Meadowlands shares positive news before Harrisburg

by Debbie Little

The Meadowlands reached out to Harness Racing Update to drop some positive news and the timing couldn’t be better.

A month ago, just prior to the sale in Lexington, Meadowlands president/chief executive officer Jeff Gural announced the creation of two new 3-year-old races — the $1 million Meadowlands Trot and $500,000 Meadowlands Oaks Trot — plus an increase in purses for several major Meadowlands stakes.

With the Standardbred Horse Sales Company yearling auction in Harrisburg starting on Monday (Nov. 2), Meadowlands chief operating officer/general manager Jason Settlemoir shared some more good news with HRU.

“The industry stepped up and we have secured all the sponsorships,” Settlemoir said.

Following the mid-August announcement that the Hambletonian Society decided to end its nearly-five-decade partnership with The Big M and was moving America’s Trotting Classic back to the Midwest, Gural put his money where his mouth was and came up with the aforementioned sophomore trots to replace the departing Hambletonian and Hambletonian Oaks.

Gural is putting up $150,000 of his own money to help fund the Meadowlands Trot and was hoping that members of the industry would join him to help sponsor the purse increases for the other races.

“What started out as something we’ll just call unfortunate has now turned into a positive for the entire Garden State and also for the entire industry,” Settlemoir said. “I mean, you’re talking about new races and bigger purses for those established races.”

Settlemoir said he wasn’t thinking about the time that would need to be invested to raise a total of $400,000, or $50,000 per race, because it just needed to get done.

“I went into it with open eyes, and I didn’t know how long it would take us to get the sponsorships,” he said. “There were some naysayers out there, but I knew the industry would step up and work together. I just didn’t know how long it would take. Let’s just say it took less time than I could have imagined.”

In addition to Gural opening up his wallet to help fund what will now be known as the $1 million Meadowlands Allerage Farms Trot, according to Settlemoir, his boss was in the trenches making calls and went the extra mile in person at the sale in Lexington.

“Not only is he the chairman of The Meadowlands, but he’s also put in $150,000, came up with the idea for these races, and went out and helped find sponsorships to honor our commitment to getting these new races to move forward,” Settlemoir said.

Here is a list of the individual races and their sponsors:

• The $500,000 Meadowlands Manchego Oaks Trot — Black Horse Racing and Kountry Lane Standardbreds

• $500,000 Cane Pace — Diamond Creek Farm and Kentuckiana Farms

• $400,000 Stanley Dancer Memorial — Hunterton Farm and Hickory Lane Farm

• $400,000 Del Miller Memorial — Hanover Shoe Farms and Crawford Farms

• $400,000 Brandon Blvd Graduate Open Pace — Punisher 11 Stable

• $400,000 Graduate Open Trot — Face Time Bourbon Syndicate and Melander Stable

• $200,000 Graduate Mare Pace — SBOA of NJ, Cameo Hills Farm, and George Segal

• $200,000 Graduate Mare Trot — Svanstedt Stable and Deo Volente Farms.

The Burke Brigade is also a sponsor.

All purses are estimated except for the $1 million Meadowlands Trot and $500,000 Oaks Trot, which are guaranteed by Gural and he told HRU that he would again reach into his pocket if necessary.

In addition to the higher purses for these selected races, The Meadowlands will also offer a 20 per cent bonus to any New Jersey-sired horse that wins any of them. And when it comes to the 20 per cent bonus, Gural will be writing more checks, putting up half of the money (10 per cent) through Allerage Farms.

When owner Bill Pollock of Punisher 11 Stable received the call from The Big M, he didn’t think twice about being a sponsor.

“I’m always willing to help The Meadowlands and New Jersey racing,” Pollock said. “I think it’s important for all levels of racing and needed.”

Settlemoir said he couldn’t thank the sponsors enough for helping out while The Meadowlands navigates the road which they believe will end with a casino.

“I know Jeff is working hard to get the casino question on the ballot next year [2027] and if successful he will double the purses for all our major stakes by 2030,” Settlemoir said.

“We’re extremely excited that [the sponsorships are] done and we’re deeply appreciative to those that have sponsored these races. For the whole industry to step up like this in this time of need here in New Jersey, it was just phenomenal. There’s no other way to put it.”

For Svanstedt Stable’s Åke and Sarah Svanstedt, being a sponsor was the right thing to do.

“When The Meadowlands approached us about sponsoring the Graduate Mare Trot, we felt it was exactly what the sport needed,” Sarah said. “The transition from 3 to 4 is challenging, even for the very best fillies.

“Giving these young mares their own division, without having to compete against the boys, creates an important opportunity to continue developing and racing at a high level. We’re proud to support a race that invests in their future. It was an easy decision for us to support it at The Meadowlands.”

According to Settlemoir, Sarah was extremely helpful in this process.

“Not only did they take a sponsorship, but she also connected us with a couple of people that have taken sponsorships as well,” Settlemoir said. “So, I want to thank Sarah for her help; everything she did was greatly appreciated.”

Although not a goal, Settlemoir said having the sponsorships in place before the sale in Harrisburg was very important because he wants everybody to feel confident going into the sale.

‘We urge everybody to stay in place and continue to support New Jersey racing,” Settlemoir said. “Thanks to the hard work of Jeff, the entire Meadowlands team, and the SBOANJ, New Jersey racing is here to stay, as evidenced by these new stakes races and the bigger purses on the others.”