Meadowlands closed Wed.

With the New Jersey legislature still at an impasse over its budget, the Meadowlands has canceled its live racing program for Wednesday, July 5.

“Given the hour-to-hour nature of the negotiations, we will take each program day-by-day,” said vice president for racing operations Chris McErlean. “We are moving forward with the expectations of offering live racing on Thursday night and will make a decision early Thursday afternoon.”

The Wednesday cancellation applies to simulcasting as well. This week’s qualifiers will be drawn Wednesday but delayed until Friday, July 7 at 10 a.m.

The failure to finalize a 2007 fiscal year budget in Trenton has lead to the furlough of thousands of state employees and the shutdown of several industries dependent on monitoring by state regulators. In the instance of horse racing, the judges and stewards, the state veterinarians, the licensing and testing staffs and the mutuel auditor are all employed by the state and must be present when racing is conducted. The mutuel auditor is also required for simulcasting.

The Meadowlands had already lost one live racing program as well as simulcasting on the evening of Saturday, July 1. A court order reinstated racing and simulcasting in the state through Tuesday, July 4 to allow an orderly shutdown. (Meadowlands)

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