Monmouth, Suffolk Battle Over Entries

Monmouth Park has engaged Suffolk Downs in a battle over the entry box, and the horsemen feel caught in the crossfire.

The New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, which operates Monmouth under the aegis of Darby Development LLC, notified its horsemen via a post on the overnight for Friday, Aug. 5 that "any horse shipping to race at Suffolk Downs will not be permitted to return to Monmouth except upon payment of $1,000 per the NJTHA."

Both Monmouth and Suffolk Downs, which runs the second of its three two-day racing festival weekends Aug.6-7, continue to struggle mightily to survive without a casino. 

Monmouth has been running just eight races per day leading up to the July 31, $1 million Betfair.com Haskell (gr. I), the most important race on its calendar, and Suffolk runs a total of six live racing days this year.

"I'm not very happy and I'm very disappointed with this," said Monmouth-based trainer Bobby DiBona, a New England native who started at the East Boston track before relocating his successful stable to New Jersey several years ago. "They (the NJTHA) are being extortionists."

Suffolk Downs cut its live meet to three days in 2015 and to the six days this year as a consequence of the 2014 failure of the track's gaming partner to secure the one casino license reserved for the Boston region.

The newly imposed penalty for Monmouth horses shipping out to run does not apply to any other track.

"I bring good horses here (Monmouth) to run and I don't have $5,000 claiming horses. How do they tell you that you can't go to Suffolk, but you can go to Parx, you can go to Saratoga, you can go to Charles Town, you can go to Penn National? But you can't go to Suffolk?" asked Dibona, who sent four horses to Suffolk in July and won three races in the two days.

Although no one from Monmouth Park or the NJTHA would comment for the record when contacted by Blood-Horse, the rationale may be that there are no horses stabled at Suffolk for reciprocity.

"I'm not very political and I've got to do what I've got to do," said DiBona, who is tied with Monmouth-based trainer Jorge Navarro, who won three of five races at Suffolk last month, at the top of the Suffolk standings. "I've got horses to bring to Boston to win. We'll have to see what happens. What's going on is a real shame. A real shame."

DiBona said he would speak with Lou Raffetto, the consultant to the New England Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, which puts on the racing festivals in concert with Suffolk Downs. Raffetto is a former Monmouth Park executive.

"Maybe Lou will pick up my tab," said DiBona.

Suffolk Downs offers an average daily purse of $500,000, which is supported by the state's Race Horse Development Fund and supplied by a percentage of casino revenue, and pays trainers a $200 bonus for every starter. Moreover, there is a $300 shipping allowance for horses finishing first through fifth and a $1,000 bonus paid to horses finishing sixth on back to last.

Suffolk Downs officials also declined to comment for this story.