Hambletonian location in limbo for 2027 and beyond as Gural and Society disagree
The owner of The Meadowlands and the Hambletonian Society are at odds over the latter’s decision to accept bids to hold the race at another racetrack beginning in 2027.
by Dave Briggs
Meadowlands racetrack owner Jeff Gural said he is “furious” and that it is a “disgrace” that the Hambletonian Society has decided to accept bids for the Hambletonian to possibly move to a different track as early as 2027. Hambletonian Society president and CEO John Campbell said the decision by the Society’s board has to do with uncertainty over the future of the New Jersey track and needing to ensure a home for the race that celebrated its 100th anniversary this year and has been held at The Big M for the last 44 years.
“Jeff has stated on many occasions that if he doesn’t get a casino The Meadowlands will close,” Campbell said.
The issue of whether the Hambletonian will move away from The Meadowlands has been a hot topic for over a month, but Campbell reiterated many times that the Society is simply trying to ensure a stable future for the race.
He said Gural has said many times that the future of The Meadowlands depends on the track getting a casino, which requires authorization from the citizens of New Jersey via a referendum.
Gural said he fully expects the referendum to go on the ballot and be approved by the citizens, but even if that happens, the earliest it could do so is November of 2026. Campbell said that is too late to determine the site of the Hambletonian for 2027, especially since there are no guarantees Gural, specifically, would be awarded a casino even if the referendum vote is in his favor.
“If you look at it objectively, we’re not going to know the day after the referendum whether Jeff is going to get that casino,” Campbell said, adding even if the ballot initiative says the casino is to go at The Meadowlands, legislators could decide to award it to someone else on site, which is home to various other businesses. “How long will it take for the legislators to determine who gets awarded that casino if the referendum does pass? And so that just pushes everything out, and [increases] the uncertainty even more so from our standpoint.”
In a Sept. 12 press release, the Hambletonian Society said: “Under Society by-laws, the Hambletonian is opened annually to prospective host-track bids unless already secured under a multi-year contract. The Meadowlands is contracted to host through 2026; however, the track did not exercise its exclusive right of renewal, which expired Sept. 1, 2025.
“In the interest of ensuring the long-term health and prominence of America’s Trotting Classic, the Hambletonian Society will now open the event to host-track proposals beginning with the 2027 edition. All tracks, including the existing host track, are able to bid if Society by-law requirements are met.”
The Meadowlands will play host to the Hambletonian in 2026. Gural said he offered to extend the contract through 2027, but the Hambletonian Society rejected that offer.
Campbell said, “If [the referendum fails] in November of 2026 and he closes The Meadowlands in January of 2027 and we have a one-year contract, what do we do?”
Later, he added, “Our duty is to create the best plan long-term for the future of the Hambletonian. In fairness to the nominators and everyone who pays in, we’re trying to make sure we have a three-to-five year plan with the Hambletonian.”
In an open letter to the industry published in the Oct 10 issue of HRU (see page 18), Gural stated his frustration with pouring money into The Meadowlands and elsewhere to the benefit of the harness racing industry. In an interview with HRU in September, he expressed similar frustration with the Hambletonian Society’s board.
“I was furious and I think it’s a disgrace,” he said of the Society’s decision to open the hosting contract up for bids. “These guys have benefitted tremendously [from The Meadowlands] because they sell yearlings and for them to threaten to move the Hambletonian is a disgrace. I think everybody feels that way and I don’t understand what planet they are on, to be honest. I’d be surprised if anyone bids.”
This week, Campbell reiterated the Society is simply trying to avoid the race ending up, “in a bad spot depending on what Jeff did with The Meadowlands if the referendum doesn’t pass.
“As I said in our statement, that’s our mandate – the long-term stature and success of the event.”
Campbell also stressed that, “it cannot be overstated, what a great partnership it has been for both entities… The Meadowlands has been a tremendous home for the Hambletonian since 1981 and we have made no decisions to move the Hambletonian and we hope The Meadowlands bids and is part of the bidding process. I know [Gural] says right now that he won’t be [bidding], but the bidding doesn’t close until March 1 [2026] and a lot of things can happen between now and then.”
Gural said in late September that, “the only reason that I’m not bidding is that I’m so angry. I don’t think I should have to bid.
“I don’t think the industry wants to see Hambletonian not at The Meadowlands. I just think, ‘Why would you do something that pisses off everybody?’ Their job is to help them promote the sport, not piss off people that buy yearlings.”
Gural also accused the Hambletonian Society of not wanting to allow him to exercise his private property rights to exclude participants. Gural feels strongly about banning participants believed to be using performance enhancing drugs.
“I do want to point out that Jeff seems to think that his exclusionary list was something that we couldn’t deal with, but his exclusionary list is in play for 2026 with all three of our races [at The Meadowlands],” Campbell said. “So, that isn’t as big a factor as he is portraying.”
Campbell said the Hambletonian Society has also partnered with Gural on out-of-competition testing and, before that, the Society partnered with the New Jersey Racing Commission on the same.
As for the timing of the announcement that the Society was accepting host bids, Campbell said it was to, “give every entity the proper time to prepare their bids because there’s a lot that has to go into this. Some of these entities are going to have to go to legislators or different tourism boards or whatever to try and get support to make the best bid they possibly can. So, the timing of it being March 1, we’re hopeful that every entity would be able to line up the local support the best they can and make the best bid that they possibly can for it.”
Society rules state the Hambletonian must be contested on a seven-eighths mile oval or larger, which essentially means it could only be held at The Meadowlands, Harrah’s Hoosier Park, Woodbine Mohawk Park or The Red Mile.
