Gural speaks on decision to move Hambletonian, Campbell responds

by Brett Sturman

In the wake of last week’s decision to move the Hambletonian from The Meadowlands to Harrah’s Hoosier Park, the owner of The Meadowlands wasn’t short on words and vowed to fight on.

Nearly one week after the announcement that the Hambletonian will be leaving New Jersey, envisioning the Hambletonian at any site other than The Meadowlands – the track the race has called home since 1981 – still has an inconceivable feel to it. Through the decades, the Hambletonian and The Meadowlands have become synonymous with one another and, as expected, the decision to separate the two has generated strong reactions.

Meadowlands owner Jeff Gural said the Hambletonian Society’s decision to move the race was personal.

“I knew [the Hambletonian Society board of directors] didn’t like me because of my position on the drugs in the sport, and the racing of the 4-year-olds,” Gural said. “I think it was purely directed at me because of the integrity issues. They were never happy that I insisted that people on our exclusion lists couldn’t race at The Meadowlands.

“[Society directors] are basically only interested in helping themselves as breeders, but you have to clean up the drugs and, in my mind, you need to improve the product. My view is that the founders of the Hambletonian Society would be turning over in their graves because they founded it not to help themselves as breeders, but to help the industry progress.”

Hambletonian Society president and CEO John Campbell said The Meadowlands’ exclusionary policy had no bearing on the decision to move the race.

“[Gural’s exclusion list] was no factor on why [the race] went out for bids or the awarding process,” Campbell said.

He added that the Hambletonian had already been raced under Gural’s exclusionary rules.

“The discussion [most recently] centered around the uncertainty of The Meadowlands and Jeff’s own words, both publicly and privately last year, when he said he would close The Meadowlands if he didn’t get a casino.

“We just took him at his word.”

Still, Gural said he was “shocked” the Society moved the race given the potential implications on the industry as a whole.

“When I saw that the SBOANJ put out a statement where their lobbyist, who is responsible for getting the [state] subsidy, made it clear that by relocating the race they would make it harder for me to get a casino and harder for the state to get future subsidies… The vast majority of the industry is located in or near New Jersey. So, you know, it’s a shock.”

On the question of implications beyond The Meadowlands, Gural said, “I don’t think there’s any question that it hurts not just The Meadowlands, but the industry. The industry needs us to get a casino because they need to have one racetrack that has the money to put on these stakes, and where most of the people are focused on. Now that Illinois closed, we’re the only harness track operating without slots, what does that tell you?

“I can tell you also that the government – the people in the legislature, the politicians – are pissed. So, if their goal was to piss off the New Jersey politicians – they are furious.”

It has been noted that any possibility of moving the Hambletonian could have been eliminated last year, had The Meadowlands exercised its exclusive right of renewal for the race.

“I think [Gural] could have exercised his right of renewal and avoided this whole thing,” Campbell said.

Gural said, “I tried to explain to them that without the subsidy [the status of which was not known at the time of the right of renewal deadline], we don’t have the money to have the Hambletonian. I said, ‘Guys, it’s a new administration, it’s a new governor who happens to be a friend, but you never know. If we fail to get the subsidy, you’ll have time to find another location for the race. I’m pretty sure we’ll get the subsidy, but in the highly unlikely case we don’t — that’s what went into that decision.”

Aside from the alleged personal grievances, Gural doesn’t believe the move to Indiana makes sense logistically for fans or key industry participants.

“There are 16 million people that live within 25 miles of The Meadowlands,” he said. “The majority of owners live in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, so coming to The Meadowlands for a weekend of racing is not that inconvenient. It’s the same thing with all the people who buy yearlings at the upper end. They all live in those same areas, or they come from Europe. I doubt a lot of them are happy about it – I don’t think I would go even if I had a horse in it.”

Gural also mentioned that the parent company of Harrah’s Hoosier Park has been sold to a private company, leaving an unknown future for horse racing.

“The [Hoosier Park] casino is being sold to Fertitta [Entertainment], so whomever [the Society] is dealing with isn’t going to be there,” Gural said.

Campbell said, “We did discuss [the sale of the parent company] with the Hoosier folks, but we feel confident that the contract and the proposal that they put forth for three years will be honored.”

He also said he hopes the decision to move the Hambletonian will not impact whether the Breeders Crown returns to The Meadowlands.

“I would love to keep The Meadowlands in the Breeders Crown rotation in some fashion,” Campbell said. “I hope this does not affect our decisions to host the Breeders Crown [at The Meadowlands] in the future.”

The obvious question now is what comes next for The Meadowlands. Already down to two days a week of racing and declining handle over the past couple of seasons, would the move of the Hambletonian and its companion stakes finally be enough for Gural to call it quits? If that’s what you were expecting, Gural’s reaction couldn’t be any further opposite to it.

“I’m angry,” said Gural. “I will definitely not throw in the towel, and I’m determined to make them regret the decision. The plan is to regroup and come up with a plan. I wish I was younger, honestly. I’m 84, and if I was 60, I could say, ‘Well, you know, I don’t have to worry about having a heart attack.’ Obviously, at 84, you do have to worry about your life expectancy. But as long as I’m around, I will make sure we fight.”

No matter one’s thoughts on Gural or The Meadowlands, it seems undeniable that the industry is best served with a healthy Meadowlands in it. It’s what makes Gural’s forward-looking comments a genuine bright spot, despite the short-term setback.

To that point Gural concluded, “We’ll figure it out. I’m not waving the white flag by any means. It’s so important that we get a casino, because then we could restore what it was.”