Gural on Towers’ column about amateur races at The Big M

RE: Amateur races at The Meadowlands need a tweak or two

I don’t know why Dean thinks that we are enamored of having amateur races at The Meadowlands. We recognize that the amateurs have a place in the sport, but everyone should understand we are competing for horses with Yonkers, Chester and Pocono.

Yonkers receives a subsidy of $50 million from slots, the two Pennsylvania tracks receive $30 million, while here in New Jersey we only receive $6 million. Not only that, but last year we took $6.7 million from the purse account in order to fund our stakes program.

Without the amateur races we would only be able to card 11 or 12 races each night which would have a negative impact on our bottom line. If you look at the handle, the public seems to enjoy betting on the amateurs and for the most part, they offer full fields and a competitive product.

I just hope everyone understands the reason we have so many amateur races. It has everything to do with the fact that the subsidy we receive is minimal compared to our competitors.

One other thing everyone should be aware of now that we have established a good relationship with NYRA and we are getting more and more of our races on Fox Sports. Because of the opposition of the SOANY, it is illegal for NYRA Bets to take wagers on any out-of-state harness track. We believe that while that law may have made sense years ago, it no longer makes sense and the horsemen in New York should realize that NYRA would pay them a portion of every wager made on an out of state harness track using NYRA bets. Hopefully the SOA will reconsider as it is costing the horsemen money, especially now that we have such a good working relationship with NYRA.

Jeff Gural / owner The Meadowlands

Amateur driver Joe Lee responds to Towers

After reading Dean Towers’ column on Monday July 24, 2023 about amateur racing at The Meadowlands, I felt compelled to give you an opinion from the other side — the amateur side.

In a sport where there are not many bright spots these days, and more negative energy than positive stories, amateur racing has become a part of the regular card for many pari-mutuel tracks. The Meadowlands has led the way and there are weekly races at Monticello, Pocono Downs, Chester, Ocean Downs, Freehold, Northfield, Tioga, Plainridge, and more. Why is that? I believe it is multi-faceted.

First, many of the horses that are being driven by the amateurs are owned by the amateur driver and so that definitely helps business all around. It gives trainers horses in their barn and it gives tracks a bigger horse population that is increasingly becoming a concern.

Secondly, handle, handle, handle. Amateur racing has been well received by the betting public. In Dean’s piece, he says that “The Meadowlands is the number one track in the world for bettors” and that if the amateurs were not part of the betting card that “Serious bettors would be able to fire on the serial bets with no amateur races and it should restore some order to those important pools.”

Maybe it should be brought to Dean’s attention that the handle week in and week out on the amateur races is sometimes the highest on the card.

About two months ago, one amateur race had $92,000 in the exacta pool and there wasn’t another race on the card that had $75,000 in the corresponding pool.

Full fields are another place that the amateurs provide value. Oftentimes, the amateur races are the majority of the full fields on the card. I think the bettors like betting on full fields on the mile track and this past weekend on Friday [July 21] there were four full fields in 14 carded races of which the amateurs were three of them.

I don’t see the heavy bettors being hampered at all or sitting on the sidelines waiting for the amateur races to be over and suddenly increasing their wagers on non-amateur smaller fields. If anything, you could make the case that they are hoping the amateurs provide unpredictable horses to win creating longer odds winners across the horizontal wager types, increasing the overall payouts of those beloved pick 4’s and 5’s. A serious bettor is putting more into the race than the $2 bettor and I’m sure love when the 6-5 favorite or second choice is nowhere to be found in the amateur race because they spread more on their ticket. With the prices you see in amateur racing, why wouldn’t you spread four or five deep in those legs if you’re a serious bettor because you are covering more than the casual bettor, therefore increasing your payout if you hit it.

Dean suggested that “the four amateur races a week should be raced in races 1 through 4 on Fridays. This would remove them from the first Pick-5.” As far as I know, the first Pick 5 every Friday are races 1 through 5 which would mean that now the Pick 5 would consist of four amateur races instead of two.

Dean is very concerned about the “serious bettor,” yet didn’t seem at all concerned for them when on Fridays this time of year they are forced to bet on 2-year-old pacers and trotters that have no history of going behind the gate and are extremely green and break etc. At this point you’re betting bloodline, and trainers, I guess.

Just a couple of weeks ago, all but two races on Friday night were 2-year-olds, the majority of whom never have been in a pari-mutuel race. Furthermore, this Friday night (July 28) once again featured 10 baby races, many of which are short fields. I doubt the serious bettor loved the fourth race on the evening, where there were seven horses, four of which are trained by one trainer, and two by another.

Another item Dean brought to light was that “The amateur races sometimes don’t look like harness racing at all. They’re a parking ticket free-for-all.” I laughed when I read this, one because he acknowledges that The Meadowlands wants there to be no “courtesy tucks” and admits that single file racing in the pro race is “never preferred” but yet doesn’t like the parking that goes on. You can’t have it both ways.

