The
Freehold application for dates, submitted on Monday, would have the track
closed in January and February and race only 90 dates.
“By
virtue of legislation, Freehold Raceway is required to race 192 dates per
year,” said SBOANJ President Tom Luchento. “The SBOANJ has the authority
to consent to a lesser amount of days, and we have accommodated Freehold’s past
requests. However, we made it clear to Freehold that we would not accept
anything less than 120 dates, and we think it is important for the track to be
open for live racing in January and February.
“Dropping
more dates does not work for our horsemen,” Luchento explained. “It makes
it impossible for our horsemen to qualify for their health coverage and
pension, and we plan to vigorously oppose Freehold’s application for
2013. Without SBOANJ approval, no dates can be awarded for 2013.”
-Submitted
by Carol Hodes for SBOANJ
