Though New Jersey’s fight to allow sports betting has been tied to Atlantic City’s casinos, it’s clear that the venue counting on it the most is Monmouth Park racetrack in Oceanport NJ.
The track has been ready to go forward with sports betting almost since the beginning of the state’s fight and now comes word that a major expansion of the track’s facilities—namely a 7,500 seat amphitheater—depends on sports betting going through.
The track unveiled plans for the theater last year, hoping it would challenge the PNC Arts Center in Holmdel NJ for major concerts. But financing for the project were apparently tied to the track getting sports betting.
“We had several commitments to finance the project when sports betting looked like it was going to go forward,” said Dennis Drazin, advisor to the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horseman’s Association, the operators of Monmouth Park told the Asbury Park Press. “When the court put it on hold some of the banks got a little, I wouldn’t say reluctant, but it just kind of dried up.”
The state is trying to get around a federal ban on sports betting by allowing for a self-regulated system at racetracks and casinos. The state argues that the ban only applies to state-regulated sports betting.
The professional sports leagues and the NCAA have challenged the state’s stance saying since it regulates tracks and casinos, it would still be regulating sports betting. A federal judge sided with the leagues, but the state’s appeal in front of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia begins March 17.
Monmouth Park says it needs sports betting to compete with tracks in neighboring states that offer slots. The track lost about $4.5-million in 2014. The cost of the amphitheater project has been put at about $15 million. The theater was scheduled to open in May.
Meanwhile, in another New Jersey track matter, the Meadowlands Racetrack is trying to settle a dispute that has been blocking its simulcast signal to 23 other racetracks.
The track contracts with Monarch Content Management to negotiate host fees for its signal. A dispute between that company and the MidAtlantic Cooperative has kept all signals managed by Monarch, including Gulfstream Park, Santa Anita Park, Laurel Park, and Tampa Bay Downs from being simulcast to MidAtlantic Cooperative members since Dec. 1. Meadowlands, as a Monarch partner, is permitted to offer wagering on those tracks.
The dispute is seen as coming from a clash of racetracks in Maryland that are part of the co-operative. The dispute is between Rosecroft Raceway, which is operated by Penn National Gaming Inc., the largest member of the MidAtlantic Cooperative, and the Maryland Jockey Club, which is owned by The Stronach Group. Monarch is a Stronach Group company.
Rosecroft must negotiate with the club and horsemen to offer thoroughbred simulcasts.
“Earlier this week, Meadowlands instructed Monarch to offer the MidAtlantic Cooperative a separate deal for us in an effort to get the Meadowlands harness signal back in their network of tracks,” Meadowlands officials said in a press statement. “The MidAtlantic executive committee rejected that offer. We felt the Maryland issue did not involve Meadowlands in any way, nor should harness racing fans and players be impacted by it.”
Meadowlands officials are asking for a quick resolution, even asking gamblers to help lobby for a settlement.
