Meadowlands may be racing only Standardbreds

It appears that there will only be Standardbred racing at the Meadowlands in 2010 under an agreement reached Monday night between New Jersey officials and the racing industry. The agreement calls for the elimination of Thoroughbred racing at that track and raced solely at Monmouth Park, which will offer purses of about $1 million per day.

 

The agreement calls for more harness racing at the Meadowlands, although it does not specify exact dates. Financial support will also come from the Big M to help the new Monmouth Park schedule, which will also be allowed to use $2.27 million in unpaid purses from 2009 toward 2010 purses.

 

Before any changes are enacted, the agreement must still be approved by the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority board of directors, and the legislature must approve the reduction of race dates.