Harness: The great Hambletonian Society/Meadowlands break up

We are one week removed from the announcement that after 46 years the Hambletonian is leaving the Meadowlands. It should come as no surprise that on a personal level this is not a decision I am happy about and I want to be upfront about that. I feel some heartbreak as I write this column. For me, this is like the Dodgers leaving Brooklyn. The Hambletonian at the Meadowlands is a race I have attended more than 25 times, many with my dad and more recently an event I have attended with my son. There is even a picture of my son at six weeks old in the Hambletonian trophy that was used in several racing publications. It's a part of my childhood and much like the Dodgers continue to play baseball, the Hambletonian will continue. But it will continue someplace else and for me, it won't be the same. But I am not going to write paragraph upon paragraph about my disappointment. There is far more at stake.

I spent a good part of the last week trying to understand how we have reached this point. There are certain facts that are irrefutable.

1. The Meadowlands did not exercise its exclusive right to extend its agreement to host the Hambletonian.

2. The Hambletonian Society, per their bylaws, put the Hambletonian out for bidding.

3. Three racetracks submitted a bid, including the Meadowlands, Harrah's Hoosier Park and Woodbine Mohawk Park.

4. The Hambletonian Society awarded Hoosier the rights to host The Hambletonian from 2027 to 2029.

In a press release from September 2025 (https://playmeadowlands.com/news_post/gural-addresses-hambletonian-being-opened-for-bids/), Jeff Gural said the following:

"While I was aware that the Hambletonian Society was not going to offer us an extension of our Hambletonian contract unless we agreed to allow owners and trainers on our exclusion list to enter in the Hambletonian, the Oaks and the Maturity, I made it clear that it was not our intention to allow trainers suspected of using illegal performance enhancing drugs to race against those trainers who to the best of our knowledge are racing under the rules."

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Gural's position was that the Hambletonian Society would not allow the Meadowlands to continue to host the Hambletonian if the racetrack continued to implement its exclusion list for the event, thus not allowing owners and trainers on that list to participate in race.

John Campbell, President of The Hambletonian Society, refuted that comment when I reached out: "We operated in recent years under Jeff's exclusionary rule at the Meadowlands, and they could have just executed their exclusive right to the race in 2027. When they didn't, that rule being applied going forward was a point of discussion for the Board of Directors, but not a deal breaker."

That difference in view on this subject is not a small matter. Gural pointed to it as a major point of contention in the Meadowlands hosting the event going forward, and as Campbell said it was one of many items discussed.

Jeff Gural stood firm on his position when I reached out to him about the loss of the Hambletonian. "The Hambletonian Society never liked that I had this exclusion rule in place, and they wanted it removed for 2027," said Gural.

Regarding Hoosier, Gural noted that the location could prove problematic for attracting owners from a variety of jurisdictions. "A lot of owners live on the East Coast, New York, New Jersey, etc. They aren't going to be thrilled about going to Indiana. The Europeans I would bet are definitely not going."

Gural also cited the pending sale of Caesars, who owns Hoosier Park, as a potential obstacle. Caesars is being sold to Fertitta Entertainment. "Things change after sales are finalized. What happens if Fertitta decides to cut some costs and doesn't want to be involved in racing or wants to just cut things in racing?" Gural asked.

Campbell feels confident that the sale will not be an issue. "We spoke with Hoosier about that very topic, and we are very confident that the Caesars sale will not have any impact on the Hoosier bid or their plans for the Hambletonian for the next three years.

"Caesars putting up $1.1 million in added money for the purses of the Hambletonian events was a factor in our discussions. We are cognizant of horsemen and purse accounts, and that was a part of our discussions," continued Campbell.

In other words, the Hambletonian Society liked that money was not being taken away from the overnight racing purse account to pay for the Hambletonian. Unlike many tracks with purse accounts bolstered by casinos, Gural does not have that luxury, which as we know puts the Meadowlands in a disadvantageous position.

Gural recognizes that he has an uphill battle ahead of him. "Now I must regroup and come up with a plan to ensure our future and New Jersey's future," he said.

In response to a question about what the 2027 stakes program at the Meadowlands may look like, Gural said, "I have a lot of work to do. I have to talk to industry stakeholders and some of the leaders in our state. I have to figure this all out by December 1 and bring a plan to the Race Secretaries meeting this winter so the breeders know what we are planning. I just hope the breeders don't move the stallions out of New Jersey now."

On the point of breeders, it is worth noting that December 1 date is well after the yearling sales in both Lexington (Oct. 5 to Oct. 9) and Harrisburg (Nov. 2 to Nov. 6). If a 2027 Meadowlands stakes program is not published prior to the start of October, it could have an impact on the performance of both sales.

Gural's concern is for the future of the Meadowlands and New Jersey racing, and he believes that should have played a larger role in this process with the Hambletonian Society.

