Monmouth Park Racetrack is an American

race track A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also use ...

for

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

in Oceanport,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

, United States. It is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and is operated under a five-year lease as a partnership with Darby Development, LLC. Monmouth Park's marquee event is the Haskell Invitational, named after Amory L. Haskell. The Haskell was first run in 1968 as a handicap, but was made into an Invitational Handicap in 1981. It is now a 1⅛-mile test for three-year-olds run in late July. Monmouth Park also now showcases the Jersey Derby originally run at Garden State Park until its closure in 2001. The racetrack's season spans from early May to

Labor Day Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...

in early September.

History

Long Branch Racetrack

BreedersCupClassic2007-AwesomeGemFirstTurn

Three different buildings have been called Monmouth Park throughout the years. The original

thoroughbred racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing i ...

track was opened by the Monmouth Park Association on July 30, 1870 in Eatontown, New Jersey to increase summer tourism for communities along the

Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore (known by locals simply as the Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May P ...

. Monmouth Park early on earned the nickname as the " Newmarket of America" due to the excellence of its racing. However, after three years of being open financial issues caused the track to close. In 1878, the track was bought by David D. Withers, George L. Lorillard,

James Gordon Bennett, Jr. James Gordon Bennett Jr. (May 10, 1841May 14, 1918) was publisher of the ''New York Herald'', founded by his father, James Gordon Bennett Sr. (1795–1872), who emigrated from Scotland. He was generally known as Gordon Bennett to distinguish him ...

, and George P. Wetmore. The men spent four years renovating the grounds and grandstand and reopened Monmouth Park in 1882. From 1882 to 1890, the track increased in popularity and as a result, a new racetrack was constructed next to the original. The new racetrack opened in 1890 becoming the second Monmouth Park. However, legislation proposed in 1891 and enacted in 1894 barred

parimutuel betting Parimutuel betting or pool betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vigorish" are deducted, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winnin ...

, and the track closed its doors. In May 1894, the Township Committee at Eatontown, New Jersey ordered the seizure and sale of the Monmouth Park Association's

grandstand A grandstand is a normally permanent structure for seating spectators. This includes both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium in that it does not wrap al ...

and other property for the payment of back taxes and on May 7 was sold at a public auction. Some of the major races held at the Long Branch track included the

Champion Stakes The Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlo ...

, Junior Champion Stakes, Freehold Stakes and the Monmouth Cup. The

United States Department of the Army The United States Department of the Army (DA) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the U.S. The Department of the Army is the federal government agency within which the United States Army (U.S.) is or ...

later constructed Fort Monmouth on the site of the former racetrack.

Monmouth Park Jockey Club

In 1946, the

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the ...

passed a bill providing for state regulation of

. The bill was championed by Amory L. Haskell, who led the legislative charge to once again permit wagering on horse racing in New Jersey and Philip H. Iselin, a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, different #Fabric, fabric types, etc. At f ...

magnate. They also had the backing of

Reeve Schley Reeve may refer to: Titles *Reeve (Canada), an elected chief executive of some counties, townships, and equivalents * Reeve (England), an official elected annually by the serfs to supervise lands for a lord * High-reeve, a title taken by some Engl ...

, Joseph M. Roebling,

John M. MacDonald John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Seco ...

, Townsend B. Martin, and James Cox Brady, Jr. The current Monmouth Park, now called the Monmouth Park Jockey Club, opened on June 19, 1946.

Thoroughbred racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing i ...

was back at the facility after a 53-year hiatus with 18,724 in attendance.

Monmouth Park Racetrack

The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority purchased Monmouth Park from its previous owners, the Monmouth Park Jockey Club, in 1985, in a deal valued at $45 million. The NJSEA still retains the corporate name "Monmouth Park Jockey Club". The

Vans Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running tour ...

