Trainer Greg Sacco, a New Jersey resident, was first on the grounds at Monmouth Park as the backside opened Friday for the 2018 meeting.
Multiple graded stakes winner Irish War Cry has been named the New Jersey-bred Horse of the Year by the state’s breeders’ group.
Among the biggest changes to the stakes schedule at Monmouth in 2018 will be the track’s five event days, each anchored by at least two graded stakes.
Monmouth Park will sweeten the financial pot for owners and trainers this year to increase field size, as well as opening on Kentucky Derby day.
Monmouth Park folks are hopeful that sports betting will save the grand track — but some trainers say they can’t wait and are moving their operations.
Monmouth Park will race 52 days in 2018 — up from 50 this year — and an additional six all-turf cards will take place at the Meadowlands.
It was a solid meet for the Big M as the all-turf Monmouth-at-Meadowlands meet showed solid wagering gains this year.
Trainer Tim Hills needs one win to reach 2000 in his career — a mark, he says with a laugh, not of skill or fortune, but of his longevity.
Bob Kulina, a New Jersey racing fixture for decades, will retire effective the end of 2017, the track announced.
The all-turf meet at the Meadowlands will, because of early success, expand to eight races per day, up from six.