"I know they don't like me and I am not shocked they did this to me," Gural said. "But it's not about me, it's about the future of the Meadowlands, New Jersey and the industry. I am shocked they threw the New Jersey horsemen under the bus.

"The Hambletonian Society has an obligation to promote the industry's future; especially for younger people, and I just can't understand how this accomplishes anything."

In addition, Gural noted how this will seriously impact the initiatives to either get a casino at the Meadowlands or at the very least, continue the state purse subsidy.

"The SBOA (Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association) publicly stated that their lobbyists are certain losing the Hambletonian would make it harder to get a casino bill passed," said Gural. "I am shocked that the Hambletonian Society didn't care about that. The only way this sport has a future is if the Meadowlands gets a casino and we can return it to where it was, as the number one venue for harness racing. I cannot understand why they would hurt the chances for that happening."

To Gural's point, even with a reduced schedule and racing content on a nightly basis that does not compare to 20 years ago, the Meadowlands is still responsible for 20% of Standardbred wagering handle in the United States, despite only contesting four percent of its races.

I asked John Campbell about that very topic and he commented that the "importance of the Hambletonian event compared to the impact on the industry was a part of the discussion." But cited that he cannot speak for every individual on the Hambletonian Society board, and he did not want to elaborate further.

While Campbell stated to me that he "was trying to avoid a Hambletonian vs. Gural argument," he did indicate to me that Gural's own words worked against him.

"Jeff said publicly and privately, if he doesn't get a casino, he will close the Meadowlands, and that uncertainty was a major factor when the board discussed the future of the Hambletonian," said Campbell.

On the Hambletonian Day broadcast, Gural assertively said that "it's not going to matter because I am getting a casino." But as it turns out, that assertiveness was not enough to convince the Hambletonian Society board.

As I said earlier, I am not happy about the Hambletonian leaving the Meadowlands, but I really want to understand the business decision at play here. I want to cast aside my personal disappointment and understand the "why." To look ahead, I had to look back.

According to the New York Times archives, which incidentally is a wonderful source of older news articles, the Du Quoin State Fair hosted the Hambletonian from 1957 through 1980 and when Du Quoin lost the race, many people felt exactly the way I do now about it leaving the Meadowlands. However, it is interesting to note that for many years Du Quoin was in danger of losing the Hambletonian prior to 1981. In 1963, Du Quoin nearly lost the race to Vernon Downs in New York, a bidding process that included a telegram from then Governor Nelson Rockefeller urging the Hambletonian Society to bring the race back to New York. While Du Quoin thwarted that threat, they in fact did lose the race to Liberty Bell Park in 1975, but Liberty Bell decided not to sign the contract for their winning bid and Du Quoin got the race back after a subsequent vote. So, Du Quoin was under constant pressure to try and keep the race, which is quite the opposite of the Meadowlands' 46-year run as the host of the event.

In 1979, the brand-new Meadowlands offered a monster bid, bringing the race to $1 million by 1983 (it was just $300,000 in 1979). New York also put forth a bid for a $1 million Hambletonian to be held at the New York State Fairgrounds, but their promise for the million-dollar purse was contingent on a subsidy from the state (talk about coming full-circle) and the Meadowlands won the day. Upon winning the event, an article in the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/1979/10/06/archives/meadowlands-offer-of-800000-brings-hambletonian-to-jersey.html) referred to the Meadowlands at just three years of age as having "taken the spotlight as the nation's most successful racing complex." It also cited the "media exposure" having the event in the New York City area brings as a factor in the decision.

It is, without question, that the initial move to the Meadowlands was a business decision and a smart one at that. Handle grew from $3.3 million in 1981 to $9 million in 2005.

So, what was the business element to the 2026 decision to move the race to Hoosier? I reached out to Gabe Prewitt, the Vice President of Racing at Hoosier Park, to learn as much as I could about what the 2027 Hambletonian at Hoosier will look like.

Prewitt, much like me, displayed a great deal of surprise about winning the bid.

"I assumed whatever differences had materialized between the Meadowlands, Jeff (Gural) and the Hambletonian Society would work themselves out and the race would not move," said Prewitt.

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So, what was it about Hoosier that won them the bid? Unlike in 1981, there is no purse increase offered in Hoosier's bid. The details of the race card are still very much up in the air. For the most part, decisions have not been made as to which races will appear on Hambletonian Day outside the Hambletonian races and the Peter Haughton and Jim Doherty Memorials. Prewitt said he had to "fine tune a lot of things now." He cited the Nadia Lobell as a possibility for the Hambo Day card, a race Hoosier is acquiring from Scioto. The Cane Pace and Shady Daisy are not moving to Hoosier. The Hambletonian Maturity will likely be raced on Hambletonian Day, something the Meadowlands could not do due to the placement of the John Cashman Memorial on the program. Tied together, that makes for six stakes races on the Hambletonian Day card, a number Prewitt said, "doesn't feel like enough." I agree.

