The New Jersey thoroughbred horse racing season is well underway as storied Monmouth Park in Oceanport NJ hosts a 61-day live racing meet through to October 6. At the conclusion of racing at Monmouth, thoroughbred action will switch to The Meadowlands for 10 days of turf racing. The Monmouth schedule calls for racing every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with two extra days added for Thursday, July 4, and Monday, September 2. The park gates open at 11:30 AM ET on all race days and the ponies head to the gate for first post at 12:50 PM ET.
History of racing at the "Newmarket of North America"
Originally located in Long Branch, New Jersey, the Monmouth Park Association began holding racing meets in the state way back in 1870. At the time it was known as “The Newmarket of North America” in reference to the famed racecourse in England. The track was closed down in 1894 when the state barred pari-mutual wagering, and it would be 53 years before the new Monmouth Park in Oceanport would host live racing. Owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, Monmouth features a one-mile dirt oval and seven-furlong turf course.
Big racing events past and present at Monmouth
In 2007, Monmouth hosted the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, marking the first time the BC was held as a two-day event. That year, Preakness winner Curlin captured the featured Breeders’ Cup Classic, while Midnight Lute – sire of this year’s Triple Crown contender Mylute – captured the BC Sprint title. The highlight of the Monmouth racing calendar is the $1 million Haskell Invitationa Stakes, a Grade I event for three-year-olds going 1 1/8 miles on the dirt. This year’s Haskell is sponsored by William Hill and will be held on Sunday, July 28, 2013.
The field is set for the $1 million Haskell, where Nyquist will be trying to re-stake his claim as the top three-year-old in the country.
On Sunday at Monmouth Park, the featured race is the $300,000 United Nations Stakes. Scheduled to be run at a mile and three-eighths on the turf, the Grade 1 event has drawn a field of ten colts and geldings.
On Sunday at Monmouth Park, the featured race is the $150,000 Pegasus Stakes, a key prep race for the Haskell Invitational (G1). The Grade 3 event will be contested at a mile and a sixteenth and has drawn a field of seven three-year-olds.
With five grade 1 races and a grade 2, the undercard for the June 11 Belmont stakes could be the best single day of racing on the calendar outside of the Breeders’ Cup.
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