Monmouth opening rescheduled for July 4 weekend; stable area to open June 1
Live racing will not begin at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., until the July 4 weekend, the track announced Wednesday, and its stable area will not open until June 1.
The announcement by the track about the delay in its opening followed the issuance of an order Tuesday by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy extending the state’s public-health emergency by 30 days, through April 21. New Jersey announced that 232 people had died of coronavirus or complications from the disease on Tuesday alone, and Murphy continued to urge residents to stay at home while also closing all of the state’s parks. A total of 1,232 have now died of the virus in New Jersey.
Monmouth had earlier delayed the opening of its stable area to May 1, while the opening of its live race meet, originally scheduled for May 2, was pushed back indefinitely.
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“We want to keep our horsemen and fans as informed as possible,” said Dennis Drazin, the head of the horsemen-led group that operates the track under a lease from the state. “With Gov. Murphy extending the health care emergency in New Jersey by an additional 30 days, it became impossible for us to move forward with our planned May 1 opening for stabling. We’ll continue to follow the governor’s leadership and look forward to a great season of racing at the Jersey shore.”
In a press release, Monmouth said that its centerpiece stakes race, the $1 million Haskell Invitational for 3-year-olds, remains scheduled for July 18. If the race goes as planned, it could serve this year as an important prep race for the Kentucky Derby, which is now scheduled for Sept. 5.
The return of live racing across the Eastern Seaboard remains in question. Belmont Park in New York has not yet announced any plans to return to live racing, and tracks in Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania have all been indefinitely shuttered. Casinos that generate subsidies for purses in all four states also have been closed.