Gov. Chris Christie said Thursday night that racing at both the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park tracks will continue through 2011 and beyond.
Beginning June 1, both tracks will be run by private operators, who will assume all costs of keeping the tracks running.
“I was determined to bring this deal home,” Christie said. “There are many beneficiaries: We’re saving a New Jersey tradition with the continuation of live horse racing at the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park; we are saving and creating jobs; and we are helping to preserve New Jersey farmland and a way of life for many people, from horse farm owners and employees, to jockeys to racing enthusiasts.”
New York Real Estate Developer Jeff Gural will assume control of the Meadowlands Racetrack, while Morris Bailey was selected by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority as the winning bidder to assume operations at Monmouth Park.
The deals will put the New Jersey horse racing industry on the path of self-sufficiency and, as a result, save New Jersey taxpayers millions of dollars annually and end the racing industry’s reliance on purse subsidies, according to a release from the governor’s office. Both operators will pay property taxes and Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT payments) as required by law.
