Jon Hanson, advisor to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and architect of the controversial ‘Hanson Report,’ has commented on the actions Gov. Christie has taken so far in regard to the state’s casino and horse racing
industry.
An article by northjersey.com quotes Hanson as saying that he feels good “about the fact that the recommendations in the report to the governor are basically being implemented."
In November of 2010, the second of Hanson’s reports concluded that the State of New Jersey cannot support two state-run tracks, and that the state should turn the Meadowlands into an off-track facility. He also concluded that live racing at the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park should be consolidated at Monmouth. He suggested that the Meadowlands should only maintain a six-day ‘super standardbred meet’ in August to maintain the heritage of the Hambletonian. He also suggested that both the Meadowlands and Monmouth should also be sold to the private sector.
The northjersey.com article which contains Hanson’ most recent quotes explains that some horsepeople in the state are unsure of whether or not the racing industry will actually see some of the subsidy funding which was recently signed into law. The funds are to flow to the racing industry from the casino industry.
The article cites Senator Jennifer Beck as saying that the subsidy bill Christie has signed would give the governor "discretion as to whether the money will be utilized, and we hope that it will be."
"I would be extremely disappointed if [the subsidies] did not happen, because we worked with the administration on this, and we need to make that commitment to the horse racing industry," Senate President Stephen Sweeney was quoted as saying.
(With files from northjersey.com)
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