By Matthew Sockol
Staff Writer
Officials in five municipalities in Monmouth County that have ties to horses and horse racing are split on a public question that voters will be asked to decide on Election Day.
On Nov. 8, voters will be asked if they approve amending the state constitution to permit casino gambling in two counties other than Atlantic County. Under state law, casino gambling in New Jersey is only permitted in Atlantic City in Atlantic County.
Over the past few months, some individuals with an interest in casino gambling have indicated they believe that “North Jersey” would host the two new casinos, however, the public question does not identify where new casinos would be located.
As stated in ballot initiative’s interpretative statement, the state’s share of revenue from the new casinos and from existing Atlantic City’s casinos would be used for programs and property tax relief for senior citizens and disabled residents, and for the recovery, stabilization or improvement of Atlantic City, and for other purposes as provided by law.
Smaller portions of the casino revenue would be used to aid the thoroughbred and standardbred horse industry in New Jersey, as well as each municipality and county in which a casino is located, according to the ballot initiative.
The two municipalities in the two counties that would each be allowed to have a casino must be at least 72 miles from Atlantic City, according to the public question.
That means if the public question is approved by a simple majority, the 72-mile restriction will prevent two racetracks in Monmouth County from becoming a casino: Freehold Raceway (harness racing) in Freehold Borough and Monmouth Park (thoroughbred racing) in Oceanport.
Because the racetracks in those municipalities cannot be transformed into a casino by virtue of the 72-mile restriction, elected officials in Freehold Borough and Oceanport have decided they cannot support the public question.
On Oct. 3, the Borough Council in Freehold Borough passed a resolution opposing the public question. According to the resolution, the council is of the opinion that the proposed amendment is too restrictive and that central New Jersey’s interests are ignored in favor of protecting and/or advancing the interests of northern New Jersey and southern New Jersey.
“The mayor and council oppose the current proposed constitutional amendment and will only support the expansion of casinos and gambling outside of Atlantic City provided that any expansion will allow for casino gambling or some variation thereof within Freehold Raceway, or to provide a dedicated revenue stream for Freehold Raceway and support of the horseracing industry in New Jersey,” the resolution states.
Oceanport Mayor Jay Coffey voiced his opposition to the public question on his town’s website.
“New Jersey’s monopoly on the East Coast gambling dollar ended a decade ago and the successful business model for both the racing and casino industries is up and running in each and every one of the states surrounding New Jersey,” Coffey said. “Simply stated, other states have gaming facilities at racetracks and New Jersey doesn’t. Instead of emulating what these states are doing (smaller, numerous, more conveniently located venues with multi-faceted revenue streams), our state legislators have decided to double down on the business model (Atlantic City’s) that isn’t working and they want to do it on a grand scale.”
The mayor suggested that gambling should instead be legalized within 72 miles of Atlantic City.
“That would permit gambling at Monmouth Park, a smaller, conveniently located, self-contained venue with a proven record of serving the public’s gaming and entertainment needs,” Coffey said. “One that has plenty of parking, offers its own NJ Transit stop and has beautiful existing facilities that can easily accommodate casino gaming or slot machines. How about we see if that works first and then expand northward in a controlled, orderly fashion? At the very least, the 72-mile limitation should be reduced to allow Monmouth Park, Monmouth County and central New Jersey to benefit from the proposed expansion.”
To protest the ballot initiative, Coffey requested that residents contact their state legislators and tell them they will be voting no on the proposed amendment if it excludes Monmouth Park.
The Oceanport Borough Council passed a resolution opposing the public question on Sept. 15.
However, because the public question, if approved, will provide revenue to the state’s equine industry, the proposed amendment has received support in Millstone Township and Upper Freehold Township.
According to the ballot initiative, at least 2 percent of the state’s share of revenue generated from the casinos would be dedicated for programs designed to aid the thoroughbred and standardbred horse industry in New Jersey each fiscal year.
On Oct. 5, Millstone residents Tony and Maggie Romano appeared before the Township Committee in Millstone Township to seek support for the public question. The Romanos, who own horses, said they believe casino expansion is necessary for the horse industry to survive in the state.
“The horse industry had asked for this referendum and we succeeded in having it on the ballot this year,” Maggie Romano said. “We asked for it because neighboring states have casinos and people from New Jersey travel across state lines to do gaming in those casinos. A lot of money gets lost (from) New Jersey. We would like to keep the people and the money in New Jersey.
“If we lose the racing industry in New Jersey, it will have a trickle-down effect to a lot of people, not just horse people; veterinarians, tack and feed stores, pay and stroll farmers, farriers, and truck and car dealers, and of course, we lose a lot of open space,” she said.
A video shown by the Romanos asserted the state was losing farmland and included footage of Showplace Farms, a horse training facility in Millstone that closed in 2015. A second video included testimony from supporters of the ballot initiative, including workers in the equine industry, a veterinarian, state Assemblyman Ron Dancer (R-Monmouth, Ocean, Middlesex, Burlington) and Millstone residents.
“We have an opportunity and it is a limited window of opportunity to go out to the polls this November and vote yes for casinos in northern New Jersey and that will provide the lifeline to remain competitive with our surrounding states of New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware,” Dancer said in the video.
Township Committeewoman Nancy Grbelja shared the Romanos’ support of the ballot initiative because of the money it would provide for the New Jersey horse industry.
“It is definitely a small amount of money that is going to come to the horsemen, but it is the only lifeline the horse industry has in New Jersey,” Grbelja said. “If you take a look at the horse farms that are selling, they have made it very lucrative for people to go to other states to race. You can’t be a New Jersey resident and race in Pennsylvania. That means you have to move or sell your horse and if you sell your horse, you have a lot of horse farms and lots of open space that is being lost.”
Grbelja said she has been surprised by the opposition to the public question from employees in the equine industry.
“I have been hearing some horse people saying they are not going to support (the question) because there will not be any (slot) machines at Freehold Raceway or Monmouth Park,” she said. “But (if the question passes), there will be an agreement that will give funding for purses at both Freehold Raceway and Monmouth Park.”
On Oct. 6 in Upper Freehold Township, the Township Committee passed a resolution urging support of the public question.
According to the resolution, the committee supports the expansion of casino gambling outside of Atlantic City if the expansion will provide a dedicated revenue stream for the Meadowlands racetrack in East Rutherford, Freehold Raceway and Monmouth Park, and support of the horse racing and breeding farms in Upper Freehold.
Officials in Freehold Borough and Oceanport maintain their opposition to the public question because it does not specify how much revenue Freehold Raceway and Monmouth Park would receive.
“The details on how the money generated by these casinos is going to be distributed are almost impossible to understand and the number of hands in the money pie is probably greater than the number of available slices,” Coffey said.
Officials in Howell have also taken a stand on the expansion of casino gambling outside of Atlantic City.
On Sept. 12, the Township Council passed a resolution supporting the expansion of casino gambling outside of Atlantic City, but only if the expansion will provide a dedicated revenue stream for support of Monmouth Park and the New Jersey horse racing industry. The resolution urges revenue sharing between New Jersey casinos, the state’s horse racing industry and the racetrack in Oceanport.
According to the resolution, the council believes that in the event casinos are permitted to be located outside of Atlantic City, the same legislation must also provide a location in Monmouth Park within the gates of its racetrack.