, a touring music and

extreme sports Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear. Extreme tourism overl ...

festival, was successfully held at the racetrack in 2010 and 2011. It marks the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

stop on the nationwide tour, which visits the area during July. In 2012, the festival moved to the

PNC Bank Arts Center The PNC Bank Arts Center (originally the Garden State Arts Center) is an amphitheatre in Holmdel, New Jersey. About 17,500 people can occupy the venue; there are 7,000 seats and the grass area can hold about 10,500 people. Concerts are from May t ...

in nearby Holmdel, New Jersey due to financial considerations. In 2011, a five-year lease was signed with Morris Bailey, co-owner of Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, to provide a marketing partnership between the casino and racetrack. The agreement allowed Resorts to sponsor the Haskell Invitational, and possibilities include a merging of loyalty programs as well as bringing entertainers' appearances at the casino to the racetrack. The program is part of a strategy to mesh horse racing with casino gambling. In April 2013, Monmouth Park opened the Bluegrass

Miniature Golf Miniature golf, also known as minigolf, mini-putt, crazy golf, or putt-putt, is an offshoot of the sport of golf focusing solely on the putting aspect of its parent game. The aim of the game is to score the lowest number of points. It is played ...

Course near the Port-au-Peck Ave. entrance. The Course features two 18-hole courses, the Haskell Course and the Triple Crown Course. In July 2016, the luxury restaurant Blu Grotto, named after the Blue Grotto sea cave on the Italian island of

Capri Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has be ...

, opened at Monmouth Park. The restaurant is open year-round and is located near the racetrack's quarter-pole. The

Beer Garden A beer garden (German: ''Biergarten'') is an outdoor area in which beer and food are served, typically at shared tables shaded by trees. Beer gardens originated in Bavaria, of which Munich is the capital city, in the 19th century, and remain c ...

at Blu Grotto opened in 2017. On June 14, 2018, the Monmouth Park Sports Book by William Hill sportsbook opened and Monmouth Park became the first location in New Jersey to offer sports betting. Monmouth Park had pushed to legalize sports betting, which was legalized by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case '' Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association''.

Physical attributes

The main track is a one-mile (1.6 km) dirt oval with chutes for 6 furlong and 1¼ mile races. Monmouth turf

The turf course is seven furlongs in circumference, with a diagonal chute for races between and 1⅛ miles. A re-design of the grass course for the 2006 season brought with it a new, second chute to accommodate 5½ furlong sprint or rarely 1 9/16 mile races. Turf races can be run along the hedge, or with the portable rail out 12 feet (dubbed the "Haskell Course"), 24 feet ("Monmouth Course") or 36 feet ("Lennox Course"). The Stable Area, located directly to the north of the backstretch of the main track, contains a total of forty barns and stables, twelve north of the New Jersey Transit's North Jersey Coast Line (connected by its own service and access road) and twenty eight on the main complex. The Wolf Hill Farm, which served Monmouth Park as a private stable and practice facility, is located adjacent to and immediately west of the main complex. Wolf Hill, owned and operated by the Valentino Family from the nearby City of

Long Branch, New Jersey Long Branch is a beachside city in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the city's population was 30,719,Monmouth Park Jockey Club in 1963 which then became part of the greater Monmouth Park Complex. It was transferred to state ownership in the 1986 takeover by the NJSEA and was eventually sold to the

Monmouth County Park System The Monmouth County Park System is an agency that maintains over 40 parks and recreational areas, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. Established in 1960, the Park System takes up 5.9% of Monmouth County's total acreage. The largest par ...

in 1998 which now operates the site as Wolf Hill Recreation Area that features a 4-acre dog park, an 18-hole

disc golf Disc golf, also known as frisbee golf, is a flying disc sport in which players throw a disc at a target; it is played using rules similar to golf. Most disc golf discs are made out of polypropylene plastic, otherwise known as polypropene, which ...

course, a

baseball field A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...

and two

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

fields. While Wolf Hill ceased operating as a farm following the 1963 sale, owners and trainers continued to use Wolf Hill's practice track well into the 1990s. Remnants of the practice were clearly visible on the site until after the 2009 meet. After the 2009 meet, construction began in the Wolf Hill area, eliminating the last of the practice track.

Racing

* Grade 1: ** Haskell Invitational Handicap **

United Nations Stakes The United Nations Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds and older run over a distance of one and three-eighth miles on the turf held annually in July at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. The eve ...

