On Tuesday (Aug. 28), New Jersey Senator Vin Gopal and Assemblyman John Burzichelli announced that he is planning on introducing a piece of legislation that calls for $20 million from the state’s general fund to be directed towards the New Jersey Racing Commission. The funds would be earmarked for purses and breeding awards.
According to an article by njbiz.com, the funds would be split between the state’s Thoroughbred and Standardbred industries.
The article states that when it comes to the monies that would be earmarked for the Thoroughbred industry, 100 per cent of those funds would be directed to overnight purses at Monmouth Park.
The njbiz.com item also states that the piece of legislation – proposed Senate Bill 2312 – would call for Standardbred overnight purses at the Meadowlands Racetrack to receive 60 per cent of the Standardbred funds. Freehold Raceway would receive 16 per cent of the Standardbred cut for its overnight purses. The New Jersey Sire Stakes would receive 12 per cent of the funds. Six per cent of the monies would be set earmarked for New Jersey-sired Standardbreds, and the final six per cent would be for Standardbred breeders awards.
The article has quoted Sen. Gopal as saying, “Monmouth Park has struggled since losing a $17 million annual payment from the state’s casino industry to supplement purses in 2011, while the Thoroughbred industry has been unable to keep pace with tracks in neighboring states with purse structures bolstered by casino dollars. We cannot allow venues like Monmouth Park to falter.”
(With files from njbiz.com)