40th anniversary of Garden State Park opening

by Bob Heyden

Let me first say I loved Garden State Park. In 1942, it debuted in Cherry Hill, NJ, and raced as a thoroughbred facility until 1977 when it burned to the ground. You see it was mostly a wooden structure due to WWII steel restrictions. For five years (1977-82), there was nothing, but then the 285.5 acres was sold for its property for $15.5 million.

Bob Brennan, the head of First Jersey Securities and a racing guy with the Due Process Stable headed the operation to resurrect the place/palace, into a dual facility with first class thoroughbreds and the best standardbreds. Based on the successful formula — aka The Meadowlands — they hired many of the same principals headed by Bob Quigley and Joe DeFrank. This was wishful thinking on steroids.

On April 1, 1985, the first thoroughbred race was held, and on Aug. 23, 1985 the harness racing era kicked off with Shogun Almahurst and Ron Waples taking first money in 1:54.4. Waples and Mickey McNichol each had driving triples. “The Meadowlands South” already had an East Rutherford touch.

The management sure tried hard. The Phoenix Room was ultra-elegant. There were 17 themed concession stands, and 11,000 cars could park with no problem. It had a glittering, brand-spanking new matrix board, a pavilion with 1500 theatre-like seats, and a beautiful paddock. Heck if you looked hard enough in the program even the name Mack Lobell appeared as part of an upcoming Lana Lobell sale as one of 16 selling from the first crop of Mystic Park. Everything was in place. The intent was definitely there. All systems go.

But, then Opening Night happened. It had just a $96 per capita on $1,012,778 with 10,503 attending. The grumbling didn’t take long. There was great racing there the first few seasons, but just not enough bettors/players/diners. Nihilator’s final race was there on Nov. 29, 1985 as he became the sports first $3 million winner. Four Breeders Crowns were held there in 1986 on ESPN. The Nov. 17, 1988 March Of Dimes Trot was a classic indeed but with extreme financial hardship foreshadowing similar issues to come.

Just 90 miles south of The Meadowlands, the “Track of the 21st Century” barely limped into the new millennium (1985-2000). Trainers and drivers who bought condos in anticipation circa 1985 were forced to scramble and forge a new itinerary.

So, what went wrong? Allow me to list my 7 reasons why GSP didn’t make a better go of it.

1. Unrealistic expectations. The sequel is almost always not the original. The model was solid, but “open the doors and the people will come” was, well, flawed.

2. Liberty Bell Park closed 51 days later, on Oct. 13 1985. The assumption that those patrons would just automatically frequent your newer facility was hopeful, but proved to be a lemonade stand in the Sahara Desert.

3. Reloading anyone? Nobody seemed to factor in the 190-night per year player at The Meadowlands needing that fall/early winter time to rejuvenate the bankroll. Or, did the powers-that-be actually think it would be an entirely new audience.

4. Bob Brennan, “Come grow with us,” going to prison certainly didn’t help.

5. Carbon copies often don’t actually mimic the originals. Because something worked once does not guarantee it working a second time. The general consensus back then was that this was going to work. big time.

6. 1985 was the 10th year of operations at The Meadowlands, the greatest phenomena in harness racing history. They did come in droves. You can’t give a $13 million gift (1978) followed by a $14 million (1979) to the New Jersey State Treasury Department unless you’ve hit a grand slam, but, and this is in a sentence or two the undoing of the “Track of the 21st Century,” too much was expected. Heck most thought it was a guaranteed hit.

7. In summation, The Meadowlands was a stand-alone once-in-a-lifetime complete package. Everything fit. The timing, the new mile track on the east coast and nighttime racing. Baby boomers coming of age and embracing the “newness” of both the facility, and in many cases, the sport itself. Oh, and there were no slots/casinos when The Meadowlands popped up from the swamp, they were everywhere a decade later when GSP threw its hat into the ring.

It’s been a quarter century since harness racing was contested in Cherry Hill, NJ. I personally hated to see it go. I have great memories from the press box, covering some of the sport’s biggest events. I had exactly one long conversation with Billy Haughton in my life. It came in the wee hours on Breeders Crown Night when Nihilator wrapped up his career. Of course, I didn’t know I’d never have another. The very day I moved from River Vale, NJ, to River Edge, NJ, landed exactly on March Of Dimes Night. You think I will ever forget that day? Even though it was a relatively short stay, I, to this day, wish it would have gone on longer.