Plan would give Monmouth lights

New Jersey Sen. Richard Codey, who will be sworn in as the state's governor on Nov. 15, has proposed that Monmouth Park run at nights on weekdays and that the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority reconsider a plan to lease its racetracks to another company, according to a report in the Asbury Park Press.

Codey, the State Senate majority leader who will assume the governorship in the wake of the resignation of James McGreevey, said in the report that he would allocate money from the state budget for Monmouth to install lights. Monmouth, near the Jersey Shore, typically runs from late May until early September on a five-day-week schedule.

Codey also said that he would like the sports and exposition authority to drop its plan to lease Monmouth and The Meadowlands to a private or public company until the state's racing industry could be reassessed.

Dennis Drazin, the legal counsel for the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, said Wednesday that Codey had discussed the plans with horsemen in the state and that the horsemen's group would support his proposals.