NJTHA | Horse Racing Free Tips

NJTHA Issues Statement on Forbes’s Passing

The New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association issued the following statement on the passing of horseman John Forbes, their longtime president who passed away Sunday at the age of 73.

We are incredibly saddened by the passing of our friend, colleague and mentor John Forbes.

Born to a family of horsemen, John was the consummate horseman. He was old-school. He was devoted to the horse, the industry and its people. He was never satisfied with the status quo. He demanded of the industry that which he expected of himself—honesty, integrity, hard work and an unrelenting determination to protect the health, safety and welfare of the horse, the integrity of our sport and the welfare of those who worked on the backstretch. He was a generous, compassionate and decent man. He was beloved and respected by everyone who knew and worked with him.

In 1987, John asked his friend Alan Foreman to help form a new horsemen's organization that would be progressive and strengthen the voice of horsemen in the industry. Rick Violette joined the effort thereafter and the THA was born. But for John, there would not be a THA, and the record of the THA's impact on the industry can easily be measured since that time. There is not an issue involving the health, safety and welfare of the horse and the integrity of our sport that doesn't have John's fingerprints on it. In recognition of his lifetime of service to horsemen, the industry and the THA, we proudly honored him with our President's Award in 2018.

Just as important, John was a giant in New Jersey racing. He loved Monmouth Park and was devoted to its survival and success. He was New Jersey's greatest trainer, and when he retired from training, did what he could to ensure Monmouth's survival, including constructing and operating a world-renowned miniature golf course on the property that hosted 2 US Opens and earned him a spot in the Pro Mini Golf Hall of Fame. We think it fair to say that but for John Forbes, there would be no Thoroughbred racing industry in New Jersey.

Our deepest condolences to Vicki, John T, Anne and Carrie, his colleagues Mike Musto and Dennis Drazin, his trainer/partner Pat McBurney and his multitude of friends. We will miss him and pledge to honor his memory.

The post NJTHA Issues Statement on Forbes’s Passing appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

New Jersey Horsemen Settle $150 Million Sports Betting Case For $3.4 Million

According to the Thoroughbred Daily News, horsemen in New Jersey have settled a years-long lawsuit with the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, and the NCAA for $3.4 million — far less than the $150 million the group claimed it was owed.

The settlement was reached out of court and entered into the record this week by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Freda Wolfson.

The $3.4 million will come from an escrow bond the leagues put up in 2014 when they first became entangled in a civil suit with horsemen while attempting to stop Monmouth Park from hosting sports betting. In 2018 a U.S. Supreme Court ruling made sports betting legal in New Jersey, and $150 million had been the figure the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NJTHA) claimed it had missed out on in the four years in between.

The escrow bond had originally been designed to cover revenue losses for a one-month period when Monmouth was subject to a court injunction barring sports betting at the start of the civil case.

In exchange for getting the bond amount, NJTHA will decline to pursue the case any farther.

NJ Horsemen Settle With Sports Leagues for $3.4M, Far Below Sought-After $150M

The years-long bid by New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (NJTHA) to seek $150 million in alleged damages from the four major team sports leagues and the college sports regulatory body (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and NCAA) ended Jan. 11 with a far lesser settlement approved by a federal judge, who wrote that the case has been “amicably resolved” among the parties.

According to the three-page “stipulation and order” signed Monday by United States District Court (New Jersey) Chief Judge Freda Wolfson, in exchange for ending its legal pursuit for more money, the NJTHA will be entitled to collect on a $3.4-million escrow bond posted by the leagues back in 2014 when the leagues first tried to block Monmouth Park’s initial attempt at getting sports betting up and running.

That was four years before the May 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down the federal law that had prohibited sports betting in all but a few grandfathered states.

Soon after that 2018 Supreme Court ruling, the NJTHA-run Monmouth opened for legalized sports betting. But the NJTHA continued to chase after the money that had been placed in escrow back in 2014 to cover a one-month period when the case was first being adjudicated.

That pursuit for damages above the bond amount seemed to be emboldened when a September 2019 decision by a U.S. Court of Appeals (Third Circuit) panel of judges ruled that because Monmouth had initially been unlawfully subjected to a no-sports-betting injunction for 28 days in 2014, it had been “wrongfully enjoined” because it “had a right all along to do what was enjoined when the leagues first tried to block sports betting.”

The NJTHA then claimed in court filings that it was entitled to damages of $150 million, far higher than the amount that had been escrowed. The association’s argument was that it got wrongfully shut out of sports betting for four years, not the original four weeks that the escrow period covered.

The post NJ Horsemen Settle With Sports Leagues for $3.4M, Far Below Sought-After $150M appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Judge Rules Against NJTHA’s Case Seeking ‘Bad Faith’ Damages From Sports Leagues

Judge Freda Wolfson, U.S. Chief District Judge in New Jersey, issued a ruling Dec. 3 in the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association case seeking “bad faith” damages from sports leagues, reports bloodhorse.com. The case stems from the fall of 2014, when those leagues—including the NCAA, NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB—filed a temporary restraining order against the NJTHA, owners of Monmouth Park, to prevent the track from taking sports wagers.

On May 14, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, allowing sports wagering to commence in states like New Jersey.

The leagues had set aside $3.4 million in an injunction bond for the case, covering the 28-day period of the restraining order, but the NJTHA was seeking up to $150 million in “bad faith” damages for being unable to hold sports wagering from October of 2014 to May of 2018.

While Judge Wolfson is prepared to consider awarding horsemen the $3.4 million amount of the bond, pending a hearing to determine “provable damages,” she will not consider the “bad faith” damages claim at this time.