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Posted on: September 26, 2025, 01:26h.
Last updated on: September 26, 2025, 01:26h.
- Jeff Gural is seeking a casino license at the Meadowlands Racetrack
- Gural has run the Meadowlands since 2011
- Gural says the Hambletonian Society has refused to ban trainers allegedly using PED
Meadowlands owner Jeff Gural says his pursuit of a casino in North Jersey at his Bergen County racetrack, paired with ongoing drugging issues in the horse racing industry, left him no option other than to fold on the Hambletonian Stakes.
In a letter dated Sept. 16, Gural, the New York and New Jersey real estate magnate who has run “The Big M” since acquiring the management rights in 2011, said his ongoing chase of a casino license has likely cost him the hosting of the storied, historic Hambletonian Stakes.
The first leg of the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Trotters, the Hambletonian, has been held at the Meadowlands annually since 1981. The Hambletonian Society has confirmed that it is fielding bids for the Stakes beginning with the 2027 race after its longstanding agreement with the Meadowlands terminates with the early August race next year.
Gural, who says he’s been upfront with the Society in saying he would not participate in a competitive bid for the ongoing hosting rights, explained in his letter that his relationship with the race organizers soured after he demanded that all trainers on the Meadowlands’ exclusion list be prohibited from participating.
Integrity Concerns Risk Casino Process
While Gural critics suggest he’s trying to limit competition against his own trotters, the industry power player says he must stay far away from bad actors as he continues his quest for a casino license. It’s worth noting that Gural’s trotter, Nordic Catcher S, won the 2025 Hambletonian.
“I made it clear that it was not our intention to allow trainers suspected of using illegal performance-enhancing drugs to race against those trainers, who, to the best of our knowledge, are racing under the rules,” Gural wrote.
In order for me to get a [gaming] license, the state has to pass a referendum that would allow a casino at the Meadowlands. There will be a massive amount of money spent by casinos in New York, Pennsylvania, and Atlantic City opposing the referendum. It is critical that I show them that it was more important for me to make sure that drug trainers were not allowed to race in the Hambletonian, and that is why it was moved out of the Meadowlands. I cannot afford the animal welfare people to attack me on the integrity issue, and I think this will put that issue to bed,” Gural continued.
Gural has been seeking to end Atlantic City’s monopoly on casino gambling in New Jersey for more than a decade to allow slot machines and live dealer table games to come to his Meadowlands Racetrack. With casinos being considered in downstate New York, and licenses probable for Queens and Yonkers, Garden State lawmakers are again mulling casino liberalization in North Jersey.
Referendum Bill
In May, Casino.org reported on legislation being filed in Trenton to initiate a statewide ballot referendum to expand casinos in New Jersey to parts outside Atlantic City.
Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 130 would ask voters if they wish to allow casinos at the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park horse racetracks. If the legislation passes the New Jersey Legislature with a three-fifths majority and voters back the question next November with at least a simple majority, the New Jersey Constitution would be amended.
The bill remains with the Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee, where it was initially referred.
