N. J. horsemen settle with leagues for $3.4 million

A U.S. District Court has approved a settlement agreement reached between the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association and a number of professional and collegiate sports associations that will award the horsemen’s group a $3.4 million bond.

The settlement, which was first reported by Thoroughbred Daily News, will result in the dismissal of a 2014 lawsuit that the New Jersey horsemen filed against the NCAA, NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB accusing the leagues of blocking Monmouth Park’s attempt to launch a sports betting operation. The New Jersey horsemen run Monmouth under a lease with the state.

The lawsuit was seeking $150 million in damages. As part of a restraining order issued by a judge in 2014, the leagues were required to post the $3.4 million bond.

The U.S. District Court for New Jersey approved the settlement. In the order issued on Monday, the judge wrote that the dispute has been “amicably resolved.” Although the order begins by stating that the case shall be dismissed without prejudice, the agreement requires the parties to agree to dismiss the charges “with prejudice” once the $3.4 million bond is discharged.

Dennis Drazin, the chief executive officer of the company that runs Monmouth, did not immediately respond to a phone call.

Sports betting has been legal in New Jersey since 2018, after a Supreme Court ruling that year allowed states to authorize the practice. Monmouth Park had been seeking the ability to offer sports betting since 2014, under legal arguments that had the support of the state’s governor at the time.