One of the premier horse racing tracks in New Jersey is out of the gates on a brand-new on-site sportsbook.
Monmouth Park broke ground Tuesday on a Caesars Sportsbook at the thoroughbred racetrack in Oceanport Township.
Monmouth Park is one of three horse racetracks permitted to offer online sports betting in NJ. The track partners with the Caesars Sportsbook NJ and BetRivers Sportsbook NJ betting apps.
According to officials, the book will feature 16,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor viewing space. The new Caesars Sportsbook at Monmouth Park will have oversized LED walls and direct views of the track. Track reps say the multimillion-dollar development will also include a Shake Shack and full bar.
Monmouth also partners with NYRA, Fox Sports on new TV deal
Dennis Drazin, chairman and CEO of Darby Development, operator of Monmouth Park, and Dan Shapiro, senior vice president and chief development officer at Caesars Sportsbook, were present for Tuesday morning’s ceremonial groundbreaking.
Monmouth Park will forever have a place in the history of NJ sports betting. It was the site of New Jersey’s first legal sports bet on June 14, 2018 at what was then William Hill sportsbook. Gov. Phil Murphy placed (losing) wagers on the World Cup and Stanley Cup winners.
Monmouth Park and the New York Racing Association announced a partnership with Fox Sports to broadcast the 2024 season on Monday. Opening day is May 11.
“We’ve always had a great relationship with NYRA,” Bill Knauf, vice president of business operations at Monmouth Park, said in a press release, “and this partnership takes it further across multiple television and sponsorship channels, including our biggest day with the NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes.
“We look forward to the synergy between Monmouth Park and NYRA and the great exposure that Fox Sports can provide for our races this summer.”
Monmouth building on retail success with new Caesars Sportsbook
The new Caesars Sportsbook has been a long time in the making.
In spring 2023, Drazin expressed hope for development of the new retail space to begin that summer. Of course, that didn’t come to fruition.
Still, excitement abounds for the new space. And it should no doubt build upon the success of sports betting taking place at the track.
Since its first accepted bet in 2018, Monmouth Park has totaled $142.87 million in total betting revenue, fourth-most among the 12 licenseholders in the Garden State. In terms of land-based betting, only Meadowlands has performed better with Monmouth totaling $37.79 million in brick-and-mortar revenue.