It has been suggested to me that Hoosier should move the Dan Patch to Hambletonian Day. Prewitt indicated to me that to his surprise the Hambletonian contract does not require the event to take place on a specific day. Campbell confirmed that the date is not set in stone, and he looks forward to conversations with the Hoosier team.

I suggested to Prewitt that he keep the Dan Patch where it is on the calendar and move the Hambletonian card back one week, with the Dan Patch on Friday night and Hambletonian on Saturday. Everyone will be in town for the event anyway, so make a great weekend of racing out of it.

I asked Prewitt about sending the signal to Europe, which has been an important piece of the last two decades of the event, and he responded that would likely continue, and John Campbell also affirmed that would continue with the event moving to Hoosier. Prewitt did not mention, at least at this time, any major expansion of national network coverage, and Campbell also said that "discussions about television coverage will have to take place."

"Fox has been a great partner, but Hoosier would have to be involved in those conversations now going forward," said Campbell on the TV topic.

Now, that's not to say expansion of any of these items cannot happen. Prewitt has shown a knack for finding ways to grow events and handle seemingly everywhere he has been, and perhaps the vote to move the race to Hoosier is in part one of confidence he will do the same here. But it is quite curious that at least at this point, it doesn't seem like the Hoosier bid on the surface has many new bells and whistles attached to it.

When you consider the fact that the Meadowlands, which is the harness track in North America with the highest betting handle both by volume and by race, put in a bid to host the event, the business case to move the race is not obvious. Hoosier, for all the good Prewitt has done, on average does 25% of the handle per race that the Meadowlands does. Even with large gains on Dan Patch night, the handle of $1.38 million pales in comparison to any night of weekend racing at the Meadowlands, let alone a night like Meadowlands Pace. Hoosier handled $5.1 million for the 2023 Breeders Crown across the two nights. In 2024, the Meadowlands had handle of $7.7 million across the two Breeders Crown nights, which is 50% more than Hoosier.

I believe it is a fair question of how much of this was a vote for Hoosier and how much of this was a vote against Jeff Gural?

Campbell declined to reveal the vote totals, which contrasts with the last several times the Hambletonian bid went to vote, as those were made public. For example, the vote to move the race to the Meadowlands beginning in 1981 was 12-9 in favor of The Big M.

"The bylaws call for a secret ballot, and I believe secret is secret," said Campbell.

Someone said to me that I need to consider that the Meadowlands of 2026 is not the Meadowlands of 1983. That is fair and I concede that point. But the Hambletonian that Hoosier is acquiring is not the Hambletonian of 1983 either.

In 1983, the purse of the Hambletonian was $1 million. The purse of the Kentucky Derby that same year was $531,000. Adjusted for inflation, the $1 million in 1983 is worth $3.35 million in 2026, yet the purse of the Hambletonian final is still $1 million. Meanwhile, the purse of the Kentucky Derby is now $5 million, ten-fold of what it was 40 years ago.

In addition, wagering handle on the Hambletonian in 1983 was $3.7 million. The Kentucky Derby saw a handle of $5.5 million that same year. In 2026, handle on the Hambletonian was $6.1 million prior to European handle being calculated (typically around $1 million) and the Kentucky Derby was $225 million.

The Kentucky Derby has exploded in popularity and wagering, even as the industry around it has contracted. The Hambletonian has remained stagnant. If your argument is that you cannot compare the Kentucky Derby to the Hambletonian, you are right, now you can't. But in 1983, you could.

The Hambletonian used to be on a major national network, live, with full coverage of at least an hour focusing on the event. For many years it was on CBS and then NBC. It is now squeezed into a short window of minutes into a Fox Sports broadcast that centers on Saratoga. The "full coverage" of the Hambletonian is provided in the form of a replay show that is not aired live. While that show has been done exceptionally well, a replay show is not going to grow wagering handle on an event that already happened.

Hopefully there are opportunities which Hoosier can capitalize on, and perhaps Prewitt can find a silver bullet to help elevate the handle of the Hambletonian once again, but given how much the Meadowlands stands out in the industry from a betting handle standpoint, that will be no small task.

In the end, the parting of ways between the Meadowlands and the Hambletonian seems to be more of a divorce between Jeff Gural and the Hambletonian Society. In response to one of my questions on "X" around the decision, former Hambletonian Society COO Moira Fanning said, "I heard the actual words and actions have consequences," implying that there are consequences to Gural's words and actions. That speaks volumes.

To me it appears that some members of the Hambletonian Society were not able to separate Gural and the Meadowlands in their analysis of the bids, and they took a business decision for the most important event of the year and made it personal. Fanning is correct, actions do have consequences, and while I wish the Hambletonian Society and Hoosier well and hope they have a successful event, I am very fearful of what the consequences for the Meadowlands and racing in New Jersey will be.