Aided by sports wagering and a new annual purse supplement from the state of New Jersey, Kenwood's east coast home base of Monmouth Park announced a 61 day meet with daily purses averaging approximately $500,000 per day, including significantly higher stakes purses. In a press release announcing the good news Dennis Drazin, Chairman & CEO of Darby Development stated “This year will be a game-changer for Monmouth Park and for racing in the State of New Jersey. For too long we have seen our neighbors enjoy casino-fueled purses placing New Jersey at a competitive disadvantage.  With a $100 million purse subsidy over the next five years, half of which is dedicated to Monmouth, we can now start to close that gap and move Monmouth Park to a more even playing field. This is a terrific opportunity and we will shepherd these monies in a manner that creates a superior betting product with fuller, more competitive fields.  To that end, beginning in 2019, we will offer an enhanced stakes schedule, substantial increases to our purse structure and more race dates, all the while keeping intact the owner and trainer guarantees we offered last year and expanding those into the state-bred program.  In addition, we will continue to offer free worker’s compensation for trainers stabled at Monmouth Park and will pay a forty-percent bonus to New Jersey-bred horses who compete in open company. All in, we’re looking at approximately $500,000 per day this year; and, overall, we are confident that this is a winning formula.” 

Kenwood has long been one of the leading owners at Monmouth and many of our partners and co-owners live in the immediate area, so this news is particularly welcome for us. We congratulate Dennis Drazin and his team for all their hard work on behalf of racing in the state of New Jersey. 

You can read the entire announcement from Monmouth Park here: http://www.monmouthpark.com/News.aspx?id=12642