A visceral reaction to the news the Hambletonian is moving to Indiana

by Dave Briggs

The Hambletonian belongs at The Meadowlands.

That was my belief the day the news broke last September that the Hambletonian Society was accepting bids for a new home. It’s still my belief 11 months later, after learning Thursday evening (Aug. 13) that the most storied race in all of harness racing was moving to Harrah’s Hoosier Park (see story pg. 6).

Now that the news is official, my visceral reaction is sadness, a little anger and a lot of worry about the future of the sport, which already had plenty to worry about.

Losing the Hambletonian makes The Big M a lot smaller today. Since The Meadowlands and its industry-leading handle are essential to a sustainable future for harness racing, that makes all of harness racing smaller.

Given that the industry has already lost Freehold and Hawthorne and Rideau and Northville in recent years – and probably others I’m forgetting – the sport is definitely not trending in the right direction.

Not that I blame the Hambletonian Society for the decision. Their mission is to find the best home for their most important race to give it a sustainable future. Clearly, it could not continue to wait on The Meadowlands to maybe, someday, get a casino, especially after hopes of even getting the issue on a state-wide ballot have now been pushed to 2027 at the earliest.

Also, please do not read this as an anti-Hoosier Park sentiment. I’m sure they will do a tremendous job playing host to the Hambletonian. It’s great that so many people in Indiana stepped up to welcome the Hambletonian with open arms. It sure beats the last few years in New Jersey, where the vibe between The Meadowlands and the Society was chilly at best and adversarial at worst.

So, it’s nice the race found a decent landing place.

Just know the Hambletonian is not going to be the same – at least not soon – and the industry will be poorer for it.

Whether this hurts Meadowlands owner Jeff Gural’s bid to get a casino vote on the ballot remains to be seen, but it sure won’t help him.

The sad reality is he was facing some pretty tough odds to land a casino if he even gets the issue on the ballot in 2027. Casino interests in New York City have deeper pockets than Gural and the harness racing industry combined and were sure to pour money into fighting a ballot initiative to allow a casino in northern New Jersey. Atlantic City and its powerful cabal of New Jersey politicians were also a sure bet to fight against The Meadowlands getting a casino and are probably more inclined to do so now that the sport’s biggest harness race is leaving the state.

In boxing parlance, that’s the opposite of your opponent being a tomato can.

Still, on Saturday, Gural sounded pretty optimistic – especially for him – that he was going to get a casino. Maybe that was just spin. But if not, why not just commit to another three years of playing host to the Hambletonian?

I realize that it’s easy to spend Gural’s money for him and, for sure, he has invested many millions already to keep the sport alive at its most important track to the benefit of us all. But it was an option.

It was also an option, I guess, for the Society to just re-up for another year or two at The Meadowlands – if both sides were willing – but that’s really not the best choice for those people nominating and sustaining horses that need to know where the race is going to be held when those horses become sophomores.

That’s all moot now that the beautiful silver revere bowl, its wooden wedding cake base and its 101 years of history are heading for Indiana.

Again, it’s not Society’s job to worry about the future of The Meadowlands. Its job is to preserve the future of the race. So, I guess, Hoosier was the best option.

I love Woodbine Mohawk Park with all my heart and know they would have done a fantastic job playing host to the Hambletonian. But, for sure, they don’t need another big, Grade 1 million-dollar race.

Also, since Mohawk first threw its hat in the ring, I have been uncomfortable with America’s Trotting Classic being held in Canada – and I’m Canadian.

But what moving the Hambletonian to Hoosier means is undeniable: It is another nail in the coffin of East Coast racing and a huge sign the sport is consolidating in the Midwest. Pennsylvania isn’t what it was at its peak. New Jersey clearly is no longer the epicenter of the game, and New York, while bolstered by strong purses and improvements to its breeding program, doesn’t drive enough handle and has too many half-mile tracks.

So, while I’m tremendously happy for the great people of Kentucky and Ohio and Indiana who love the sport to their core and have helped grow it thanks to the one thing Gural does not have – casino gambling – I worry a harness racing industry only popular in a handful of Midwestern states is doomed to fail.