Monmouth Park: Handle, attendance up for meet

Monmouth Park had a strong summer meet this year, with handle and attendance up significantly for a 61-day stand on the Jersey Shore.

According to the track, average ontrack attendance during the meet was 8,986, a 4.5 percent jump over the same figure last year, when the track ran four more race days. Average ontrack handle was $510,106, a gain of 8.3 percent over last year, while average all-sources handle was $4.44 million, a jump of 9.8 percent.

“The numbers posted this year prove that fans across the country have responded positively to our racing product, while those closer to home enjoyed great racing at one of the world’s most beautiful racetracks,” Dennis Drazin, the head of Darby Development, the horsemen-led company that signed a lease last year with the state to operate Monmouth Park, said in a statement.

Thoroughbred racing in New Jersey will now move to the Meadowlands for 10 all-turf cards, with live racing beginning Oct. 11 on Fridays, Saturdays, and Mondays through Nov 2. Oct. 21 will be a dark day.