Corporate Name: Darby Development, LLC
Mailing/Street Address: 175 Oceanport Avenue, Oceanport, New Jersey 07757 (click for map)
Telephone: Office and Track: (732) 222-5100
Fax: (732) 571-5226; Publicity: (732) 571-5540; Racing: (732) 571-5530
Website: www.monmouthpark.com
Monmouth Park’s history dates back to the 1870s when 19th century New Jersey business and hotel owners were looking for a way to renew interest in the resort community of Long Branch. Their answer was horse racing.
The elegance and excitement of the new racetrack attracted New York society, entertainers, and politicians to the Jersey Shore. President Ulysses S. Grant was spotted regularly in his box at the track. Celebrities Lillian Russell and Lily Langtry as well as high profile gamblers Pittsburgh Phil and Diamond Jim Brady were often seen at the facility.
After a 50-year hiatus, racing returned to New Jersey in 1946 under the auspices of Amory L. Haskell and Philip H. Iselin. Innovations and amenities such as an Olympic-sized swimming pool for jockeys, the unique Parterre boxes in the clubhouse that served as the forerunner for skyboxes, the introduction of film patrol, and racing’s first color telecast were introduced under Iselin’s regime.
In 1986, the Monmouth Park Jockey Club was sold to the state of New Jersey to be operated by the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority. Under NJSEA, Monmouth Park saw the Haskell grow into the richest invitational race in North America, purses skyrocket and, in 2007, the Jersey Shore racetrack hosted the Breeders’ Cup. With four days of racing, culminating with the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, more than $150 million was wagered, as New Jersey benefited by a $60 million economic impact to the Garden State.
On May 3, 2012, the state of New Jersey entered into a lease agreement with the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, taking the racetrack out of the hands of the state and into private leadership for the first time in more than 25 years.
On August 2, 2015, a record crowd of 60,983 cheered on as Triple Crown winner American Pharoah won the Haskell Invitational, Monmouth Park’s premier race.
Officers: Scott Wells, President and General Manager, (972) 237-1112; Kent Slabotsky, Vice President, Operations, (972) 237-1107
Director of Mutuels: Melinda Tyler, (972) 237-5140
Director of Racing: Bart Lang, (972) 237-5046
Racing Secretary: Mike Shamburg, (972) 237-5044
Owner Relations Contact: Rainey Brookfield, (972) 237-5063
Director of Security: Tippy Colella, (972) 237-5157
Director of Track Maintenance: John Jamison, (940) 200-1413
Track Commentator: Jim Byers, (972) 237-1187
Track Photographer: Dustin Drona, (405) 760-8581
Simulcast Coordinator: Mindy Freeland, (972) 237-1185
Location: Half mile north of Interstate 30 on Belt Line Road in Grand Prairie, Texas
Nearest City: In the middle of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
Nearest Airport: Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, 10 miles
Track Data: 1-mile dirt track; 7/8-mile turf course with inside chute for races up to 11/8-miles; 15/8-mile and 7-furlong Thoroughbred chute; width of dirt track, 90 feet; width of turf course, 80 feet; length of stretch, 990 feet
Total Track Capacity: 60,000
Grandstand Capacity: 12,000
Parking Capacity: 10,000; free general parking; $5 preferred parking; $15 valet parking
Price of Admission: General, $5; clubhouse, $8
Simulcast Information: Bar & Book open year-round, seven days a week, opening one hour prior to first post (approximately 10:30 a.m.)
Transponder Coordinates: G6, T4 (tentative)