing venues will preserve and enhance both.

“One unique aspect of these bills is that the DGE will consult with the Racing Commission in overseeing the operation of slot machines, without the involvement of the New Jersey Lottery Commission which exists currently,” explained Dancer. “As a result, the proceeds from expanding slots at the racetracks would not be diluted to another commission, but distributed to the industries for which they are intended.

I am open to either approach in deciding this issue. We can allow the voters to determine if amending New Jersey’s Constitution is appropriate or work through the legislative process,” commented Dancer. “The casino and horse racing industries are important parts of our state’s economy. I am confident we can reach a reasonable solution as to how we can capitalize on the market potential slot machines at racetracks will produce.”

Dancer pointed out the benefits New Jersey’s horse racing industry provides to the state, including jobs, tax revenue and preserving open space. According to the Rutgers Equine Center, horse racing employs over 7,000 workers and contributes nearly $800 million to the state’s economy. Further, 34,000 acres of the state’s 176,000 farmland acres are attributable to the horse racing industry.

Unfortunately, Dancer’s legislation has little chance of becoming law, as Governor Chris Christie and Senate President Steve Sweeney are opposed to allowing slots in New Jersey anywhere outside of Atlantic City.

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$500 Million In State Revenues Projected From New Racino

New York State, that is.

A new “racino” with only electronic gambling is set to open next month at Aqueduct Racetrack in Jamaica, NY.  The facility is expected to generate $10 billion in annual betting, $500 million in annual revenue to the State of New York, and 1300 jobs.  The $10 billion bet at Aqueduct will top the $7 billion annual handle at the Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway.

So says today’s New York Post.

The Meadowlands Racetrack is closer to Mid-town Manhattan than Jamaica or Yonkers.

Would someone tell me again why New Jersey is leaving all of that money “on the table?”

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Suckers Bet or Sure Thing? Give The Meadowlands A Slot

By Joe Irace, Oceanport Councilman

The latest Atlantic City Rescue Plan by the State of New Jersey for all intents and purposes,  ensures a slow and painful death by a thousand cuts to New Jersey’s horse racing industry all so that our elected officials in Trenton are both blinded and mesmerized by the bright shiny lights of Atlantic City.  The political machine is fond of trumpeting the tired old canard that New Jersey’s racing industry is dying.  They tell this big lie over and over again in the hope that by sheer repetition it will become the truth, all the while purposely ignoring the politically inconvenient fact that Atlantic City’s gambling industry is not dying, but is actually dead and has been so for quite some time. 

This proposed plan ignores the most obvious socially and fiscally responsible solution: allowing for the installation of video lottery terminals, slot machines or a gaming casino at the Meadowlands. 

Why does the State continue to ignore this solution?  Because a great number of our unelected officials, entrenched bureaucrats and political power brokers in Trenton, rather than deal with the realities attendant to the success of the introduction of video lottery terminals or casinos at racetracks in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New York, have decided that the State of New Jersey is going to get into the business of subsidizing the failed business model that is Atlantic City.  Some of the most shrewd and brilliant businessmen in the world couldn’t sustain the Atlantic City business model, yet Trenton’s powers that be are supremely confident that they are up to the task, the rest of the State of New Jersey be damned. And, quite frankly, why shouldn’t they be confident what with the tremendous success they’ve had over the past two decades with the revitalization of Camden, Newark and Paterson, the Xanadu Project, the School Construction Corporation,  Abbott Districts, pension funding, budget balancing and the recent Race to the Top Application?

As evidenced by the success of gaming sites in Connecticut, Delaware, New York and Pennsylvania, the residents of the tri-state area are more than willing to forego the bucolic vistas offered by a ride down the N.J. Turnpike and Garden State Parkway and the urban “charm” of Atlantic City in favor of more convenient gambling venues. Notwithstanding the fact that the two most interested parties, the horsemen and the general public, are clamoring for a casino at the Meadowlands facility, the State dismisses the idea out of hand in favor of a proposal that provides neither party with what it wants.

