TRENTON, N.J. — A bill that would authorize pari-mutuel wagering on the races at the Far Hills Steeplechase as early as the Oct. 15, 2016 meeting has been introduced by thee members of the New Jersey Assembly.
Assembly Bill No.1697 would allow the meeting, run annually for the benefit of Somerset Medical Center, to handle bets in cooperation with a license-holding pari-mutuel facility.
Those two entities would be The Meadowlands harness racing facility at East Rutherford, N.J. and Monmouth Park at Oceanport, N.J.
It also requires any steeplechase meeting granted a license must be sanctioned by the National Steeplechase Association though its headquarters at Elkton, Md.
The bills sponsors are:
Ronald S. Dancer of Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean Counties.
John J. Burzichelli of Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem Counties.
Jon M. Bramnick of Morris Somerset and Union Counties.
Bramnick, the Assembly's Republican leader, represents the district that includes Moreland Farm in Far Hills, the site of the meeting.
The move to betting on the races at events that are known as "traditional hunt meetings" started two years ago at the Great Meadow in Virginia, the home of the Virginia Gold Cup with moderate success.
Betting at Far Hills, according to Chairman Guy Torisilieri of Whitehouse, N.J., parallels on going and planned purse structure increases at the meeting that dates back to the 19th century by the Essex Fox Hounds in Essex County and later relocated to the hunt's Bedminster headquarters.
The purse for the meetings signature race, the Grade 1 Grand National, was raised to $300,000 on 2015. According to Torilieri, the race committee is planning to offer $350,000 this fall and $400,000 in 2017. At its present level, the Grand National, a 2-5/8-mile race over national hurdles, is the richest race over jumps in North America.
According to its chairman—who is also chairman of the NSA — the race committee is working on purse increases for supporting races on the day's program "that are still being worked out."
While hoping for wagering "in some form for 2016," Torsilieri notes there are still "many concerns to be be addressed."
A partnership with either Monmouth or The Meadowlands would have to be hammered out. The logistical and communications problems associated with handling bets on site are also formidable.
In 2013, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie issued a conditional veto to legislation very similar to the pending A1997. According to Torsilieri, that veto "was due to some legal problems." He reports those problems have been resolved.
The next action is up to the Assembly's Tourism, Gaming and Arts Committee.
