It’s Eric Warner’s job to set up the daily race fields at Monticello Raceway but you can’t draw up what you don’t have. The raceway was forced to cancel its scheduled extra harness racing card for Friday afternoon because there’s a “severe horse shortage,″ as stated by the New York State Gaming Commission.
An ideal day calls for 80 horses to make a full card, said Warner, Monticello’s director of racing. Monticello managed to schedule 10 races on Monday and Tuesday, and has nine scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. Friday was a rare opportunity for a fifth day of racing at Monticello but a sufficient lineup was unavailable.
“It’s industry-wide at this point,″ Warner said. “We try to race more times during the winter because other tracks are closed and we generally have more horse population to race but at this point we didn’t have enough to go five days. … It is disappointing.″
Warner said many horses are stabled at the facility and others are transported from farms in the Middletown and Pine Bush area. Some horses come from as far away as the Saratoga region and northeast Pennsylvania but those horses may be unavailable as their owners get them ready for the upcoming openings at Saratoga Casino Hotel next month and Mohegan Sun Pocono in the spring.
“I have said over and over again, there is not a shortage of horses; there’s too much racing,″ said Buffalo Raceway chief operating officer Jim Mango. Buffalo tried to schedule three days of racing but had to cancel its Friday cards last week, this week and next because of the shortage. Mango said his Buffalo facility was stabling 300 horses at this time last year and only 130 now.
“In New York state, at any one time you could have five (harness) race tracks going … it’s just ridiculous,″ said the outspoken Mango. “We’re trying to deal with it as an industry where there unquestionably has to be a reduction of race days.″
“It’s definitely a serious problem, especially for the tracks that are racing the lower class of horses, which certainly the small harness tracks are in the category like that, the tracks that offer the smaller purses.″
Monticello Raceway actually had to get approval from the state gaming commission to cancel since all race dates are applied for and approved by the commission.
Monticello has three remaining “fifth” racing dates on July 6, Aug. 3 and Dec. 21.
Series schedules announced
The New York Sire Stakes season will culminate with the $1.8 million finals hosted by Yonkers Raceway on Sept. 22. The finals for the Excelsior Series will be hosted by Saratoga on Sept. 23.
The Sire Stakes and Excelsior Series divisions will open action at Yonkers on May 8.
Goshen Historic Track will host events in both series on June 30 and July 1.
The schedule for the County Fair Series will be released in a few weeks.
The New York Sire Stakes is the premier harness-racing program for 2- and 3-year-old Standardbreds, and is administered by the Agriculture & New York State Horse Breeding Development Fund.
At a glance
New York Sire Stakes schedule
(for local tracks)
3-year-old Colt Pace: June 18 at Monticello; June 30 at Goshen; July 30, Aug. 28, Sept. 22 at Yonkers
3-year-old Filly Pace: June 30 at Goshen; Aug. 6 at Monticello; Sept. 6, Sept. 22 at Yonkers
2-year-old Colt Pace: June 26, Aug. 24, Sept. 22 at Yonkers; July 4 at Monticello
2-year-old Filly Pace: July 6, July 24, Sept. 22 at Yonkers; Sept. 10 at Monticello
3-year-old Colt Trot: July 1 at Goshen; July 16 at Monticello; July 27, Sept. 11, Sept. 22 at Yonkers
3-year-old Filly Trot: May 8, Aug. 7, Sept. 22 at Yonkers; June 4 at Monticello; July 1 at Goshen
2-year-old Colt Trot: July 9 at Monticello; Aug. 20, Sept. 14, Sept. 22 at Yonkers
2-year-old Filly Trot: June 25 at Monticello; July 3, Aug. 13, Sept. 22 at Yonkers
New York State Excelsior Series
3-year-old Colt Pace: June 18 at Monticello; June 30 at Goshen; July 30, Aug. 28 at Yonkers
3-year-old Filly Pace: June 21, Sept. 6 at Yonkers; June 30 at Goshen; Aug. 6 at Monticello
2-year-old Colt Pace: June 26, Aug. 24 at Yonkers; July 4 at Monticello
2-year-old Filly Pace: July 6, July 24 at Yonkers; Sept. 10 at Monticello
3-year-old Colt Trot: July 1 at Goshen; July 16 at Monticello; July 27, Sept. 11 at Yonkers
3-year-old Filly Trot: May 8, Aug. 7 at Yonkers; June 4 at Monticello; July 1 at Goshen
2-year-old Colt Trot: July 9 at Monticello; Aug. 20, Sept. 14 at Yonkers
2-year-old Filly Trot: June 25 at Monticello; July 3, Aug. 13 at Yonkers
By Ken McMillan