 Two reports by Christiansen Capital Advisors, commissioned by the New Jersey Department of Treasury, recommended the installation of slot machines at the Meadowlands. The reports stated that 5,000 machines at the Meadowlands would produce $750 million annually and that 10,000 machines would produce $1.5 billion annually. The same study suggested that 2,100 slots at the Meadowlands would reduce Atlantic City gross gaming revenue by .01 percent. 

Senator Sean Kean recently said on the New Jersey Senate floor “if it (a Racino at the Meadowlands) were put to a vote we’d probably get a majority, if not a super-majority (in support), to save horse racing in the state of New Jersey.”  Despite the overwhelming financial benefits flowing from such an arrangement, Trenton summarily dismisses the installation of Video Lottery Terminals, slot machines or a gaming casino in the Meadowlands in what can only be interpreted as a yet another deferential bow to Atlantic City’s political power brokers.

Given the fact that over the past decade or so New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Delaware have destroyed Atlantic City’s monopoly on East Coast gaming, one would think that our friends in Trenton would have enough sense to fight fire with fire and move quickly towards the racino business model.  Unless, of course, maybe our Atlantic City-centric friends from Trenton don’t want to move quickly because if they wait long enough for the racing industry to finally die, then they won’t have to share profits with anybody.  How much would you like to wager that, after years of categorically denying the financial benefits of allowing gambling outside of Atlantic City, our friends in Trenton will have a sudden about face on the issue once the horsemen have been forced from the Meadowlands?

Trenton refuses to acknowledge the viability of the racino model and, instead, continues to dump on our horse racing industry and the 7,000 jobs, $110 million in federal, state and local taxes, and 57,000 acres of working agricultural landscape which come along with it. Racinos around the country employ nearly 30,000 people. Bringing racinos to New Jersey will create thousands of new jobs. Additionally, it will solidify many jobs that may be in danger of leaving our state in favor of states that have already authorized racino legsilation. Racinos are a proven model that states around the country are turning to for gaming. Twelve states have already implemented racinos and many more are debating proposals to allow them in the near future. In 2009, racinos around the country generated $2.6 billion dollars in tax revenue for state and local governments. Additionally, they strengthen the state’s agricultural industry. Racinos allow existing racetracks to grow their purses, spurring new investments in breeding racehorse ownership throughout the state. Additional racehorses will create more jobs and improve the overall economic impact. As Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York and the nine other racino states can attest – racinos improve the rural economy.  But the health and well being of our state’s rural economy does not seem to be of paramount importance to the movers and shakers in Trenton.  Why should they spend a few million dollars to shore up and promote a proven, historically viable and stable commodity like horseracing, when instead they can throw HUNDREDS of millions of taxpayer money at a financial and social corpse like Atlantic City?

Racinos are a sure thing.  Rushing with reckless financial abandon into the resurrection of Atlantic City is a sucker’s bet.  Sure thing. Sucker’s bet. Sure thing. Suckers bet.  Which one will our friends in Trenton take? If left to their own devices, I think we all know that our friends in Trenton will take the sucker’s bet every time.  And since our friends in Trenton will be spending our tax dollars trying to raise the corpse that is Atlantic City and its gaming industry, we, the taxpayers, are the suckers. And we really are suckers if we let them do this without giving them a fight. I say that we bring the fight to them. Let’s do everything we can to get this matter to a vote of the New Jersey Legislature as soon as possible!

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Oceanport Officials Hail Monmouth Park Deal, Reiterate Call For Gaming In Meadowlands

The Monmouth Park Task Force is pleased the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority has reached an agreement with developer and entrepreneur Morris Bailey for a five-year private lease to operate Monmouth Park Racetrack in the Borough of Oceanport. The NJSEA expects to turn over track operations to the private operator by June 1, 2011.

