Harness: A stronger product could inch The Meadowlands closer to its heyday
“You should have been around for its heyday,” is a phrase I have heard a great many times throughout my 35 years when a life-long harness fan spoke to me about The Meadowlands. Interestingly, I remember quite vividly, some pretty darn good years in the 1990’s and early 2000’s (post-heyday according to most harness racing historians).
Every Saturday night, my father and I would wait for the gates to open at the Clubhouse entrance, in anxious anticipation of the call that would cause the phone at the Clubhouse gate to ring, signaling it was time to let the patrons in. The Clubhouse teletheater awaited us and being the youngest person in that room, I would of course fly up the escalators to beat everyone to the ticket counter so my father and I could have our choice of seats. Back then, there were no televisions at each seat, so seats near the wall of televisions were at a premium.
Eventually the time would come where the teletheater would be open for daytime simulcasting, making things rather difficult on us night-goers. We no longer had our choice of a seat, instead having to stand along the wall of the room waiting for one of the daytime simulcast players to get up. Often, we wouldn’t get two seats together and would have to negotiate our way to sitting together. The point being, that it was 5:00 and there wasn’t a seat to be found for the night of racing to come, over two hours away. Yet, I missed the heyday according to most people.
The Meadowlands will always hold a special place in my heart. It is where my father and I spent the most time together. Without The Meadowlands, I am certain my career path would have been entirely different. As the New Jersey legislators bring us closer and closer to the reality of a purse subsidy that would provide The Meadowlands with an additional $6 Million for overnight purses, the 13-year-old in me is once again anxious with anticipation. Furthermore, there is at least another $1 Million from sports betting earmarked for overnight purses as well. Given my previous role at The Meadowlands, I know quite well what $7 Million-plus being injected into overnight purses means. Long story short, it equates to somewhere between 60 and 70-percent more money for overnight races.
The team at The Meadowlands is very aware of the fact that their entry box is in high demand from December through early-March and seemingly ignored in the spring and summer, with the exception of stakes races. From a business standpoint, a dramatic increase in the overnight purse structure during the winter makes little sense. That dramatic increase is best served from mid-March through Hambletonian Day, when The Meadowlands needs horses.
Assuming the same number of race dates and using 2019 as an example, The Meadowlands could increase their overnight purses through March 2nd by 30%, an approximate cost of $540,000 and still increase their overnight purses from March 8th through Hambletonian Day by 75% at an approximate cost of $4.3 Million, leaving another $1.2 Million for the remaining dates in September and the late-fall.
What does that mean? In the spring and summer, the bottom level nw3500L5, which is now at a purse of $6,500 would become $11,375 (if that class would even be needed any longer). The top condition event, which is currently the nw15000L5, goes for $15,000. In the spring and summer, that would become $26,250. At present Yonkers’ top-condition event, a nw30000L5, sports a purse of $29,000. Translation, The Meadowlands becomes competitive with Yonkers purses.
It is a certainty that with this additional money, the horsemen of New Jersey will ask for more racing dates; Likely asking for three-day race weeks throughout the winter at the very least. It’s understandable. However, I believe that the horsemen cannot just make that request without a gesture of good faith, if you will. In order to show the management at The Meadowlands that more days can work, and the product will not be watered down, the horsemen of New Jersey should flood the entry box right now. In doing so they can present numbers to Meadowlands management which proves that a third day each week can lead to a successful product.
Personally, I am skeptical that adding dates is in the best interest of business right now. We are still at a point where standardbred breeding is not trending in the right direction and it will be years before this purse subsidy leads to there being more horses for the racetracks to draw from in New Jersey. In addition, the language of the purse subsidy bill states that the industry must show that this subsidy has led to improvements in the industry. The racetracks and horsemen of New Jersey cannot afford to simply increase dates, water down their product and negatively impact handle in doing so. A 13-race program on a Saturday night in April with a 75% increase in purses would be a sight to see.
Admittedly, my position has long been that simply increasing purses and race quality does not increase handle. However, I believe that is different at The Meadowlands. It is because The Meadowlands is a different animal in harness racing; it always has been. For example, on Saturday March 2, 2002, a 13-race card was presented at The Meadowlands. The bottom level race offered on the program was a nw12500L5 pace for $15,000, the best race was a $35,000 Open. The race card produced a handle of $5.1 Million. Sure, a lot has changed since 2002 and I am not saying that we will see those kinds of numbers again, even with a purse subsidy. But we have seen what top-quality racing at The Meadowlands can do.
Today my father and I won’t be able to attend the races together anymore. He’s not well and it’s just not possible. But I still remember those nights of watching $150,000 claimers battle it out. I still remember warriors like Dr No, Allstar Bluejean, Casimir Camotion and Florida Boy being mainstays at the East Rutherford oval week-in and week-out. That wasn’t the heyday, but it was a pretty good time, and if implemented properly, this purse subsidy can lead to a pretty good time ahead that I can share with my son, like my father did with me.