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Collmus Named Handleman Award Winner

Race caller and TVG analyst Larry Collmus, whose distinguished career includes a 20-year stint as Monmouth Park's track announcer, has been named the winner of the 2023 Bill Handleman Award for outstanding coverage of last year's GI TVG.com Haskell S.

First presented in 2012, the Handleman Award honors the late Bill Handleman, one of New Jersey's top sportswriters for nearly three decades for the Asbury Park Press. Handleman, a fixture at Monmouth Park and a passionate chronicler of the sport, died in June of 2010 at the age of 62.

Collmus, 56, has served as the announcer for NBC Sports' coverage of the Triple Crown and Breeders' Cup since 2011 and is currently the on-site host for TVG (Fan Duel) during live racing days at Monmouth Park.

“For all of the national acclaim Larry Collmus has received for his outstanding career, he remains closely associated with Monmouth Park and the Haskell S.,” said Dennis Drazin, Chairman and CEO of Darby Development LLC, the operators of Monmouth Park. “We're pleased to honor him with the Handleman Award for his work last year and throughout the years on Haskell day.”

Collmus, who started his career as the track announcer at Bowie in Maryland in 1985 at the age of 18, has served as the race caller at Birmingham Turf Club, Golden Gate, Suffolk Downs, Monmouth Park, Churchill Downs, for NYRA tracks and at Del Mar. He was Monmouth Park's race caller from 1994-2014.

His call for NBC Sports of this year's Haskell will be his 23rd for Monmouth Park's most prestigious race–and first since Triple Crown winner American Pharoah won the race in 2015.

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Overall Handle Up, On-Track Wagering Doubled At Monmouth

Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., showed an increase in overall handle and nearly doubled its on-track handle for this year's 55-day meet compared to a year ago as the track concluded its 76th season on Sunday.

“We were happy to have our fans back, we had another memorable TVG.com Haskell Invitational, and we feel good about how Monmouth Park is positioned as we move forward and return to some sense of normalcy during these COVID-19 times,” said Dennis Drazin, chairman and CEO of Darby Development, the operators of Monmouth Park. “This wound up being a transitional year coming out of the worst of COVID-19 a year ago. We overcame some challenging weather, especially early in the meet, purses were very good and the quality of racing was excellent.”

Monmouth Park's overall handle for the meet was $173,511,161 compared to $167,511,608 a year ago.

The return of fans had a significant impact, with the on-track handle increasing to $15,216,978 compared to $8,917,436 a year ago.

The simulcast handle was down slightly from $158,594,172 in 2020 to $158,294,183 this year.

Monmouth conducted 44 days of live racing a year ago.

Jockey Paco Lopez wrapped up his eighth Monmouth Park riding title with a flourish on Sunday by booting home six winners to bring his final total to 109 for the meet. Runner-up Isaac Castillo had 55 winners. Lopez's eight titles are second in track history to Joe Bravo's 13.

Wayne Potts captured the training title with 38 wins after winning the abbreviated Meadowlands-at-Monmouth meet last fall.

Colts Neck Stables, with 14 winners from 34 starters, was the leading owner.

Thoroughbred racing in the state shifts to the Meadowlands in East Rutherford for the seven-day Monmouth-at-Meadowlands meet starting on Friday, Oct. 1. The six-race all-turf cards will have a first race post time of 7 p.m.

The Monmouth-at-Meadowlands meet will also hold live racing on Saturday, Oct. 2. The Friday-Saturday schedule will continue on Oct. 8 and 9 before shifting to just Friday on Oct. 15 and then to just Saturday on Oct. 23 and 30.

The post Overall Handle Up, On-Track Wagering Doubled At Monmouth appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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New Jersey Governor Signs Fixed Odds Wagering Bill, Awaiting Regulatory Approval

Fixed odds wagering will be available at Monmouth Park in the coming weeks after New Jersey Gov. Philip Murphy on Thursday signed legislation approving the new bet, with implementation awaiting regulatory approval from the New Jersey Racing Commission and the Division of Gaming Enforcement.

Monmouth Park, working in conjunction with BetMakers Technology Group, will be the first racetrack in the country to offer fixed odds wagering, a popular bet in Europe and Australia.

“We appreciate the continued support from Gov. Murphy and the state legislature, as well as Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and Senate President Steve Sweeney, in advancing fixed odds wagering,” said Dennis Drazin, chairman and CEO of Darby Development LLC, the operator of Monmouth Park. “It provides our patrons with another wagering option that we firmly believe will be a popular one.”

The bill was co-sponsored by state Assemblymen Ronald S. Dancer and Ralph R. Caputo and state Senators Vin Gopal and Paul A. Sarlo.

Fixed odds wagering allows bettors to retain the odds at the time of their bet, as opposed to pari-mutuel wagering, where odds are not finalized until betting is completed.

When it is available at Monmouth Park, fixed odds will be offered on win, place and show betting at the outset, with a minimum wager of $1. There will be designated fixed odds windows throughout the grandstand and clubhouse, with televisions displaying the current fixed odds.

Monmouth Park will also show the fixed odds for each race during the track's in-house televised feed of races.

Fixed odds wagering will begin with Monmouth Park races, with the expectation that it will expand to other tracks that enter into an agreement to permit fixed odds wagering on their races.

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Fixed Odds One Step Closer for Monmouth

Fixed Odds wagering moved a step closer to becoming a reality during the upcoming Monmouth Park meet after the New Jersey State Assembly approved a bill on Thursday by a 74-0-1 vote that would permit the new betting platform.

The bill now moves onto to the State Senate and if successful would then go to Gov. Phil Murphy for a signature.

Monmouth Park's 76th season gets underway Friday, May 28.

“This is an exciting new wagering opportunity for our fans and we're grateful for the support from our legislators and Governor Murphy, who continue to ensure the success of Thoroughbred racing in the state,” said Dennis Drazin, CEO and Chairman of Darby Development, LLC, the operators of Monmouth Park. “Our hope is that we can be up and running with Fixed Odds wagering in time for the TVG.com Haskell S. July 17–or sooner if possible.”

The bill was sponsored by Assemblymen Ralph Caputo and Ronald Dancer. The Senate version of the bill is sponsored by State Senators Vin Gopal and Paul Sarlo and is co-sponsored by State Senators Steven Oroho and Declan O'Scanlon, Jr. The bill has also been supported throughout the legislative process by Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney.

Fixed Odds wagering allows bettors to retain the odds at the time of their bet, as opposed to pari-mutuel wagering, where odds are not finalized until betting is completed. Monmouth Park would become the first track in the United States to offer the wager.

Australia-based BetMakers Technology Group would deliver and manage Fixed Odds wagering at Monmouth Park after entering into an exclusive 10-year agreement with New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and Darby Development, LLC, last year.

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