What goes into being a Breeders Crown host track

by Dave Briggs

Chalk this one up to the best laid plans.

A few years ago, we had the idea of publishing a regular column with John Campbell, the Hall of Fame driver that is now the CEO of the Hambletonian Society. Campbell graciously agreed to speak regularly on a wide range of topics.

The first column was three years ago. This is the second. That’s on us, not him. It’s hard to believe the first was in January of 2021, but time has a funny way of surprising us.

Of course, in the interim, we have spoken to Campbell semi-regularly on important topics. But, as for a column where we plan to pick his brain on matters both serious and less so, the hope is this will be the reboot of a regular, on-going conversation with the legend.

We have some ideas for some fun topics to come, but we begin (again) where we likely should — discussing the Breeders Crown.

The year-end series has settled into a nice three-track rotation between The Meadowlands, Harrah’s Hoosier Park and Woodbine Mohawk Park.

This year is The Meadowlands’ turn to play host. With that, Campbell said, came negotiations with the thoroughbred industry, which has some rights to race at The Big M in the fall. That’s why the official announcement of Breeders Crown dates — finals set for Oct. 25 and 26 — had to wait until just a few days before Christmas.

“It was certainly much later than we had preferred [to announce them],” Campbell said. “But from The Society’s standpoint and from the industry standpoint, it’s important to have the Breeders Crown at The Meadowlands. We’re thrilled that we’re going back.”

Campbell said there are a lot of positives to the Breeders Crown being back in New Jersey.

“The Meadowlands has worldwide recognition for top harness racing in the world,” he said, “So, there is name recognition and the fact that they put on big events and know how to put on big events… We’ve worked with their staff each year with the Hambletonian, so there’s a synergy there. They are great people to work with, so it’s pretty smooth when we do the Breeders Crown at The Meadowlands, just because we work so often and so well with [COO and general manager] Jason Settlemoir and his staff.”

Also, the news that the Crown will be back at The Meadowlands comes at a great time. This week, it was announced a five-year extension to the annual $10 million purse subsidy to the standardbred industry has passed and just awaits Governor Phil Murphy’s signature.

“That just makes the harness racing industry in New Jersey that much more stable through 2029,” Campbell said of the subsidy. “It’s certainly welcome news. Horsemen know there’s money in New Jersey here for the next six years, including this year. The Meadowlands knows that and they can plan ahead of time. You know, without that purse appropriation their purses would not be attracting the type of horses that they are going to get with the purse appropriation. So, across the board it just stabilizes and makes it easier to plan. I think it just makes everybody breathe a little easier.”

Outside of New Jersey, Campbell said The Hambletonian Society is open to other tracks playing host to the Crown besides the three in the current rotation. However, the truth is, not a huge number have the ability to play host to the Breeders Crown.

“Obviously, the rights fees paid to the Society are a huge part of it, for sure,” Campbell said. “Then, we’re looking at can a venue handle people, handle sponsors, owners and VIPs in a proper way, handle detention barns and make sure everything would run smoothly with that many horses in detention for the horsemen – that part of it is very important as well.

“We do look at the size of the track, but we’re not locked in to seven-eighths or bigger. We’ve had it at Pocono and we had great racing at Pocono. We don’t feel, necessarily, that if you’ve got a five-eighths that you wouldn’t get a Breeders Crown. Having said that, we do have some interest in some other venues. Two other jurisdictions have shown interest and asked questions and have begun negotiations about having a Breeders Crown, so that’s really positive for me. We’d like to include as many tracks that are interested and could handle it as we can.”

That said, Campbell stressed all three current Crown tracks have been fantastic to work with, “so you don’t want to upset the apple cart, so to speak, with that. And, the horsemen’s association for all three are a vital part of the Breeders Crown. But, I’m really excited about a couple of other places showing interest and I hope both of them come to fruition. Spreading it around, I think, is good. I think being in different parts of the country at different venues with the event is very important.”

Campbell said he would also love to be able to invite a top European trotter for this year’s Breeders Crown. Appearances in the past by such stars as Varenne, Victory Tilly, Rapide Lebel, Commander Crowe and Bold Eagle, have helped spice up the Crown and bring more international attention to it.

“It’s a special invite clause in our Breeders Crown conditions so it has to be a horse that ‘moves the needle’ for lack of better words,” Campbell said. “Our last invite was Bold Eagle and that’s a pretty high bar when you look at that. Does this horse measure up to a Bold Eagle stature? We look every year and it’s not like we’re not interested, but it takes a special horse for us to say, ‘I think this horse is going to add to the event’ and ‘move the needle,’ which Bold Eagle certainly did.”

Bold Eagle raced in the 2019 Breeders Crown and won the open trot at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

Campbell said it’s actually a little easier for horses to fly into Canada from Europe, “but that’s not a deciding factor in inviting.”

The history of the Breeders Crown ties directly to the history of the thoroughbred industry’s Breeders’ Cup. Today, the events are very different, but Campbell said the Crown has borrowed a few ideas from the Cup in recent years — and he joked he would love to be able to offer a $6 million purse like the thoroughbreds did for the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Classic.

“One thing we have done — and thank you to Adam Bowden at Diamond Creek for bringing it up — is the post winners’ reception after each Breeders Crown,” Campbell said. “Diamond Creek sponsored that and it started at Mohawk in 2019. He brought it to me and it was from the Breeders’ Cup and he was part of it and he said it was really a nice touch. He asked, ‘Do you think we could do something like that?’ I said, ‘Sure, we could certainly try.’ We’ve done that every year and it’s become part of the Breeders Crown with the winning connections going in and having a glass of champagne and watching the replay and doing interviews that are streaming out on social media. So, that’s one thing that we did take from the Breeders’ Cup. It’s been very popular.”