Time for a new leader at The Meadowlands?

Meadowlands dirty laundry is hurting horsepeople, businesses, and families all over the country.

This was the worst yearling sale we have EVER had, hands down, despite what other reports say. We are not the only farm with these results. For a farm that can’t afford to put reserves on all our yearlings, or take pieces back; everything must sell to be added to the PnL [Profit and Loss statement].

We are a show farm with nothing to show for.

Our owner gives us NOTHING! We have survived not thrived. We take pride in everything we do because we do EVERYTHING ourselves to save money, to make money, and run our business with minimal overhead to maximum efficiency.

I am sure anyone selling a New Jersey-bred yearling right now that is not dual eligible is biting their nails as to what the upcoming sales ring banner will say when the hammer goes down.

Who’s to blame the buyers being reluctant to raise their hands on non-dual eligible New Jersey-breds? Mr. Gural, the Hambletonian Society, tariffs, a governor’s race, ICE, the Karen at the Phillies game, Coldplay, maybe we should even throw Russia in there!

Are there some New Jersey breeding farms and horsepeople betting this, too, shall pass as it has in the past? Racing will prevail at The Meadowlands; Absolutely! There are plenty of optimistic people in New Jersey! It’s not just all gloom and doom as these recent headlines make it appear.

I’m not going to tell you how long I have watched this Sopranos bull—- play out in New Jersey. They even wrote a book about it called The Soprano State! Good read, by the way, if you want to learn a bit about how inner New Jersey politics work.

I will tell you it hurts every single person that has a none dual-eligible New Jersey-bred yearling selling this fall or a mare in foal to a New Jersey stallion without dual eligibility; this financial impact trickles down to the employees that won’t get a raise this year and not be able to make rent. There are thousands of horsepeople that have an investment in New Jersey, not just Mr. Gural, not just the Hambletonian Society.

We are all taking financial hits because of all this dirty laundry. We have been strong-armed over and over. We have been shaken down and threatened, but we continue to bow down to the “kings” and continue to write checks to “save” The Meadowlands. We sit idle and comply. But we continue to let go employees, downsize our operations, and save every penny we can to survive in New Jersey!

There are not many of us left in New Jersey and more are falling every year. The horsepeople are so sick of this bull—-. Just stop already. Close it, sell it, no Hambo, racing will cease, no future without casinos, he took my lollipop. Enough!

The horsepeople have had enough!

Will our New Jersey-breds be racing at The Meadowlands in the upcoming years? The answer is YES! Maybe it is time for a new leader at The Meadowlands. Maybe another entity will come in and take over the lease. Do we need a casino to survive and continue racing in New Jersey? NO! I believe that has been proven for the past 50+ years. Will we get a casino in 2026? The answer is, most likely, no. And I use “we” because this is just not about one man who is losing “millions on paper,” it’s about an entire family of horsepeople, across the country, that are losing millions; many of us!

Our entire sport is a gambling business. Most of the non-dual-eligible New Jersey-breds were slaughtered at the past few sales. Are we betting that racing will continue in New Jersey? Oh, yes, my horse racing friends, it will continue!

We have survived the political turmoil for 40 years, as with The Sopranos, don’t believe everything you see or read. If you want to catch a glimpse of what is really happening behind the curtains, look at our past.

The answer to the question will horse racing continue past 2027 in New Jersey after all this crap has passed, is the same as it has been for 40 years, YES!

Maybe under new leadership, just a single racetrack, maybe with or without casinos, we are betting on it! Horse racing will continue in New Jersey.

Laura Young / CVT, GM, CO Southwind Farm LLC / CCL Farming LLC