Monmouth to delay opening of meet by three weeks because of coronavirus

Racetracks in New Jersey planned to shut down for operations as of 8 p.m. on Monday night, and Monmouth Park has delayed the opening of its 2020 meet by three weeks, according to announcements from the tracks.

The Meadowlands and Monmouth were both scheduled to shut their racebooks as of Monday night, and both the Meadowlands and Freehold Raceway said they would suspend their live harness racing meets. The decision came after the Centers for Disease Control issued a warning on Sunday night to limit public gatherings to 50 people or fewer.

:: To stay up to date, follow us on: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Monmouth was scheduled to begin its meet on May 2, but because the CDC warning included a recommendation for the ban to last eight weeks, the track has pushed back opening day to May 23.

“The new opening day will return us to our previous traditional opening date,” said Dennis Drazin, the chief executive officer of the company that runs the track. “The reality is, with a May 23 opening, we’ll only miss five racing days. We’d rather give plenty of notice now rather than continue on a wait-and-see approach. We firmly believe this slight delay will prove beneficial across the board in the long run.”

In addition to the opening delay, Monmouth is delaying the opening of its stable area from April 11 to May 1, the track said.