A version of this story originally ran Sept. 30, 2024.

When Stacy Fox heard the news that Freehold Raceway — known as the oldest racing track in the country — was shutting down this December, she was crestfallen.

“I literally cried because my whole childhood was at the track,” said Fox, 46, who now lives in Savannah, Georgia, but grew up in Browns Mills in Pemberton Township in Burlington County.

Both of her parents worked at the Monmouth County track — her father was a head accountant there for more than 30 years, and her mother worked the simulcasting switchboard at night.

Fox remembers driving to the raceway with her mother before her shift, and riding back home with her father, at the end of his work day. She often spent Sundays at the track, when her father would catch up on work. She knew dozens of people who worked at the raceway.

Even decades later, she has vivid memories of the thrill of spending time there with her brother, the family’s two youngest siblings. They peeked into the track’s vault filled with money, walked through the cigar smoke-filled club, met the jockeys and stroked the horses.

“My dad was a big part of that place,” Fox said of her father, who died in 2000. After she learned the raceway was closing, she visited the track one final time in October with her mother, when they traveled to New Jersey.

Coincidentally, her parents’ anniversary falls on the track’s last day — Dec. 28.

In September, officials announced the horse-racing track, which features harness racing, is ceasing all live racing and simulcasting operations at the end of the year.

New Jersey’s other tracks — Monmouth Park and the Meadowlands — are not affected by the closure.

“This was an extremely difficult decision, especially given the historical importance of Freehold Raceway to the local community and the New Jersey horse racing industry,” Howard Bruno, the raceway’s general manager, said in the announcement.

“Unfortunately, the operations of the racetrack cannot continue under existing conditions, and we do not see a plausible way forward,” he said. “We are incredibly thankful for our dedicated employees, horsemen and fan base for their support and patronage for so many years.”

News of the closure prompted a flood of reactions and hundreds of comments on social media.

Some people cheered the demise of horse racing at one more racetrack across the country, saying it was best for the horses.

Others lamented the possibility of developers building on the site.

Many were incredibly saddened by the impending shutdown, recalling fond days spent at the track in their childhood with family members and friends.

Bob Barlow, who now lives in Connecticut, previously lived in East Windsor in Mercer County and would visit the track as a child with his stepfather, who loved watching the horses race and placing bets.

Barlow said his stepfather, Tracy Hall, once won $800 from betting on the races in one day. Although Barlow doesn’t remember the horse’s name, he easily recalls the jockey’s name: Wilbur.

“My stepfather winds up getting up, standing on top of the chair and screaming, ‘Come on Wilbur, come on Wilbur,’” said Barlow, 72.

The horse won, and Hall was elated. “I literally thought he was going to pass out and have a heart attack,” Barlow said, “he was so excited.”

When Hall retired from his security guard position at a research facility, he landed an usher job at the track, allowing him to get paid for something he enjoyed, Barlow said.

If the track wasn’t busy, he could place his own bets.

Occasionally, he would be invited onto the field after the race, when the winning horse — adorned with a bouquet of flowers around its neck — and its owner took photos. He was employee of the month in May 1995, and officials named a race after him, Barlow said.

The track’s attendance declined in recent years.

Carl Cito, 26, would regularly visit the track with his two grandfathers — his mother’s father and his father’s father — starting when he was about 4, he said.

His father trained and raced horses there, and although Cito still goes to the track now, he notices a difference in attendance.

“Before me, it used to be super popular,” he said, referring to the time before he was born.

Though he sees some younger people at the track today, it’s mostly an aging crowd. “My friends from the racetrack are mostly older than me,” Cito said.

When the closure was announced, Freehold Borough Mayor Kevin Kane blamed track officials for the shutdown. There has been declining interest in standardbred harness racing, despite the raceway’s “long and storied history” in the borough, he said in a statement at the time.

Track officials didn’t try to reverse the trends, Kane previously said.

Freehold is jointly owned by Penn Entertainment and Greenwood Racing.

“Management seemed disinterested in promoting or marketing the venue and failed to capitalize on the advent of sports betting in New Jersey,” Kane previously said.

“The facility had become shopworn and dated with little capital improvements to attract new customers,” Kane said. “Attempts to meet with management to discuss promotional opportunities, band nights, car shows and other event-based strategies designed to get new customers into the facility were rebuffed.”

In September, Stephen Gallo, the borough’s business administrator, said the horses will be retained by their owners once the track shuts down.

The borough, which doesn’t own any of the property involved, plans to authorize a redevelopment study to determine if the area meets the criteria for an “area in need of redevelopment.” That could lead to proposals for a new use for the land.

But, the raceway could potentially remain a horse-racing track.

The borough has been in communication with state Sen. Vin Gopal, D-Monmouth, who represents the area, and is seeing if anyone is interested in continuing the raceway’s operations, Gallo previously said.

“We have received several inquiries from parties interested in racing operations which we are following up on,” he previously said.

Freehold Raceway is the nation’s oldest and fastest daytime half-mile harness racing track, according to its website. It first opened in 1853.

It features live harness racing for trotters and pacers, and is open seven days and nights a week. It also hosts year-round thoroughbred and harness racing simulcasts from tracks throughout North America.

Fox, who was given a Freehold Raceway-branded mug years ago and has kept the keepsake, said the track is like a “security blanket” to her. Over the years, she spent many weekends and occasional evenings at the track.

Its closure is “heartbreaking,” she said.

But, “life goes on, the world changes, and things evolve,” Fox said. “And I guess it’s just time for it to close. I guess it’s just not what it once was.”

“But, when it was, it was an amazing place,” she added.