“Governor Christie’s announcement of the agreement comes with the approach of Opening Day on May 14^th.  Monmouth Park Racetrack is poised to return to its place as the premier location for thoroughbred horse racing. We look forward to Mr. Bailey’s plans for revitalizing the facility and capitalizing on the OTW’s. I look forward to seeing Monmouth Park under his management.” ‘ Said Mayor Michael J. Mahon, Task Force ChairmanThe Oceanport Task Force on Monmouth Park has been hoping a lessee would step forward who would be committed to maintain Monmouth Park as a racetrack and would be willing to forge a partnership with the Thoroughbred Horsemen to bring the industry to sustainability. This is critical for the Borough as we look to preserve jobs, protect the environment, maintain open space and preserve this historic centerpiece of horse racing in Monmouth County and the Jersey Shore.” Said Mayor Michael J. Mahon

“The Oceanport Task Force on Monmouth Park has continued to maintain the position that VLT’s, slot machines, or an all out gaming casino in the Meadowlands is the only way to protect horse racing in New Jersey. All the surrounding states of New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland now have some form of gaming at their race tracks.

“This uneven Playing field enables our competitors to lure New Jersey horseman out of State with larger purses and better quality horse racing.” said Task Force member and Councilman Joe Irace. “This will continue to challenge the industry as Mr. Gural takes the reins at the Meadowlands and Mr. Bailey begins operations here at Monmouth Park Racetrack. The Borough of Oceanport  will continue its long standing relationship with Monmouth Park and welcomes Morris Bailey to our community.”         

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Putting Taxpayers First, Governor Christie Announces Agreements to Continue Live Racing at the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park Without Purse Subsidies

Trenton, NJ – Making good on his commitment to put the horse racing industry on a self-sustaining path, Governor Chris Christie announced tonight that live racing at the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park will continue throughout 2011 and beyond.   Beginning on June 1, both tracks will be in the hands of private-sector operators who, according to an agreement in principle, will assume the costs associated with running live racing at those venues.  The private operators will also be responsible for all simulcast wagering at the tracks, the operation and future development of off-track wagering facilities and the continued operation of the State’s account wagering system.

“I was determined to bring this deal home,” Governor Christie said.  “There are many beneficiaries: We’re saving a New Jersey tradition with the continuation of live horse racing at the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park; we are saving and creating jobs; and we are helping to preserve New Jersey farmland and a way of life for many people, from horse farm owners and employees, to jockeys to racing enthusiasts.  I want to thank all involved, from staff in the Governor’s Counsel’s Office, to the executive staff of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, to Mr. Gural and Mr. Bailey, as well as representatives of the thoroughbred and standardbred horsemen.”

“First, I want to thank Governor Christie and his staff for all their hard work on something I initially thought was impossible,” said Jeff Gural, the New York investor and developer who will assume control of and redevelop the Meadowland Racetrack.  “The deal that we’ve reached together will be good for the taxpayers, good for horse racing and great for the Meadowlands. I look forward to returning the Meadowlands to its former glory and pre-eminent position in horse racing in the United States.”

“I’m excited by the fact that we are completing a transaction that will bring about a new era for horse racing in New Jersey and Monmouth Park,” said Mr. Bailey.  “I want to thank all of the parties involved, especially Governor Christie and his staff and the thoroughbred horsemen, for working so diligently to meet the challenges we confronted.  With what we are accomplishing, we are creating one of the premiere race tracks in the country that will provide an attractive and exciting atmosphere to appeal to established horse racing fans and, I believe, the broader public.”

Since December of last year, the NJSEA has been negotiating with Mr. Gural over the lease of the Meadowlands Racetrack. Mr. Gural will assume all operations at the track beginning on June 1.  He has successfully re-negotiated labor contracts with track employees and has taken steps toward the development of an off-track wagering facility in Bayonne.  He has also worked with the harness racing industry on a reduced slate of racing days for 2011.  In addition, Mr. Gural plans to invest more than $90 million through the construction of a new grandstand at the Meadowlands and the development of an Off Track Wagering facility in Bayonne.  These investments will create construction jobs for the State as well as permanent employment opportunities for New Jerseyans.

In April, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority selected Morris Bailey as the winning bidder of an Request for Proposals for the lease of Monmouth Park.  Mr. Bailey will assume track operations at Monmouth Park on June 1 as well.  The thoroughbreds will also run a reduced slate of racing days for 2011, similar to the 2010 racing schedule.  Mr. Bailey will also take over the operation of the OTW site in Woodbridge and will work with Mr. Gural on the development of future OTW’s.

