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Bill Filed to legalize Poker at NJ Tracks

A stand-alone bill that would specifically authorize New Jersey’s horse tracks to conduct poker games for the first time was filed in the state’s legislature July 2.

According the explanatory statement included in the one-page Assembly Bill No. 4365, “This bill authorizes poker to be played in poker rooms at horse racetracks in this State. The bill states that the Legislature finds and declares that the card game poker is a game of bluff and skill and is not restricted by the gambling provisions of the State Constitution.”

The poker news site Cardschat reported July 9 that poker rooms are a “monopoly” currently limited to Atlantic City casinos, and that the inclusion of the phrase “poker, as conducted under the bill, will not violate any criminal law of this State,” would allow poker rooms to open in existing gaming facilities without a referendum by voters.

Cardschat also noted another key distinction of the bill: The Division of Gaming Enforcement, and not the New Jersey Racing Commission, would have jurisdiction over poker rooms at racetracks.

The bill, filed by Republican Assemblyman Ronald Dancer, was referred to the Assembly’s Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee.

“Dancer has tried to expand poker in the state before, first introducing similar legislation in 2016,” Cardschat reported. “None of his bills made it past legislative committee discussion. His new bill doesn’t offer a provision for the state’s tracks to offer online poker,” which is noteworthy considering current COVID-19 protocols restricting on-site casino gaming.

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Speedy Lebda Under Consideration For July 18 Haskell

Having exited the first loss of his 3-year-old season in good shape, Euro Stable's multiple stakes winner Lebda is under consideration for the $1 million Haskell (G1) July 18 at Monmouth Park.

Based at Laurel Park with summer meet-leading trainer Claudio Gonzalez, Lebda is among 34 horses nominated to the 1 1/8-mile Haskell, which this year will serve as a points qualifier to the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby (G1).

Gonzalez said he expects to make a decision this week after speaking with Euro's Valter Ramos, who paid $3,000 by the June 4 deadline to make Lebda a late nominee to the Triple Crown.

“I have to talk to the owner, and we want to see who's going to come for the Haskell. We might take a look at that race,” Gonzalez said. “You never know. We're going to see how he continues to do, and then we'll decide.”

Lebda won the one-mile Miracle Wood and the two-turn Private Terms, contested at about 1 1/16 miles, on his home track over the winter. The latter came March 14, one day before Maryland racing was put on pause for 2 ½ months amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Live racing resumed in Maryland May 30 but with stakes races on hold, Gonzalez targeted the 1 1/8-mile Ohio Derby (G3) June 27 for Lebda's return. Sent off as the fourth choice in a field of 13 at odds of 6-1, Lebda pressed an opening quarter in 22.80 seconds and then led after a half in 47.22 before tiring to sixth.

“He came back good,” Gonzalez said. “He went really fast the first quarter; 22 [seconds] for a mile and an eighth is a little too fast.”

Monmouth would be the sixth different track for Lebda, a winner of four of nine career starts with one second and two thirds, both in the stakes – the 1/16-mile Iroquois (G3) last fall in Kentucky and the seven-furlong Heft at Laurel in his juvenile finale.

“I think it would be good because the track over there is always [good] for the speed horses,” Gonzalez said of Monmouth. “You have to be right there. That's why maybe it fits good for him. We'll see.”

Gonzalez may have another horse to bring to New Jersey in MCA Racing Stable's Harpers First Ride, an impressive one-mile allowance winner July 3 at Laurel over a graded-stakes quality field that included Alwaysmining, Cordmaker, Name Changer and Honor the Fleet.

Harpers First Ride is nominated to the 1 1/8-mile Monmouth Cup (G3) on the Haskell undercard. The 4-year-old gelding has won five of seven starts since being haltered by Gonzalez out of a maiden claiming triumph last fall in Kentucky.

“We nominated for the Monmouth Cup and I'm 50-50 to run there,” Gonzalez said. “For now, he's doing really good and he came back really good from the race. I'm going to take a couple more days to decide. I think this horse will run better going a little longer.”

