New Jersey Racing News 2006

December 11, 2006
TVG SECURES EXCLUSIVE TELEVISION AND ACCOUNT WAGERING RIGHTS FROM NEW JERSEY SPORTS & EXPOSITION AUTHORITY
MP.com

Network Adds Monmouth Park and Meadowlands as Exclusive Track Partners

LOS ANGELES, DECEMBER 8, 2006 —TVG, America’s Horseracing Network, has won exclusive television distribution and account wagering rights from the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA) for its racetracks, it was announced today by TVG General Manager David Nathanson effective January 1, 2007 and, in advance of that date, TVG will begin televising and accepting account wagers on races from the Meadowlands tomorrow.
 
TVG was awarded the rights after being selected the winner in competitive bidding.  The Network receives exclusive rights outside of New Jersey for racing at the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park racetracks.  The addition of these important venues to TVG’s portfolio of track partners increases the number of U.S. tracks with which the network has exclusive domestic television and account wagering rights to 26.  Agreements with venues in the U.K., Ireland and Japan recently added an additional 55 international tracks.
 
“We are pleased that the NJSEA chose TVG from a field of strong bidders to showcase their world class racing products,” said TVG’s Nathanson. “This partnership is all about growing the state’s racing industry and we will use all of our platforms to present the excitement of New Jersey racing to the widest possible audience.”
 
“We welcome TVG as our television and account wagering partner and look forward to working closely with them to expand our business beyond the borders of New Jersey,” said Jerold L. Zaro, commissioner of the NJSEA. 
 
This is the first time ever that the network will cover events at the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park.
 
Located just outside Manhattan, the Meadowlands is widely regarded as hosting the finest harness racing in the United States including the $1.5 million Hambletonian. Moving forward, TVG will couple its evening centerpiece program, “The Quarters”, with new lead-in programming dedicated to the best in harness racing.
 
“We’re very excited about adding top-quality harness racing to our program lineup,” said Tony Allevato, TVG Senior Vice President and Executive Producer.  “Our audience has come to expect innovation in our primetime coverage, and we’re confident that the new show will generate as much energy and excitement as our Quarter Horse programming does now.”
 
At Monmouth Park, the NJSEA presents great summer Thoroughbred action, headlined by the $1 million Haskell Invitational and the Grade 1 United Nations Handicap.  In 2007, the track will host the $20 million Breeders’ Cup World Championships for the first time.  TVG is title sponsor of the TVG Breeders’ Cup Sprint and the TVG Sprint Division.  Additionally, TVG produces “The Works,” the Breeders’ Cup Simulcast Show, and other wrap-around television programming for the event as part of its relationship with Breeders’ Cup Limited and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.
 
“With the Breeders’ Cup coming to Monmouth Park in 2007 and TVG’s longstanding association with the Breeders’ Cup and NTRA, we believe that working with TVG is an important step in maximizing the success of the event for New Jersey racing,” Zaro said.
 
TVG noted that it is aware that one of the unsuccessful bidders is seeking to challenge this award.

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December 8, 2006
McERLEAN MOVES ON AFTER 14 YEARS

MP.com

Christopher M. McErlean has resigned as vice president of racing operations, concluding a 14-year tenure with the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority on January 5, 2007.
 
In January 2007, McErlean, 39, will be joining Penn National Gaming Inc. as vice president of racing.
 
McErlean, who became part of the management team at the Meadowlands as director of marketing and simulcasting in 1992, rose through the ranks to oversee the racing operations at both the Meadowlands and its sister track, Monmouth Park.
 
"Chris McErlean epitomizes all that is good about racing and all that is good about our state," said George Zoffinger, president and CEO of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority.  "His hard work and efforts over the years made us the jewel of racing across the country.  While I am happy for him personally, I know that we will miss him professionally.  I wish him nothing but the best."
 
After serving as executive assistant at Harness Tracks of America from 1989 to 1992, McErlean came to the Meadowlands as marketing director in 1992 and then oversaw a consolidated marketing and media department before shifting to the roles of assistant, then associate and then general manger [1994 through 2004].  In January of 2005, he was named vice president for racing operations were he oversaw 1,500 employees, facilities that generated $150 million in gross revenue [in 2005] and a $90 million annual budget.  In 2005, the Meadowlands generated $480 million in wagering and hosted more than 1.45 million guests, both the highest for any single pari-mutuel facility in North America.
 
"In the 14 years I have been at the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park, there could have been no better combination of great mentors and outstanding peers than those whom I have had the pleasure and privilege to work with at the NJSEA tracks," said McErlean.  "Being a part of all of the great races and events at the NJSEA tracks has been a great thrill.   I've had an enviable spot for some time and I truly understand and appreciated that.
 
"I really want to thank all of those employees whom I worked with and the horsemen as well who made my job that much easier," noted McErlean.  "I also want to thank our guests, for without them there is no business.  My new role will have me actively engaged in the racing industry, and in New Jersey -- through Penn Gaming's interest in Freehold Raceway.  It will be a different perspective, but I'm looking forward to the challenge."
 
It was McErlean's concept to introduce the Big M Club, one of the first frequent player rewards programs in racing, in 1996.  It now tracks more than 35 percent of the on-site handle at the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park.  That same year he oversaw the development and implementation of one of the industry's leading websites, www.thebigm.com.
 
