Gural: One more thing…

While I promised to go radio silent, I was shocked to read Laura Young’s feedback implying that somehow, I was responsible for her having a bad yearling sale. I thought it might be helpful if I clarify what I think is going to happen in New Jersey and why anyone attending the Harrisburg sale should not be concerned that purchasing a NJ-eligible yearling is a risk. This is what I expect to happen over the next two years.

Location of Hambletonian: I actually did warn John [Campbell] that his announcement would have an impact on foreign buyers, but the Hambletonian is not going anywhere. It is an American race and belongs at The Meadowlands which is the number one harness track in North America. I am fairly certain that they will not receive any bids from either of the two U.S. tracks that could conceivably host it, and I doubt if they want to move the race to Canada, which would be taking an historic American race that just celebrated its 100th anniversary to another country. While John wants me to bid on March 1, unless I am certain that we will be open I can’t make a five-year commitment, but I did offer to commit to holding the race in 2026 and 2027 which they rejected. I assure yearling buyers that the Hambletonian will not be in Canada.

As far as getting a casino at The Meadowlands, I believe that there is a 95 per cent chance that the referendum will be approved and we will be able to open a temporary casino at The Meadowlands in late 2027 and a full casino in late 2028. I would like to say that I am 100 per cent certain but I have learned the hard way that nothing is 100 per cent certain. I recognize the benefits of the Kentucky program, but the costs are high to stable and race in Kentucky and I intentionally added the NJ Classic Series so that NJ-breds would have a place to race without shipping to Kentucky. At the request of the Sire Stakes board, we have also decided to add a “B” division of the sire stakes so that if you have a horse that is not good enough to race in the “A” division he could race in the “B” division similar to what they have in New York, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky. My plan if we do get a casino, which I think is virtually a certainty, would be to significantly increase our purses including stakes, eliminate the drag, reduce the number of races by adding a third day and make a major effort to focus on trying to get young people interested in our product. It may be impossible, but with a casino at least I will have the money to try, and by eliminating the drag it should help make the on-track product more enjoyable as no one likes a seven-to-10-minute drag. In any case I want to assure anyone going to Harrisburg to look at yearlings they should not hesitate to purchase a New Jersey-bred as I am virtually certain The Meadowlands will be thriving in two or three years.

Jeffrey Gural