Freehold Raceway, which dates back 30 years before the Civil War, has hosted caged horse racing. The track in its fashionable era was rarely inactive, a fireplace in the grandstand and dining room in 1984 interrupted the race for about two and a half months.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused the closure, but the break ended Friday when Freehold Raceway first reopened the audience in more than five months. Even with a capacity restriction of 25% due to state regulations, gamblers and horse racing enthusiasts participated in racing and in the sun.
“We’ve won a lot of phone calls and positive feedback,” Said Freehold Raceway CEO Howard Bruno. “We hope that the other people who supported us before the pandemic will return and move on to the races.”
The track will also depend for the first time on that of sports bettors.
Bruno said the progression plans were progressing for a new sports eBook, called Parx Sportsebook, with the opening scheduled for the start of the NFL season in two weeks.
The other two racetracks in the state have had sports bookmakers since 2018, when sports betting was legalized at Garden State.
Freehold Raceway is owned by Pennwood Racing, a subsidiary of Penn National Gaming. Penn National has been competitive in the gaming market, operating 43 casinos, racetracks and similar services in the United States and Canada, many of them branded Hollywood Casino. The company also controls a 36% stake in Barstool Sports.
“I think it will create more pedestrian traffic in the building,” Bruno said of the new sports bookmaker. “It turns out that the numbers on other circuits and casinos have been very positive.
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Despite the loss of profit due to the break, the track went to the other side, Bruno said it was “a challenge.”
“From week to week, we follow Governor Murphy’s news, press releases and numbers,” he said. “We were waiting to see the numbers and protocols and we expected them to go in a positive direction.”
There was no temperature for other people entering the track, but everyone was required to wear a mask inside. For each interior seat, the next two were blocked to inspire social estrangement. All other betting machines could be used.
Outside, near the track, a hundred people gathered to watch Swelllookinbever and win the first race, with teams encouraged to walk away from each other.
It’s another step toward a sense of normalcy on Jersey Shore.
“We’re going to sunbathe, play ponies and, at most, I’ve got my friends here, we’re going to laugh,” said Dave DeLuca of Whitehouse Station. “It’s perfect.”
The tour was also an opportunity for buyers of a company they love so much.
“These potential customers want income,” said Dave Nolter of Holland, Pennsylvania. “This has an impact on the track and the riders. They already have to run with their horses. If they don’t, they won’t make money.”
Danny LoGiudice has been covering sports in New Jersey since 2014. Contact him on [email protected] or @danny_logiudice on Twitter.