Monmouth Park Aiming To Partially Reopen For Belmont Stakes Day

Wow......so I think I just stumbled upon ANOTHER opening announcement.

I guess after 2 to 3 months of being in Quarantine....all of us New Jerseyans are literally losing our minds and NEED to get out and about. .

Monmouth Park is in talks of partially opening for Belmont Stakes Day this Saturday, June 20th for a symbolic return after the pandemic turned our worlds upside down.

And it could work because the park has countless outdoor food and beverage areas.

The ultimate goal would be to ease into the racing season and be able to host even more patrons by the time live racing kicks off on July 3rd. (Reminder: Gov Murphy predicts the new outdoor maximum capacity by July 3rd will be 500 people.)

”We are in the process of adding up spots, like in the Lady’s Secret Café," said Dennis Drazin, the chairman and CEO of Darby Development LLC. " Take whatever your capacity is there and put everyone six feet apart and you comply with all the governor’s rules and you can have that many people."

Monmouth Park just needs Governor Phil Murphy's blessing for this plan. However, standalone restaurant Blu Grotto will be open regardless because they offer outdoor seating. They will also have televisions available so that customers can watch the races.

But what goes along with horse races.....betting. The track is still not sure if they can open their outdoor betting machines or if they cant take wagers from those who attend. It would involve money to change hands which is GERMS GALORE but we will see.

The park also hopes that case numbers will continue to drop so they can host fans on Haskell Day -- aka their biggest money making day of the year.

There are a lot of things that are up in the air right now but it is a very good sign that Monmouth Park is working to reopen while abiding by the Governor's guidelines.

The second an update is provided, we will let you lovely Jersey Shore residents know.

Take a look at the original article at APP.com.