- Monmouth Park in New Jersey is seeking a casino license
- The horse racetrack opened a Caesars Sportsbook last year
- New Jersey voters would need to vote in favor of casinos at racetracks
A New Jersey horse racetrack is seeking the state’s permission to redevelop the property into a mixed-use destination with a casino resort, youth sports complex, and hundreds of apartments.
Monmouth Park Racetrack is a storied venue in Oceanport, NJ, that is home to the annual Haskell Invitational. The track is owned by the state through its New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA), but is operated by businessman Dennis Drazin’s Darby Development.
Drazin, along with his development partner, Morris Bailey, the real estate executive who owns Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, has unveiled plans to transform Monmouth Park into an entertainment destination. On Tuesday, Drazin presented the project to the Oceanport Planning Board.
Darby Development is suggesting that, should the state allow it, a casino with two hotels come to Monmouth Park. The scope additionally calls for five baseball fields for youth sports, indoor paddle courts for tennis and pickleball, and 485 apartment units.
Local Signoff
Since Monmouth Park is owned by the state, Oceanport officials don’t have a formal say on the project. However, the Planning Board, as reported by the Asbury Park Press, was overall supportive. The only pushback came in regards to the apartments, with Mayor Tom Tvrdik saying it would cause too much congestion.
The entire plan is contingent on what’s seemingly a far-fetched idea to expand casino gambling outside of Atlantic City through a statewide ballot referendum to amend the New Jersey Constitution.
In 2016, voters easily rejected a proposal to allow casinos in towns at least 72 miles from Atlantic City. The question was defeated by a margin of 77% to 23%.
Senate Concurrent Resolution 31 seeks to allow casinos at Monmouth Park and The Meadowlands in Bergen County. The proposed legislatively referred constitutional amendment, however, sponsored by Sens. Joseph Pennacchio (R-Morris) and Joseph Cryan (D-Union), hasn’t moved from the Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee, where it was sent for initial review in January.
A similar bill, Senate Concurrent Resolution 66, authored by Sens. Vin Gopal (D-Monmouth) and Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen), has similarly been shelved in the same committee.
Path to Ballot
New Jersey law requires that proposed constitutional amendments like SCR31 and SCR66 gain 60% support in both chambers of the state Legislature. At this juncture, there seems to be little appetite among the state Senate or Assembly to discuss the casino expansion measures.
With three downstate New York casinos coming to the Bronx and Queens, the consensus in Trenton is that additional competition would only further hurt Atlantic City’s future.
SCR31 includes a provision to protect the nine casinos in Atlantic City. As written, 30% of the state tax revenue collected from slot machines at Monmouth Park and The Meadowlands would be “allocated proportionately to members of a consortium of casino license owners and operators operating in Atlantic City.”
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