Keeping Pace: Maybe Freehold Raceway isn’t immortal after all

I have the fondest memory of Freehold Raceway in New Jersey. My son and I went to see our filly in a Sire Stakes race almost 17 years ago and the filly, Wild Ride Hanover, won. My son was eight. It was his first live race. And it was a close one, right down to the wire. Sam figured out that we had won before I did. The photo I have of the two of us in the winner’s circle is a treasured heirloom for a family that lives about 1,500 miles away from the nearest harness track. Our horses have raced many times there since 2007– we’ve even won a few more stakes races at Freehold – but I have not been back since.

Soon, I may not have the opportunity. Soon, another important part of the history of horse racing in the U.S. may fade into memory. It survived a great fire. It survived the loss of purse subsidies for many years. It survived the Civil War. It survived thousands of bad horses, dubious drives and famous race calls. But Freehold Raceway may not be immortal after all. Operated in some form or fashion since the 1830s, or at least the 1850s, the track is set to close at the end of the year, another victim of a challenging industry, slow-moving legislators, and owners who were, in the end, unable or unwilling to justify spending the many millions it would take to make the historic half-mile track in Monmouth County a viable enterprise into its third century.

“This was an extremely difficult decision, especially given the historical importance of Freehold Raceway to the local community and the New Jersey horse racing industry,” said the track’s general manager, Howard Bruno, in a prepared statement. “Unfortunately, the operations of the racetrack cannot continue under existing conditions, and we do not see a plausible way forward. We are incredibly thankful for our dedicated employees, horsemen and fan base for their support and patronage for so many years.”

I reached out to Chris McErlean, an executive at Penn Entertainment, for comment. He declined. McErlean has long ties to the harness world and he is currently a director of the United States Trotting Association. It didn’t seem to help.

The Standardbred Owners Association of New Jersey, the local horsemen’s group, was naturally disappointed. They could not have been surprised. “The SBOANJ has been working extensively with Freehold Raceway’s general management for the last few years to rectify the establishment’s existing conditions, unfortunately to no avail. We will continue to work with Freehold and the New Jersey Racing Commission as advocates to the horsemen/women on all closure issues,” the SBOANJ said in a written statement. Members of the group say they will meet with state regulators on Tuesday to discuss the track’s plan to close.

Tuesday is going to be a big day, I think, in shaping where this story goes from here. There will be more than one important meeting. I hope that the SBOANJ (of which I am a member), now takes an aggressive approach to this problem. I hope there is something the horsemen’s group and local officials can do, legally or politically, to explore ways to resuscitate Freehold as a racetrack. I hope that someone courageous and creative in New Jersey can take charge and figure out a way to make a historic venue a going concern. I hope that all of these efforts aren’t too late. But mostly I hope we find out why the track’s owners are bailing now.

To read the full story, click here.

by Andrew Cohen, republished from the Paulick Report