New Jersey racing shifts to Meadowlands for turf meet

With the Monmouth Park season in the books, Thoroughbred racing will shift to northern New Jersey on Thursday evening for a 13-card all-turf run that will continue through Breeders’ Cup Saturday, Oct. 31.

With the Meadowlands main track set up for harness racing, the meet will once again be at the mercy of Mother Nature. Last year, six of 14 scheduled programs were canceled due to wet conditions.

Although it was a very dry summer in northern New Jersey, the opening-weekend forecast is iffy. There was a 90 percent chance of rain Wednesday, a 70 percent chance of showers Thursday, and an 80 percent chance of rain Friday, according to weather.com.

Racing will be held Thursdays to Saturdays through Oct. 10, and there will be a Columbus Day card on Monday, Oct. 12. The meet will then proceed on a Friday-Saturday basis through the end of the month. First post will be 7 p.m. Eastern, except on Columbus Day, when racing will begin at 2:15 p.m., and on Breeders’ Cup Friday and Saturday, which will start at a yet-to-be-determined time.

There are no stakes at the meet, and the quality of racing is modest. Still, local racing fans look forward to this brief meet, which is the only time during the year that Thoroughbred racing returns to its former North Jersey home.

Gabriel Saez and Victor Santiago tied for leading rider at the Meadowlands meet last year with six wins. Gregory Sacco was the leading trainer with five wins.