Mr. Gural and Mr. Bailey are successful real estate executives with proven track records in the gaming industry.  Both are also horse racing aficionados who are committed to reversing the decline of the industry.

Taken together, these deals will put the New Jersey horse racing industry on the path of self-sufficiency and, as a result, save New Jersey taxpayers millions of dollars annually and end the racing industry’s reliance on purse subsidies.  Both private operators will pay property taxes and Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT payments) as required by law.

With today’s action, the Governor has demonstrated his continued commitment to ensuring the preservation of live horse racing in New Jersey.  The agreements reached today are subject to the execution of formal contracts, formal board approvals and other regulatory approvals.  In addition to today’s developments, Governor Christie has taken many other steps this year to provide the racing industry with the tools it needs to become a vibrant, self-sustaining industry. 

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One Meadowlands Racetrack Union Imperils Deal to Save Standardbred Racing

Trenton, NJ – Governor Chris Christie today called Thursday’s inaction by the union representing the mutuel clerks at Meadowlands Racetrack on a proposal from prospective track operator Jeff Gural a potentially fatal obstacle to continuing racing operations at the East Rutherford facility.

In the face of unsustainable racetrack losses, and the recognition that jobs and livelihoods could nonetheless be saved, substantial progress had been made to save standardbred racing in negotiations with Mr. Gural. That progress included the overwhelming acceptance by another racetrack union of new contract provisions.  

Said Governor Christie: “Apparently, one group has decided on its own to put at risk the livelihoods of many others. We were patient and accommodating, but these deadlines for achieving self-sustaining horse racing are very real.  This is an unfortunate outcome to say the least.” 

The failure of Local 137 to vote will trigger the following consequences, which Local 137 was keenly aware would occur: Live racing at the Meadowlands Racetrack will not resume on May 7 as previously scheduled. Meadowlands simulcasting will cease as of May 12. Racetrack employees were issued notices March 8 of potential layoffs as required by law, and absent a vote by Local 137, those layoffs will commence on May 12, the first date for which the legal cessation of all operations at the racetrack can now occur.

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Oceanport Task Force Comments on Decision to Seek Requests for Proposals for the Private Operation of Monmouth Park Racetrack

The Governor’s announcement today that the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority would issue, in the near future, a Request for Proposals for the lease of Monmouth Park, including assignment of additional off-track wagering operations, comes as no surprise to the Oceanport Task Force. Any operating lease must protect the Borough’s tax payment as this small community of 6,000 works diligently to overcome the approaching closure of Fort Monmouth (September 2011); reinvents local government in response to the Governor’s 2% cap law; and works cooperatively with its largest taxpayer, Monmouth Park.

We believe the Borough and the Thoroughbred Horsemen have similar goals for Monmouth Park and that both have much at risk as the transition takes shape for horse racing. Horse racing is an important and vital cog not only Oceanport’s economy and the economy of Monmouth County, but for the entire State of New Jersey.  Horse racing contributes 7,000 jobs, $110 million in federal, state and local taxes, and 57,000 acres of working agricultural landscape and open space to our “Garden State”.  

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Governor Christie Moves Horse Racing Closer to a Self-Sustaining Model with Legislation to Expedite Off Track Wagering

Trenton, NJ – Governor Chris Christie today moved forward with his commitment to making horse racing in New Jersey a self-sustaining industry by signing legislation to expedite the establishment of off-track wagering facilities in New Jersey. Another step forward comes early next week, when the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority will issue a request for proposals to bring a long-term solution to Monmouth Park through private operation. 

On December 17, 2010, Governor Christie announced a break-through agreement to end public subsidies of operations and purses for Standardbred racing at the Meadowlands Racetrack through the lease of that facility to the Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association (SBOA). Governor Christie is looking forward to similar progress with Monmouth Park and Thoroughbred racing there with the RFP for a private operator. 

“We were successful in the Meadowlands, and we can do the same for Monmouth Park to the benefit of New Jersey taxpayers,” Governor Christie said.  “I want to see a vibrant but self-sustaining horse racing industry in New Jersey, but that can be accomplished without tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies every year.” 

