By David Cruz
Correspondent
It’s as beautiful a day as you can get in New Jersey. At Jan Laszlo’s Hunters Run Farms in Neptune these babies are getting some late morning exercise. These 6-month-olds are essentially pre-schoolers just learning the basics about being around humans. It’s their first steps — literally — in the journey to become racehorses. Laszlo’s been here since 1980 when the equine industry in New Jersey was much more robust, but, as we tour the farm with Sen. Jen Beck, Laszlo admits things are a little tougher nowadays.
“In the last five years, we’ve lost 718 acres in horse farms that have been sold to other interests,” noted Beck.
“Over the years, in fact over the last five years, I know there’s less horses being born in this state,” added Laszlo.
And that has economic impact, says John Forbes of the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horseman’s Association, who estimates that more than 10,000 jobs in the state are directly related to the equine industry.
“Each race horse is a job creator,” he said. “A race horse needs a farm; the mare needs someone to help it foal,” said Forbes. “When it gets to the races, it needs a trainer, a groom, it needs what we call a hot walker, a blacksmith, a feed company. It needs a veterinarian.”
But because of Jersey’s smaller purses at the tracks, owners are looking elsewhere to run their prized possessions. It’s a cycle that’s threatening an industry and a way of life, said Beck, who, today was urging voters to vote yes on the casino expansion referendum question because, yeah, there’ll be money for property tax relief, seniors, etc.
“And then a small portion of that revenue, some feel deminimis, but a small portion of that revenue go to support breeding, equine and open space in New Jersey,” added Beck. “But the vast majority is for property tax relief. We believe — in the first year of operation — two new casinos would generate almost a billion dollars in brand new revenue.”
Up to 2 percent of the non-constitutionally-mandated revenue would go to equine industry subsidies, and that could mean up to $10 million a year. Not exactly the $30 million the industry saw before the governor took the state out of the industry, but it would be a much-needed boon, says Anthony Perretti, whose family horse farm in Cream Ridge closed in 2011.
“We had a quality operation, a $30 million operation that is out of business, and this is where the rest of the farms are going if the public and the legislators do not support open space issues and vote yes on Nov. 8,” he said.
One recent poll shows that more than two-thirds of New Jersey residents oppose casino expansion and with less than a month to Election Day, the equine industry has plenty of hurdles to jump, that is, of they’re not already too late getting out of the gate.