Monmouth Park - Finish Wire

News and Notes

Opening Day, May 26, 2001

Monmouth Park opened its gates today for its 56th season with a renewed commitment to racing after raising its daily purses to an average of $300,000, an all-time record at the shore oval.  With the $11.7 million cash infusion, signed into law by acting governor Donald DiFrancesco, Monmouth Park has been able to attract some of the east coasts best horseman and have all the pieces in place to have a very successful summer meeting.  And the meeting got off to a quick start, and quick is an understatement.  In the co-featured John J. Reilly Handicap, Thistyranthasclass rolled to an impressive victory, in his return to his 2000 campaign stomping grounds, stopping the teletimer in the six furlong battle in a time of 1:08:3.  The four year old son of Regal Classic is now 5 for 6 lifetime at Monmouth and looks to be in great form to have a very successful summer stay at the shore.  The victory also gave C.H. Marquez, Jr., his first stakes victory of the young meet as a welcome back present as he will be staying for the entire summer meeting. In the other co-feature Her Halo, ridden by Chuck C. Lopez, ran an impressive front running masterpiece to capture the $50,000 Politely Stakes for Acclaimed Racing Stable and trainer Allen Iwinski.

Monmouth Park - Finish Wire

News and Notes

Weekend of June 9 - 10

Joe Bravo continues his torrid riding streak winning seven races on the weekend cards including a win on Jewel In The Sun, John Kimmel's three year old filly in Sundays fifth race, a $35,000 maiden race at six furlongs.  Linda Rice is now four for four after Spruce Run won his third straight in the $50,000 Spend A Buck Stakes beating both American Prince and Davy Jones. Carlos Marquez has been given a seven day suspension by the stewards for careless riding aboard Minkie in Thursday's seventh race. To add insult to injury Marquez was then fined $100 for missing a mount in last Friday's seventh race. 

On a lighter note Bobby Hurley and DJ Stable's Songandaprayer breezed five furlongs in 1:02.40 on Monday morning as he continues to prep for July 4th's Grade III, $100,000 Jersey Shore Breeders' Cup for 3-year-olds, run at six furlongs.  Long term plans also tentatively include the Amsterdam at Saratoga and possibly the Breeders' Cup Sprint in the fall.  In other workout news North East Bound worked on Tuesday breezing five furlongs in 1:01:2 to the delight of trainer Bill Perry.  The Breeders' Cup Mile runner-up is being pointed for the $300,000 Dallas Turf Cup at Lone Star Park on June 16.

Monmouth Park - Finish Wire

News and Notes

Weekend of June 23 - 24

The Daily Racing Form is reporting that Joe Bravo will have the mount on Songandaprayer in the upcoming $100,000 Jersey Shore Breeders' Cup for 3-year-olds, run at six furlongs.  The Newark Star-Ledger reported last week that the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association has authorized Monmouth Park to increase the purse of The Grade I Haskell Invitational by as much as $500,000 if the Preakness and Belmont winner runs in the nations richest invitational for three-year-olds.  Of course Point Given is the winner of this years Preakness and Belmont Stakes.  Point Given is trained by Bob Baffert, who late last week was given a 60 day suspension by the California Horse Racing Board after his trainee, Nautical Look, tested positive for morphine after competing in a race at Hollywood Park in May of 2000.  In other news, The New Jersey Assembly on Thursday, June 21, 2001 approved legislation to legalize off-track and account wagering in the state. The measure now moves to the Senate floor. The bill calls for up to 15 wagering facilities, to be run by the NJ Sports and Exposition Authority, but no more than eight in the first two years after the bill becomes law.  Some lawmakers in Trenton estimate that off-track betting could generate between $300 million and $400 million a year.

Monmouth Park - Finish Wire

News and Notes

Weekend of July 21 - 22

The Daily Racing Form is reporting that Burning Roma, winner of Long Branch Stakes July 15, is confirmed for the Grade I Haskell Invitational on August 4.  Tony Dutrow believes that his colt likes the Monmouth surface and has named Rick Wilson for the ride.  Burning Roma will keep to the same training regimen and ship in the day of the race according to Dutrow.  Burning Roma will carry 119 pounds in the contest.  In other Haskell news, Songandaprayer will skip the three-year-old event in order to concentrate on the upcoming sprints to be run at the Saratoga meeting to get under way this week in upstate New York.  

