Sports wagering at The Meadowlands racetrack officially began shortly after 10 a.m. on Saturday (July 14) morning when former New Jersey State Senator Ray Lesniak placed the first wagers through the windows. “It was a long battle. Eight times we lost in court,” said Lesniak. “It was worth the fight every single step of the way. I want to congratulate Jeff Gural for sticking it out and for keeping this place alive until we could get them a boost in the arm.” Meadowlands CEO Jeff Gural chose FanDuel as his partner in the new venture. The newly enshrined FanDuel Sportsbook is located just to the left inside the main entrance for the racetrack. Being the closest Sportsbook to New York, it is expected to be one of the highest grossing locations in the state of New Jersey until the Empire State legalizes wagering. While Gural is thrilled with the potential revenue stream coming his way, he was unwilling to provide any estimates or projections. “I have no idea on revenue,” said Gural. “Nobody knows how much is being bet illegally, we are all guessing. Common sense would tell you that I have New York and North Jersey to myself, and Westchester should be big, but the majority of the betting is online. You’ll see in a month or two when the football starts a massive amount of advertising from companies that are trying to get business.” Even though wagering began at the East Rutherford track on Saturday, online wagering isn’t expected to begin until the start of the football season. Whether any of the sports revenue trickles down to the horsemen is still up in the air. Gural was blunt when asked about that possibility. “I’ve loaned this place $18 million to keep it open, so I don’t have much sympathy for the plight of the horsemen,” said Gural, who implied that a purse subsidy from the State is the only thing that will truly save racing in New Jersey. “We spoke to the legislators, and we need a purse supplement. In Pennsylvania they give the racing industry $250 million, in New York they give them $200 million, and we get nothing. There is no way I can continue to compete with those tracks and get horses to come here and race. Our purses are half of what they are in those states.” Horsemen representative Mike Gulotta, owner of Deo Volente Farms in New Jersey, agreed with Gural that the subsidy was necessary, and was hopeful that legislators are beginning to see the light on the issue. “We are cautiously optimistic,” said Gulotta on receiving the $30 million from the State, about a third of which would go to horsemen at The Meadowlands. “We need this money to be viable and compete with New York and Pennsylvania.” The Sportsbook was well attended on Saturday, with a few dozen people waiting outside the track for the 11 a.m. opening for the public and about 150 people roaming around the FanDuel Sportsbook mid-afternoon. It was a soft of opening of sorts according to FanDuel CEO Matt King. The place is expected to transform by the end of August, with the number of simulcasting monitors increasing from the current 27 to 65. “What you see around here today is just the beginning of our investment here at The Meadowlands,” said King. The FanDuel Sportsbook will be open seven days a week, but as of now is not permitted to operate on Sundays when the neighboring New York Giants and Jets of the National Football League are playing at Metlife Stadium. According to Gural he is working with the teams and is hoping to come up with a resolution to allow the facility to remain open.