Saturday marks the end of an era for harness racing in New Jersey.
Freehold Raceway will hold its final races this weekend, closing for good and ending its run as the oldest harness racing track in the nation, first opening in 1853.
The closure of Freehold Raceway leaves the Meadowlands Racetrack as the only harness racing track in New Jersey, the latest chapter in the industry’s steep decline in recent decades as gamblers turned to other options.
Stephen Edelson, a sports columnist for the Asbury Park Press, told NJ Spotlight News that the prospects for horse racing in the Garden State appear increasingly dim, despite the industry’s storied past.
“There’s a lot of sadness, there’s a lot of uncertainty, because there’s so many lives that are impacted by this, so many families locally.” Edelson said. “Whether you worked at the racetrack, or you were an ancillary employee, or you’re a horseman who has a farm whose horses run there. So I think the ripple effects are so far reaching through the community, it’s that uncertainty that everyone is trying to deal with right now.”
