One of Mike Jester’s most vivid memories of an afternoon spent at the racetrack occurred April 14, 1977, a day he decided to visit Garden State Park in Cherry Hill, N.J. In mid-afternoon, after being invited into the second-story jockeys’ room by a friend, Jester noticed a haze in the air and the acrid...

With the loss of two major racetracks over the years and continuous battles with the Atlantic City casinos and state legislature to get slots, New Jersey racing is struggling to remain competitive with surrounding states, most notably New York, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. If the Garden State is to succeed...

O ver the years William Backer has discovered that things go better with racing. The retired songwriting guru, known during his professional career as the man who coined many famous slogans and jingles for Coca-Cola, including "Things go better with Coke," is now highly regarded for an entirely...

When Delaware North announced it was ending its partnership with the New York Racing Association to install video lottery terminals at Aqueduct racecourse, the executive director of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders sprung into action. Noting that the end of the partnership represented yet another delay...

The temptation—as the red-roofed foaling and broodmare barns have gone up, the white-board fencing began stretching across the perimeter, and a string of horses settled in—is to dwell on the glory days of Sagamore Farm where Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Jr. bred generations of champions. Its brightest star...

Download PDF Five years ago, New Jersey residents George and Lori Hall were avid Thoroughbred racing fans, scrambling to find a babysitter to watch their daughter on weekends so they could enjoy a few races at nearby Monmouth Park. These days the Halls are seeing things from a much different point of...

Download PDF After brief stints as a jockey agent and as an aspiring trainer, Bob Haynes has found his niche in the Thoroughbred business as an owner, certified by the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, which named his Rob Ry Farm as the state’s owner of the year for 2008. Haynes, 54, a native...

Download PDF As the world deals with the ongoing economic crisis, Thoroughbred owner and breeder Larry Goichman can rely on an old racing adage in these tough times: no one has ever committed suicide if they have a promising 2-year-old in the barn. After all, it was that sentiment that got him into the...