From a Monmouth Park release
Beginning with the Friday, August 8 card, Monmouth Park will reduce overnight purses by 10 percent. In addition, Monmouth Park has requested the New Jersey Racing Commission approve a shift in all-turf Meadowlands dates, which would extend the New Jersey racing season until November 1.
Monmouth becomes the second mid-Atlantic track to reduce purses in recent weeks. Delaware Park previously had announced that it would reduce purses for its higher level races only for the duration of the meet.
“We’ve been enjoying a solid meet thus far,” said Bob Kulina, president of Darby Development LLC, operators of Monmouth Park. “The racing quality has certainly been there and because of that, races with higher purses have been used more often; hence, the shortfall.
“Furthermore, we’ve run more races this year than last, which has cut into the purse account leaving us with no other option than to make this change.”
Monmouth Park has also submitted a request to the New Jersey Racing Commission to move the four all-turf days at the Meadowlands currently scheduled in September and run them on October 24 and 25, as well as Breeders’ Cup Friday and Saturday, October 31 and November 1.
Assuming the change is approved, live Thoroughbred racing in Oceanport will continue through Sunday, September 28, with September’s racing on a two-day-a-week schedule. Racing will then switch to the Meadowlands, which would run 14 days of all-turf racing through November 1.