*Grade 2: ** Monmouth Stakes *Grade 3: ** Eatontown Handicap **

Matchmaker Stakes The Matchmaker Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares age three and older run over a distance of miles on the turf held annually in July at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. History The inau ...

Molly Pitcher Stakes The Molly Pitcher Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race raced annually during the last week of August at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey. The race is open to fillies and mares, age three and up, over one and one-sixteenth miles on t ...

Monmouth Oaks The Monmouth Oaks is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey for three-year-old fillies. Named for England's Epsom Oaks, first run in 1779, the inaugural American edition took place in 1 ...

** Monmouth Cup Stakes **

Oceanport Stakes The Oceanport Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early August at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. Open to horses age three and older, the Grade III event is contested on turf over a distance of miles(8. ...

Philip H. Iselin Stakes The Philip H. Iselin Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. Open to horses three years of age and older, the race was first run in 1884. In 1891, New Jersey state legislator ...

** Salvator Mile Stakes *Ungraded stakes ** Blue Sparkler Stakes ** Boiling Springs Stakes ( Turf) **

Cliff Hanger Stakes The Cliff Hanger Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Monmouth Park in East Rutherford, New Jersey during late September/early October. Open to horses age three and older, it is now contested on turf over a distance of mi ...

** Colleen Stakes **

Dan Horn Stakes Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivo ...

Lady's Secret Stakes The Zenyatta Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares, age three and older the distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt scheduled annually in September at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. The ...

Long Branch Stakes The Long Branch Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. Open to three-year-olds, it is contested on dirt over a distance of miles (8.5 furlongs). It is generally viewed as a ...

Longfellow Stakes The Longfellow Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run each year in early June at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. A six furlong sprint for either gender aged three and up, the ungraded Longfellow offers a purse of $70 ...

** Miss Woodford Stakes ** Jersey Derby **

Jersey Shore Breeders' Cup Stakes The Jersey Shore Breeders' Cup Stakes is an American Grade III Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. Open to three-year-olds, it is a six furlong sprint raced on dirt. Inaugurated in 1992 at t ...

Lamplighter Stakes The Lamplighter Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the last week of May at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. Open to three-year-old horses, it is contested on turf over a distance of miles (8.5 furlon ...

** Majestic Light Stakes ** Monmouth Beach Stakes ** Regret Stakes ** Mr. Prospector Stakes **

Red Bank Stakes The Red Bank Stakes is a Listed Stakes American Thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older contested at a distance of one mile (8 furlongs) on turf held annually at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. History An earlie ...

** Rumson Stakes ** Sapling Stakes **

Tyro Stakes The Tyro Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually near in July at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. A non-graded stakes race offering a current purse of $60,000, it is open to two-year-old horses weighted at 122 p ...

Violet Stakes The Violet Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. Inaugurated in 1977, the current Listed race is open to fillies and mares age three and older and is raced on turf over a d ...

** Wolf Hill Stakes

Breeders' Cup World Championships

On October 26 and 27, 2007, Monmouth Park hosted the

Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, i ...

for the first time in its history.
The 2007 Event also marked the first time the event has been held over two days and also the creation of three new races held on Day 1 of the Championships. Winners of Races:
Day 1
Filly & Mare Sprint- Maryfield
Juvenile Turf-

Nownownow Nownownow (foaled April 20, 2005 in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the inaugural running of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf in 2007. Background Owned and bred by French clothing retailer Fabien Ouaki through his Fab Oa ...

Dirt Mile- Corinthian
Day 2
Juvenile Fillies-

Indian Blessing Indian Blessing (foaled April 9, 2005, in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly in 2007 and Champion Female Sprint Horse in 2008. Background Indian Blessing was bred by and raced for Pa ...

Juvenile- War Pass
Filly & Mare Turf- Lahudood
Sprint- Midnight Lute
Mile- Kip Deville
Distaff-

Ginger Punch {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Ginger Punch , image = , caption = , sire = Awesome Again , grandsire = Deputy Minister , dam = Nappelon , damsire = Bold Revenue , sex = Filly , foaled = 2003 , country = United States , colour = ...

Turf-

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...

