Monmouth at Meadowlands continues upward trend

The Monmouth at Meadowlands all-turf meet, which concluded Saturday, showed a 19 percent gain in average daily handle over 2014, according to figures released by Monmouth Park on Tuesday.

The 10 days of this year’s meet had daily average handle of $1,235,522, compared to last season’s average of $1,038,747, when eight cards were held. Six races per day were run both years.

In 2013, daily average handle at the meet was $988,547. Nine six-race cards were held that year.

“Cleary, the momentum is on our side,” said Dennis Drazin, the head of Darby Development, which operates the meet on behalf of the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association. “We’ll look to build on this success and continue to offer full, competitive fields next year and in the years to come."

Jose Ferrer, who rode eight winners, was the leading jockey at the meet. Ferrer, 51, has a long history at the Meadowlands, and at age 19 became the first jockey to ride five winners on a Meadowlands card.

Jamie Ness, who sent out four winners, was the leading trainer.