Sports Shorts

While many people involved in the

2007 Breeders' Cup see the last Breeders' Cup race on Saturday as the conclusion of many years of planning and preparing for the world's greatest day of racing, New Jersey's thoroughbred horsemen and women see it as the launch of a new era for New Jersey horse racing.

"The investment the state made in Monmouth Park to bring this beautiful old track into the 21st century is something New Jersey racing enthusiasts and horsemen will benefit from for many years to come," said Dennis A. Drazin, Esq., president of the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association. "The facility both inside and out, back-side and front-side is in the best shape ever benefitting both patrons and horsemen. Now, we need to ensure that our purses are competitive both regionally and nationally so horsemen will want to come and race their horses at Monmouth Park now and into the future."

For months, the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association in cooperation with the state's standardbred industry has aggressively lobbied for a stable source of funding for purses in New Jersey. Utilizing cable television, newspaper advertisements, editorial page submissions, meetings with elected officials and an intensive letter and email writing campaign dubbed "SaveNJHorses.com," the state's horsemen hope to convince the governor and the state Legislature to permit slot machines or video lottery terminals at the Meadowlands Racetrack in the long-term while in the short-term providing for another purse supplement.