His concern for the horseplayer began quite legitimately as a handicapper.  He was 14 when he became the handicapper and racing writer for the Delaware County Daily Times in Primos, Pennsylvania.  He provided the selections, with commentary, for racing at both Keystone [now Philadelphia Park] and Delaware Park.  
 
"The newspaper gig lasted about eight months, and I was averaging about a 30 percent winning clip and for most of the time I had a positive return on investment," he told Harness Racing Communications several months ago.  "My stats and winning picks were tracked daily and were right up there with the Inquirer and other Philly newspaper handicappers.  The job obviously helped stoke my continued interest in racing, and it was a great experience in writing and keeping disciplined.
 
"I've always kept an interest in the handicapping/gambling side of the business as a fan, and I consider myself pretty knowledgeable and at times successful from the handicapping side," he added.  "I get defensive at times when comments come out about, 'the suits at the track who know nothing about gambling or handicapping.'   Well, I do know handicapping and I know gambling.  Of course I can't and don't devote my waking hours to those endeavors but since a large part of my current job is to understand handicappers and gamblers, I think my background that grew out of this first job has helped me be successful in 'speaking the same language' as our guests."
 
McErlean, who earned his BS in economics and finance from the University of Scranton in 1989 and MBA in marketing from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 1991, has been an active member of the racing community for more than a dozen years.  He was president of Harness Tracks of America from 2002 to 2004 and HTA chairman of the board since 2004.  He is a director of the Thoroughbred Racing & Protective Bureau since 2004, director of the Thoroughbred Racing Association in 2005 [alternate in 1998 through 2004] and on the American Horse Council Racing Advisory Committee from 2002 to 2004. 
 
At Penn National Gaming, McErlean will oversee all racing operations at six racetracks and six off-track wagering facilities.  He will be based at the Hollywood Casino at Penn National, a racing and gaming facility currently under construction outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and will report directly to Penn National Gaming Senior Vice President, Regional Operations, John Finamore.  Penn National Gaming's racing interests include Penn National, Charles Town, Bangor Raceway and Freehold Raceway.
 
McErlean and his wife, Michele, and their two daughters, 11-year-old Maura and seven-year-old Cara, will be relocating later next year from West Orange, New Jersey to the Harrisburg area.

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May 26, 2006

JERSEY LAW OK'S DIME SUPERS

By MIKE FARRELL, DRF.com
 

New Jersey racetracks could soon offer 10-cent superfectas as a result of legislation signed Thursday by acting Gov. Joseph Roberts.

With Gov. Jon Corzine on a tour of East Asia and former state Senate president Richard Codey out of state, the role of chief executive fell to Roberts for a one-day term.

The most significant change is lowering the current $1 wagering minimum to a dime.

"A 10-cent superfecta is one of the options we will look to implement," said Chris McErlean, the vice president of racing operations for Monmouth Park and The Meadowlands.

Some of the new legislation must be reconciled with current New Jersey Racing Commission regulations, a process that can take six months.

Other provisions of the bill:

* Allows future wagers on races like the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth and the Hambletonian at The Meadowlands.

* Divides uncashed-ticket revenue 50-50 between racetracks and the horsemen's purse accounts.

* Permits simulcast wagering on races that start after tracks and simulcast parlors have closed. In the past, a live video transmission was required.

* Pays bettors who lost winning tickets, if they can prove through account or player-tracking systems that they made the wager.

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April 18, 2006

NEW JERSEY ON BOARD WITH NATIONAL RACING COMPACT

Oceanport Racing Report.com

Thoroughbred Times.com is reporting that New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine has signed into law a bill that allows New Jersey horsemen to seek a multi-jurisdictional license through the National Racing Compact.

New Jersey will join ten other states in the compact, including California, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, and New York, which issues owners' and horsemen's licenses that are valid in member states and 13 other jurisdictions that honor the licenses.

"This service will be greatly welcomed by New Jersey's Thoroughbred industry because our calendar provides us with roughly six to seven months of racing here in New Jersey," said New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association President Dennis Drazin. "By subscribing to the compact, New Jersey's horsemen would only need to fill out the compact's application once and provide fingerprints once as opposed to multiple times—if they race in multiple jurisdictions.''

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January 24, 2006

Grass stakes pushed back to accommodate new turf

By JOE DeVIVO, Daily Racing Form

The list of Monmouth Park's major stakes for 2006 looks the same as last year's schedule, but the order in which the races will be run has been shuffled.

In order to assure the new turf course will be ready, several grass stakes have been shifted from their traditional dates to later in the season, including the Grade 3 Red Bank Handicap, the Grade 3 Boiling Springs Handicap, and the Jersey Derby.

The Red Bank, usually the first graded race of the season, in late May, has been pushed back to Sept. 2.

The Boiling Springs, run on May 29 in 2005, has been moved to July 4.

The Jersey Derby, held last year on May 30, will now be run on Aug. 6.

"The new turf course will be ready in late June," said Dennis Dowd, senior vice president of racing for the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which operates Monmouth. "Work continues to progress on the new surface, and a late June starting point will ensure plenty of time for that course to take firm root."

Other significant changes include moving the Grade 3 Eaton Handicap from early July to Aug. 23; the Grade 2 Molly Pitcher Handicap from July 4 to Aug. 27; the Grade 3 Salvator Mile from late July to June 24; and the Grade 3 Sapling from Aug. 20 to Sept. 4.

Monmouth will offer 21 stakes worth at least $100,000, highlighted by the Grade 1, $1 million Haskell Invitational on Aug. 6.

2006 stakes schedule