The race for the lead in the jockey standings is mighty close going into this week. Joe Bravo leads Eibar Coa at the top of the standings 48 to 46 with 32 days remaining in the 72-day meet.  Coa has been a formidable challenger for Bravo since coming north from Florida for the first full summer riding for such outfits as Ben Perkins, Jr., as the duo combined for a win this past weekend in The Dearly Precious with Stormy Pick.  The rest of the meet should be very entertaining as the two are riding in top form.

On a serious note, Rafael Mojica Jr., was thrown to the track after his mount in the ninth race fell.  Mojica was riding My Josie, who checked in tight quarters at the eighth pole during the race and subsequently went down.  Felix Ortiz and his mount, Canyon de Chelly, could not avoid the falling horse and luckily missed Mojica.  After a trip to Monmouth Medical Center, it was determined through  x-rays that Mojica had suffered no fractured bones, just minor cuts and some bruises.  Mojica was off his mounts on Saturday and Sunday, and will not ride on Wednesday, but should be back riding sometime later this week.  Through the first 42 days of the meet Mojica has nine winners from 99 starters. 

Finally, be reminded that first post Wednesday is 12:55 p.m., and it will remain that way until the end of the meet, except the 12:30 p.m. post on Haskell Day.

Monmouth Park - Finish Wire

News and Notes

Monmouth Closes Meeting With Record Crowd

A Summer In Review

Sunday, September 2, 2001

Monmouth Park ended its summer meeting with a record closing day crowd of 24,357 fans who were entertained by good racing and good weather.  Willard Thompson wrapped up the training title on the final day when his trainee, Gaelic Bay, won the Spruce Fir Handicap which put him one win in front of Ben Perkins, Jr.  Perkins won the very next race, The Miss Woodford with Stormy Pick, earning him a second place finish in the trainer standings.  Eibar Coa won the riding title as leading rider in a runaway victory after the accident Joe Bravo suffered all but conceded the title to Coa with a month left in the meet.  Bravo broke his leg in a riding accident, in August, and sustained what is known as a multiple segmental fracture where he broke his tibia in two places and fibula in two places.  Both bones are below his kneecap.

Monmouth Park’s average on-track daily attendance was up 10% over the 2000 meeting to 10,757, the highest daily average attendance since 1985. Total attendance for the 72 day meet was 774,500, the highest total since 1989.   Average daily handle on Monmouth’s racing card was $934,563, a meet total of $67,000,000 was wagered on-track, a 4% increase from 2000.

Highlights for the 2001 Summer meet included Haskell Day as Point Given, the Preakness and Belmont winner, excited the record crowd of 47,127 with a championship performance winning the years richest invitational event with a thrilling stretch run outlasting Touch Tone to the wire for his fourth straight million dollar victory.  The Grade II Iselin Handicap saw Broken Vow, race to victory on his way to a possible start in the Breeders’ Cup Classic this October at Belmont. 

Overall racing this summer at the Oceanport oval was bolstered by the purse supplement by The State of New Jersey, which led to an average purse distribution of over $301,00 per day, a track record distribution.  With the purses came larger fields as some operations from New York, Kentucky and California came in to race for the larger purse money.  Robert Kulina, Monmouth Park President and General Manger added, “With the purse supplement, we were able to offer an improved racing product and better racing lead directly to better business.  This is a wonderful facility – clean, fan friendly, accessible – and when you add great racing and good weather, you come up with a winning combination.”  Better racing has not only invigorated the fans, who came in droves this past summer, but also caught the eye of Breeders’ Cup officials who toured the racing plant in the final week of the season to gather information in a possible future bid to host racing’s biggest day at the shore track.  Racing returns to the Meadowlands for the fall meeting starting September 3.  Stayed tuned to the Meadowlands page for all the latest info.

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