Meadowlands Racetrack to get extra $1.6M from state to boost race days

Posted by author February 19, 2025 Horse Racing

Meadowlands Racetrack to get extra .6M from state to boost race days

Spread the love

2-minute read

Horse racing adds an estimated $3.2 billion to NJ’s economy annually.

State officials will transfer a $1.6 million taxpayer subsidy from the recently shuttered Freehold Raceway in Monmouth County to the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford.

Gov. Phil Murphy recently signed a bill approving the move.

Previously, the state’s three racetracks received shares of a $20 million pool of state subsidies: $10 million went to Monmouth Park in Oceanport, $6 million to the Meadowlands Racetrack, and $1.6 million to Freehold Raceway.

Last September, Murphy approved a measure giving the $20 million a year in taxpayer money to subsidize horse racing purses at the three racetracks through 2029.

He cautioned that the money might not be available on a yearly basis, and that it would be up to his successor to sign a budget that includes the yearly appropriations.

Subsidy would add more race days at Meadowlands

New Jersey’s horse racing industry adds about $3.2 billion to the state economy, the Agriculture Department estimated in 2021. Officials at the Meadowlands Racetrack estimate that they employ about 430 people and spend $60 million a year on payroll and goods and services.

“The funding promised by this [law] will allow New Jersey to continue to offer one of the most exciting horse racing experiences in the nation, while also providing a boost to an industry that is integral to our economy,” Murphy said in a September statement.

Jeffrey Gural, who owns the Meadowlands Racetrack, said the venue is mainly competing with others in Yonkers, New York, and the Poconos. According to public records, the Yonkers Casino received a $19.6 million subsidy from Yonkers city officials.

Both Gural and Tyler Jones, a spokesperson for Murphy’s office, said the $1.6 million previously going to Freehold Raceway would help the Meadowlands Racetrack add more race days.

“Without transferring the purse subsidy, we wouldn’t have enough money to make it worthwhile for them to race,” Gural said in a phone interview.

Daniel Munoz covers business, consumer affairs, labor and the economy for NorthJersey.com and The Record.

Email: munozd@northjersey.com; Twitter:@danielmunoz100 and Facebook