Harpers First Ride, yet to make his stakes debut, led nearly all the way in his recent 1 ¾-length victory over a quartet that had a combined 15 stakes wins including Name Changer's 2018 Monmouth Cup score. Last year, Alwaysmining swept Laurel's series for 3-year-olds and competed in the Preakness (G1) while Cordmaker was beaten two necks when third in the historic Pimlico Special (G3).

“That field was really tough. They are really good horses,” Gonzalez said. “You know what happened with this horse? Every race, he came back better and better. He's a really cool horse. He's not crazy. He's all business. I don't have any trouble with him at all. He's doing really good.”

Gonzalez said he was also proud of Magic Stable's Princess Cadey's effort in a troubled third-place finish in the July 4 Delaware Oaks (G3), her first race since taking Laurel's Beyond the Wire March 14.

“I'm very happy with her. She didn't break that great, and I wanted to see her right there in the clear because always she doesn't like dirt in the face,” Gonzalez said. “She didn't break good and she came [from] last and she still finished third. She came back good, and I'm very happy for her and how she ran. She ran big. It wasn't how I wanted the trip, that's why I'm so happy for her.”

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‘You Have To Be Ready When You Get Here’: Jane Cibelli Off To A Fast Start At Monmouth Park

Jane Cibelli knows exactly what it takes to win a training title at Monmouth Park, having accomplished the feat in 2011 and 2012. But that knowledge, says the veteran conditioner, isn't much of an advantage if the racing fates don't send a little good fortune your way over the course of the meet.

Cibelli, who has a full barn of 50 horses stabled on the Monmouth Park backstretch, has already given a hint she will be a factor in the trainers' race, sending out three winners on the opening weekend of racing to top the standings. Nine different trainers won two races over the three-day opening weekend.

So that begs the question: Can she win another title?

Possibly, she said.

Will she? That's a complicated question that depends on a variety of factors.

“Everything has to go your way,” said Cibelli, who has horses entered in three of the six races when Monmouth Park resumes racing with a Friday twilight card that starts at 5 p.m. “Races you are pointing to have to go when your horses are ready. That's probably the hardest part of the business right now because it's difficult keeping horses at their peak and ready. We were very fortunate both years we won the title that the races we pointed for went. We also claimed a lot more horses those two years.

“I think you'll find at most racetracks – with the exception of guys like Todd Pletcher and Chad Brown, who just have so many horses – that the leading trainer does a lot of claiming. It's a different game. I'm looking to develop more horses for the long term now. I enjoy that more.”

After clicking with 14 winners from 66 starts at Monmouth Park a year ago, Cibelli followed that with a solid winter in Florida, winning 24 races from 109 starters at Gulfstream.

So she returned to New Jersey with momentum, which was reflected in the first weekend, with two of her three Monmouth winners so far coming in maiden races. She also has a dozen 2-year-olds and expects to add to that total during the summer. That's generally not conducive to a training title campaign.

“I don't ever go into a meet thinking about being the leading trainer,” said Cibelli, who went out on her own in 1987, when female trainers were still a rarity. “I'm not going to jam in a horse for $10,000 that is worth $30,000 just to win a race to help me be the leading trainer, because you don't get any extra money for being leading trainer.

“It's an honor, obviously, and a notable achievement but at the end of the day you're trying to run a business and trying to get the best you can out of your horses. So if it happens, it happens.”

Monmouth Park's condensed meet, and the later start to it due to the Covid-19 pandemic, have also changed the dynamics of the summer for trainers.

“You can't use this meet to get ready,” said Cibelli. “You have to be ready when you get here.”

In a typical year, few if any of Cibelli's 2-year-olds would come into the Monmouth meet with a start. But by staying in Florida until the Monmouth Park backstretch opened on June 1 she was able to unveil some of her “babies.”

“I've had three 2-year-olds out already, which is unheard of for me,” she said. “Normally I don't get 2-year-olds out until the middle or end of summer. That's huge. I'm very happy with that.”

One in particular, a filly named Flight to Shanghai, showed plenty of promise in her debut, finishing second in a Maiden Special Weight race at Gulfstream Park on June 19.