Assembly Bill 1705, which Governor Christie conditionally vetoed on January 31 and the Legislature subsequently amended to include the Governor’s recommended changes, removes barriers to the establishment of OTWs by permitting persons other than racetrack operators to run OTW facilities, making OTWs a permitted use in all municipal land use zones, and increasing the accessibility to liquor licenses for OTW operators. 

Despite enactment of an original OTW law nearly a decade ago, only three of the 15 facilities allowed by law were established. Governor Christie’s conditional veto was necessary to preserve the NJSEA’s ability to transfer licenses in connection with the sale or lease of the state’s racetracks.  It also eliminated a 1 percent fee on OTW operators, but expressly noted that the Administration will work with the Legislature to find an alternative source of revenue for OTW host municipalities

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Oceanport Task Force Comments on Legislation Aimed at Horseracing and the Future of Monmouth Park Racetrack

Press Release

We appreciate the efforts of the Legislature and in particular the Monmouth County delegation, on behalf of protecting horse racing.

Horse racing is an important and vital cog in not only Oceanport’s economy and the economy of Monmouth County but the entire State of New Jersey as well.  Horse racing contributes 7,000 jobs, $110 million in federal, state and local taxes, and 57,000 acres of working agricultural landscape and open space to our “Garden State.”  

Our own Oceanport Task Force on Monmouth Park has continued to maintain the position that VLT’s, slot machines, or an all out gaming casino in the Meadowlands is the only way to protect horse racing in New Jersey. All the surrounding states of New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland now have some form of gaming at their race tracks. This uneven playing field enables our competitors to lure New Jersey horseman out of State with larger purses and better quality horse racing.  

In addition to A-2926 authorizing “exchange wagering,” and the enactment of S-2229 to permit racetrack permit holders to provide a single pari-mutuel pool for every horse race; We applaud the Governor’s signing of the bipartisan bill, S-11, approved in the New Jersey Senate and Assembly, that would enable horse racing to not only survive, but to thrive.  The bill includes a $ 30 million allocation to horse racing, to be phased over a 3 year period; $15 million in 2011, $10 million in 2012 and $5 million in 2013.

Last year Monmouth Park’s “Elite Summer Meet” raced 71 days. Purses almost tripled-about $20 million came from a now expired casino purse supplement-and total pari-mutuel handle increased $123 million on the year. This was a significant return on the investment made toward the purses. As of Jan. 24 no action had been taken on the status of Monmouth Park’s 2011 racing schedule. By law, the New Jersey Racing Commission awarded Monmouth 141 Thoroughbred dates.

The Governor’s announcement this week that the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority would issue in the near future a Request for Proposals for the sale of Monmouth Park, including assignment of additional off-track wagering operations comes as no surprise to the Oceanport Task Force. Representatives have maintained an open dialogue with the Hanson Commission, the NJSEA, the Thoroughbred Horsemen and others that will likely play a key role in preserving horseracing at Monmouth Park. 

The Oceanport Task Force on Monmouth Park

Chair  Michael J. Mahon, Mayor   Co.-Chair Gerald Briscione, Former Council Member

Sen. John O. Bennett

Sen. S. Thomas Gagliano

Hon. Caroline Casagrande, Assemblywoman

Hon. Lillian Burry, Freeholder

Hon. Clem Sommers, Former Mayor & Freeholder

Hon. Joseph Irace, Council Member

Mr. Peter Geronimo, IBEW 400 Business Manager

Mr. Alfred DeSantis, Public Member

Mr. David Gruskos, Owner and Member NJTHA

Mr. Bernard Dowd, Veterinarian and Member NJTHA

Mr. Bert Lynch, Public Member

Mr. Joseph Marinaro, Public Member

Mr. James Ryerson, Trainer and Member NJTHA

Mr. Robert Kelly, Public Member

Mr. William Finley, Turf Writer

Mr. Thomas Galligan, Public Member

Contributing:

Mr. Dennis Dowd, Former NJSEA and Monmouth Park Race Official

Mr. Jerold Zaro, Former NJSEA Commissioner

Mr. John Forbes, President NJ Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association

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