If not The Meadowlands, where could the Hambletonian land in 2027?
Lexington’s Red Mile could suddenly be a trending alternative, as could Hoosier Park along with Woodbine Mohawk Park.
by Brett Sturman
Following an announcement last month where The Meadowlands elected to not exercise its exclusive right to renew the Hambletonian after 2026, the Hambletonian Society will now open the race to bids for which any track can submit proposals that meet the race requirements.
In response to the Hambletonian Society’s announcement, Meadowlands owner Jeff Gural issued a response of his own where the relevant part related to this column goes, “in 2027 [the Hambletonian] would most likely be held in Anderson, IN or Campbellsville, ON. They seem to me to be the only logical racetracks that can host the event since I doubt if the Society is willing to race on a smaller track.”
Gural is mainly correct in that assessment, in that the most critical part of the race by-laws state requirements as the host track to be at least seven-eighths-of-a-mile in size and be able to host the race during the daytime. In that, references by Gural to both Hoosier Park and Woodbine Mohawk Park could be potential alternatives. But missing from that quote is another track that would also fit those requirements, The Red Mile.
Just within the past week it was announced that The Red Mile will be playing host to the 2027 Breeders Crown, which will mark just the third time overall and first time since 1987 that the track will have Breeders Crown races. Could that motivate the track to make a play for the Hambletonian beginning in that same year?
This is all conjecture on my part as there has been zero indication publicly that the ownership groups of the track have any desire to pursue the Hambletonian, but a case could certainly be made as to why they should.
Aside from meeting the table stake requirements, no pun intended, the most attractive quality in my opinion is the history and tradition of The Red Mile. Prior to The Meadowlands, where the race has been run since 1981, the Hambletonian was famously held in DuQuoin, IL as part of the State Fair beginning in 1957. At the time when The Meadowlands was eventually successful in being awarded the race following a failed prior attempt, there was great sadness locally from DuQuoin of the Hambletonian moving away from small-town America.
To that point, there would be stark contrast between the urban setting provided by The Meadowlands today and The Red Mile, located near the heart of Bluegrass country in Kentucky as part of the largest horse breeding operations in the world. Though it wouldn’t be exactly the same as rural DuQuoin from decades ago, there are enough similarities where it could have a feel to the Hambletonian atmosphere back in time. It could be fitting for the event and the track – both of which have been in existence for over 100 years to have their paths finally cross directly.
Other viable options include Hoosier Park and Woodbine Mohawk Park, as noted prior in this column by Gural. In terms of pure geography and its location in America’s Midwest one could say that Hoosier would be a better representation as to how the race felt in DuQuoin as opposed to Lexington, but the track doesn’t have the history nor more importantly, the charm of The Red Mile.
On location, Woodbine Mohawk Park is an interesting one. On one hand, there’s no question of the track’s ability to host a major event on the scale of the Hambletonian. But on the other hand, simply put, would there be enough votes from the Society to move a race known as “America’s Trotting Classic” to Canada? Even though racing today is seen more-so through the lens of North America as a whole and not deviating between countries, the Hambletonian is steeped in American tradition, and it would be hard to envision the race moving north of the border.
When using handle as a barometer of public interest, however, that is where Mohawk would have an edge. Using the Breeders Crown as a reference point, the two-day event handled $8.9 at Mohawk in 2022. When Hoosier Park played host to the event in 2023, its two-day total was $5.1 million. There’s no comparison with The Red Mile but based on what the track handles normally it would be an uphill battle. For example, last Saturday’s (Sept. 27) card, which featured 12 Bluegrass divisions for the 3-year-old divisions as part of 15 races in all, handled just around $650,000.
Another aspect to consider is that of attendance. While it’s become unfortunately commonplace for live attendance to be sparse for major races, the Hambletonian is one of those races that still draws a crowd.
This year’s Hambletonian at The Meadowlands brought out over 17,000 in live attendance; only Mohawk would have the potential to come anywhere near the vicinity of that number. But again, here’s where the location of The Red Mile could have appeal. Located in the thoroughbred horse breeding capital of the world, the track is a mere five miles down the road from Keeneland Racecourse, which attracts tens of thousands of people on its major race days. Could a Hambletonian at The Red Mile offer thoroughbred crossover appeal? I think that it would.
There would be other logistical considerations as well such as track infrastructure, hospitality settings, and what a Hambletonian Day end-to-end race card would even look like at The Red Mile, but there’s enough to go on where the track should at least consider making a play. At minimum, it would certainly give the Hambletonian Society something to think about.