Classic- Curlin The Classic was marred by a fatal injury suffered by George Washington, the 2006 European 3-year-old champion who had returned to training when his stud career was scuttled by fertility problems. He suffered a dislocated fracture of his right front ankle and was euthanized on the track.

Million Dollar Meet

In March 2010, it was announced that Monmouth Park would shorten its summer meet, conducting only 50 days of live racing (down from 141 total

days in the state) for a total of $50 million in purse money for the 2010 meet. This was done due to the recent monetary losses of the racetrack industry in New Jersey and made it the most expensive purse structure in North America at the time.

TV personalities

*Caton Bredar (1995–1998) *Barbara Foster (1995–1997) *Jennifer Burke (2000–2004) *Carolyn Conley *Brad Thomas (?-present) *Thomas Cassidy (?-present) *

Larry Collmus Larry Collmus (born October 13, 1966) is a Thoroughbred horse racing announcer. A native of Baltimore, Collmus has called at numerous racetracks around the country. He is the race caller for NBC Sports' coverage of the Triple Crown and Breeders' ...

(1994–2014) *Mike Curci *Gordon Richards *Matt Carothers (1998) *Travis Stone (2014)

TV and film appearances

*The track appears in the 1984 film classic '' The Pope of Greenwich Village''. *Monmouth Park was featured in a 1986 episode of '' The Equalizer TV series'', entitled "Tip on a Sure Thing." *''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering ...

'' filmed an episode at Monmouth Park racetrack entitled "Sport of Kings" in 2005. *The 2010 film '' The Bounty Hunter'' starring

Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress and film producer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since her career ...

and Gerard Butler filmed a brief scene at Monmouth Park. *The track was briefly shown on an episode of ''

Impractical Jokers ''Impractical Jokers'' is an American hidden camera reality show with improvisational elements. Produced by NorthSouth Productions, ''Impractical Jokers'' premiered on truTV on December 15, 2011 starring the members of The Tenderloins: James ...

''.

Accessibility & transportation

The Park is served by the Monmouth Park station on New Jersey Transit's North Jersey Coast Line during the racing season. A special train called the "Pony Express" was discontinued after the 2005 racing season. This train operated between

Hoboken Terminal Hoboken Terminal is a commuter-oriented intermodal passenger station in Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, it is served by nine NJ Transit (NJT) commuter rail lines, one Metr ...

and the racetrack, terminating on a rail siding near the grandstand entrance. It was often scouted out by

railfan A railfan, rail buff or train buff (American English), railway enthusiast, railway buff or trainspotter ( Australian/British English), or ferroequinologist is a person who is recreationally interested in trains and rail transport systems. Rai ...

s due to the variety of equipment that were used on the train in recent years, ranging from the 1970 vintage

Pullman Standard The Pullman Company, founded by George Pullman, was a manufacturer of railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Through rapid late-19th century d ...

Erie Lackawanna Comet I cars to modern Alstom

Metro-North Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a public authority_of_the__is_a_type_of_Nonprofit_organization">nonprofit_corporation_char ...

Comet Vs. Monmouth Park is also served by the

831 __NOTOC__ Year 831 ( DCCCXXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Byzantine–Arab War: Emperor Theophilos invades the Abbasid dominio ...

New Jersey Transit Bus route. The Park is accessible by car via NJ-36 with connections to the Garden State Parkway, I-195,

New Jersey Turnpike The New Jersey Turnpike (NJTP) is a system of controlled-access highways in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The turnpike is maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA).The Garden State Parkway, although maintained by NJTA, is not cons ...

( I-95) and other highways and roads. Parking is available in several on site lots.

References

External links

Monmouth Park Racetrack

New Jersey Horse Enthusiast Web

New Jersey Horse Online

Gate2Wire Review

{{coord, 40, 18, 34.85, N, 74, 0, 52.15, W, type:landmark, display=title 1870 establishments in New Jersey Gambling in New Jersey Horse racing venues in New Jersey Buildings and structures in Monmouth County, New Jersey Sports venues in New Jersey Tourist attractions in Monmouth County, New Jersey Sports venues completed in 1870