“I very rarely win with first-time starters. It's by design. I don't turn the screws on them too early,” she said. “But she ran second and she ran huge. She looks like she will be a good one.

“My approach with 2-year-olds is `if they're ready, they're ready.' They don't have to set the world on fire at 2 for me. I like to keep them around at three and four and beyond. It's just how I do things. I'm old school.”

It's a formula that has served her well. Whether it results in another title this summer remains to be seen.

“Both years I won the title I didn't set out to win it,” she said. “It just happened. So you never know.”

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Monmouth is Open, but the Virus is Never Far Away

OCEANPORT, N.J. – Marty Kuczynski didn’t mind that he had to have his temperature taken before being allowed to get into Monmouth Park Sunday or that he was required to wear a mask. Kuczynski had missed Monmouth Park and he was glad to be back.

“We wanted to get out of the house,” said Kuczynski, who was accompanied by five family members. “We wanted to do something. We’ve been quarantining in and trying to keep as safe as we could. Monmouth Park is such a beautiful place and we love coming down here. The only problem is every time I go there, I give them all my money.”

That the popular Jersey Shore track was back was welcome news, not just for the racing industry and horsemen, but also for Monmouth’s loyal fans.

But it was clear from the moment you walked into the building that this was a very different Monmouth Park. Patrons were required to wear masks. No owners were allowed in the paddock or the winner’s circle. Fans were not allowed to bring in outside food or drink, which meant there was no way to have a picnic in the very popular picnic area. Only a handful of concession stands were open and tellers and bettors were separated by plexiglass.

With the many protocols in place and the limits on the number of people who can attend the races, all signs showed that COVID-19 is still a force that horse racing can fight but cannot conquer.

One quick look around the grandstand told the story. The crowd was sparse, a lot smaller than what would have been a normal attendance on a summer Sunday afternoon. And there was a distinct lack of energy in the building. That may have something to do with the types of fans who showed up. They skewed a little bit older and were there for the horse racing. With no outside food or drink allowed in the building, the party crowd was nowhere to be found.

Just a few days ago, Monmouth was hopeful that as many as 15,000 people would be allowed to attend a card. That all changed Friday when the office of Governor Phil Murphy told track officials there would be strict limitations on the size of the crowd. Though the dos and don’ts were complicated, Monmouth estimated that they would only be allowed to let somewhere between 2,100 to 3,000 people into the track.

It’s impossible to say how many people were there Sunday. There was no admission fee and, therefore, no way to tell what the crowd was. If the crowd is supposed to be 3,000 or less and it was actually 3,001 or even 5,000, who would know the difference?

Monmouth officials must have estimated the crowd was below the state’s restrictions as no late arrivals were being turned away. For now, that’s not a big problem, but it may be on Haskell day.

It was also clear that some of the state’s guidelines were impossible to enforce. The state wanted to limit attendance to the main grandstand to 500. But how do you keep count and how can you stop some from going into the grandstand and not others? When the races were being run, the crowd in the grandstand appeared to be more than 500.

A bigger problem for Monmouth may be the masks. Employees, horsemen and jockeys were all adhering to the rules. But there were many patrons walking around without them, particularly in the areas of the track that were more remote, and the problem seemed to get worse as the afternoon went on. At one point in the day, there were 25 people total settled in among three adjoining sections of seats in the grandstand and only two were wearing masks. There didn’t appear to be anyone making an attempt to enforce the mask rule.

Should pictures of Monmouth fans walking around without masks land on Murphy’s desk that could mean the end of the meet.

The next big test for Monmouth will come July 18, the day of the GI Haskell S. The Haskell drew 60,000 people in 2015 when American Pharoah showed up and, in a more normal year, the crowd is about 35,000. It’s highly unlikely that 35,000 people will want to attend the race this year, but it’s also likely that the demand for admission and seats will be more than 3,000. If the demand for entrance into the track is higher than the supply, what will Monmouth do?

You can put everything down as a work in progress, a track trying to figure out what it can and can’t do during these most unusual times. Monmouth is back, but try as they might, nothing is normal.

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