I also laughed because I can think of so many races that I’ve watched and or bet on where the horse I bet got parked the mile, or put in a bad spot etc. Just off the top of my head, the 2007 Breeders Crown for 3YO colts and Geldings going for $555,000 you had Tell All and Always A Virgin both at 8-5 with only two other horses in the field of 10 below 10-1. Always A Virgin ended up parking out Tell All in :53.2 to the half and they came home in :57.4 going for over half-a-million dollars with the best drivers on the planet in the race. Needless to say, they were both nowhere to be found.

More recently, the 2023 Mistletoe Shalee that was just was contested a couple of weekends ago found Bob McClure and Sylvia Hanover the 1-2 favorite parked out the entire mile, and hung so badly heading to the half that David Miller went three wide with My Little Captain at 35-1 before the half mile pole and Yannick Gingras was three wide at the half with Strong Poison. As it turned out, Sylvia Hanover really dug in and overcame that tough trip and prevailed. Getting hung and sometimes things not working out is part of racing, but I haven’t seen Dean or anyone else writing about these trips when you see them out there on the track.

I think the amateurs are under the microscope a bit more, which is fine, but tough trips happen quite often in pro races too.

One more issue that I would like to address in the piece I read on Monday was that amateurs lay down halves in 55 seconds and there was concern for the well-being of the horses, especially the older ones. First, if a horse is repeatedly causing trouble, or acting badly out on the track, the race office and the amateur club will tell the trainer that they are not accepting the entry on that horse any longer.

The class for the MADC 1 is basically NW4500 going for $12,500. Two of the three races on Friday went between 1:55-1:56 and one field went in 1:52 and change. That same class in a pro race went 1:50:4 Friday and on Saturday and the NW2000 going for $4,000 less went in 1:52. The amateur races have always gone a bit softer than the overnight races and I get calls from trainers all the time asking me to drive their horse because they have been finishing fifth and sixth in overnight races and now they can go in the same class for the same money and be first or second without having to race as hard. I will admit that the amateur races are not always rated evenly but they aren’t as bad as you think either. Just this past weekend, I won with Skyway Billy in 1:52 off a half in 55:2. I came home in 56:3, not terrible, or uncommon.

Amateur racing, while at times unconventional compared to what some racing fans may be used to watching, is an overwhelming positive for the sport and industry. Long gone are the days of full grandstands and many attempts to increase the sport’s popularity and handle have been pursued to no avail. However, amateurs have purchased horses, created group syndicates of new owners, gotten trainers involved for their owners, bring people to the track, regularly purchase win photos from the track photographers, promote the sport, assist in regularly filling race cards for tracks with struggling horse populations, and have increased the dollars that flow through the betting windows.

The Meadowlands being the Mecca of Harness Racing should be applauded for doing something different in a sport where not much else has worked in the last 30 years. Jeff Gural and Jason Settlemoir’s generosity toward the amateurs and amateur racing in my opinion has been a win, win, win for the track, the people who enjoy cashing higher priced win and exotic tickets, and the amateurs who do more than the average person to ensure the continuation and promotion of the sport we all love.

Joe Lee / amateur driver / 2017 Amateur Driver of the Year

One more thought on amateurs

There’s an old adage that if you write a negative reaction to something, sit on it and maybe keep it in file 13.

Dean Towers’ take on amateur racing at The Meadowlands is so bizarre, I write and send this note as an exception. His thoughts are inexplicable and the copy deadline had surely passed. First, The Meadowlands has incorporated amateur racing into the fabric of its condition sheet. And that’s a great thing. Years ago, I asked Tony Morgan about the concept in Chicago racing and he mused, ‘What’s in it for the horsemen and the purse account?’ Now take a look at Chicago racing.

What do we know from The Meadowlands’ investment? First, Jeff Gural has observed people “bet on it,” so I surmise no negative impact on handle. We’ve also learned the average Joe loves the game and can live the dream of being on the other side of the racetrack apron. At The Meadowlands the everyday person has a chance to engage in the sport, which includes ownership or training. Some amateurs have done both. These folks are buying feed, paying the blacksmith and in some cases footing a training bill. And my God don’t mention the vet.

As I have said before one of the worst occurrences was the evolution of the catch driver. They are fantastic and the marquee of the sport, but it took the guy breeding and breaking yearlings off the track. In regard to gamblers, I’m one. Read the program. Assess the trends. Learn the drivers; amateurs and pros. Pay attention to the tote board. If you’re serious, you do these things whether it’s a pro driver or amateur. The casual bettor often doesn’t know the difference and generally doesn’t care (next round please).

I think The Meadowlands is ahead of the curve by sponsoring amateur racing. And, as far as chaotic racing goes, I have seen some of that over the years among the best drivers on some of the best tracks in harness racing. Two last things. Congrats to amateur driver Peter Kleinhans for many things including his spectacular drive in [last] Saturday night’s amateur race. Astute handicappers of the amateur wagering variety were handsomely rewarded. Oh, the second thing? We’ll leave that one in file 13.

Vincent Lee / Fort Lauderdale, FL