Saturday was the penultimate night of the 2026 New Jersey racing season and the card at the Meadowlands was, sadly, typical of what has become of the sport in the Garden State. There were only six races, with 44 horses taking part, and the all-sources handle was an anemic $1,109,739. These are very tough times for New Jersey racing, which just can't compete with its neighbors in the Mid-Atlantic region, all of which receive funding from gaming.The average total daily handle during the 50-day Monmouth meet fell by 22 percent, a direct reflection of field size and how the quality of racing has slipped. There were only 800 horses stabled at Monmouth this year, down from 950 the year before, and the population is expected to continue to decline due to the foal shortage and the fact that more and more trainers are opting for the longer meets and the richer purses offered elsewhere.The hope is that Monmouth will eventually get a casino, but that won't come easily. Legislation that would allow for gaming at Monmouth (and the Meadowlands) must pass by a 60 percent margin in the legislature and all that would do is get the question on the ballot. Getting casino gaming at New Jersey's racetracks has proved to be all but impossible because of the stranglehold the Atlantic City casinos have on so many legislators based in the southern half of the state. There was a referendum on the ballot in 2016 to allow for casinos outside of Atlantic City and it went down in a landslide, by a 77-23 margin.With just one more day of racing–Friday night at the Meadowlands–left on the 2026 Jersey racing calendar, the TDN reached out to Dennis Drazin, who heads the management team that runs Monmouth, to get his views on the track's future. Here are the topics that the 74-year-old veteran executive Drazin covered:(*) On whether or not voters, if given a chance, will approve a casino at the Monmouth: Drazin said the landscape has changed since 2016. He noted that New Jersey will soon be losing even more customers to a neighboring state once three casinos in New York City are all up and running. He also said that it will be essential for Monmouth, the Meadowlands and their political allies to push for measures that will benefit Atlantic City, as well as all New Jerseyans.“Money will be constitutionally dedicated to go to Atlantic City,” Drazin said. “(Meadowlands owner) Jeff Gural is the driving force behind that. He feels the license fee is a good place to start. He projects $50 million a year going to Atlantic City to support the debt service on whatever money they need to create the fixes that are necessary.”Money from the proposed new casinos, he said, must also be earmarked for such things as property tax relief.“I hate to say this, but the public is not concerned about saving racing or saving the Atlantic City casinos,” Drazin said. “What they are concerned about is property tax relief, affordability, savings when it comes to energy costs, and having money going toward children with disabilities.”(*) Legislation has already been introduced that, if passed, would put the casino question on the ballot, but Drazin believes the best strategy is to wait for 2028 before starting a major push to get it passed:“2028 is not our first preference, but we have to be realistic,” he said. “In 2027, all the legislators are up for re-election. Things can change, but right now leadership is not looking to put this question on the ballot next year.”(*) He is optimistic that if the casino question does get on the ballot that it will pass:“We're convinced, from our polling, that it will pass,” he said. “Our polling shows that 65-66 percent will be for it. But I know that there will be a lot of money spent, both for and against this.”(*) Among the few bright spots for Monmouth of late has been the GI Haskell Stakes, which continues to draw top 3-year-olds and is a major event on the Jersey Shore: But even that is now in jeopardy thanks to the creation of the NYRA-Churchill Downs Thoroughbred Championship Series, which does not include the Haskell. Drazin said he will work toward maintaining the Haskell's status as marquee race.“The new six-race series put together by NYRA and Churchill obviously hurts the Haskell,” he said. “We weren't thrilled to see that, and neither was Maryland or Pennsylvania. But we'll figure it out. Maybe I will put together some sort of big bonus that will include races like the Travers, the Breeders' Cup and (Monmouth's) the Pegasus. The Haskell is an event and will continue to be an event.”(*) With no help on the way for 2027, Monmouth will face many of the same issues that hampered its meet this year: Drazin believes that a shorter meet might help with field size and also holds out hope that some of the Mid-Atlantic tracks might work in conjunction with Monmouth to form a circuit. He said that the 2027 Monmouth meet will be cut from 50 days to 44. There will also be nine days of all-turf racing at the Meadowlands. Convincing horsemen to approve a shorter meet is a tough ask.“There are horsemen who are happy with smaller purses and more days. We have this battle all the time,” he said.(*) Then there's the doomsday question: what if the effort to get a casino fails? Can Monmouth survive?“If we don't get a casino and we don't transition to and get historical racing, we will continue to offer somewhere in the range of the days we're currently doing for less purse money. I mean, that's the only answer I have for you,” Drazin said.(*) Will that work? Drazin said that it will have to, that he will never allow Monmouth to close:“I've constantly said, 'I'm not going to let Monmouth die on my watch.' So I keep losing money. I keep injecting my own money into the operation in order to keep it going. At this point in time, I'm committed to continuing to do that. Not to be grim, but if I die, I don't know what happens because someone else isn't going to pick up and do this. But as long as I'm alive, I'm committed to making this work. I've tried a number of things over the years, like exchange wagering and fixed odds wagering. What is going on here, it's not for a lack of trying. Getting a casino, that's really the solution. When people ask what the future plan is, we'll continue to make it a go the best we can if we don't get casino revenue. But getting a casino, that's the overall answer.”The post Week In Review: As Jersey Season Nears End, Drazin Vows To Fight On appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.