Breeders' Cup buzz still abounds
Locals recount their part in internationally known horse race
BY JANE MEGGITT Staff Writer
Breeders' Cup week has come and gone, but the equine enthusiasm and economy boost it created in Monmouth County lingers on.

ERIC SUCAR staff Jockey Mike Smith aboard Tiago sprints down the final stretch of the Breeders' Cup Classic race at Monmouth Park, Oceanport, on Saturday.

The four-day event at Monmouth Park in Oceanport on Oct 24-27 set a purse record in American horse racing. The 11 Breeders' Cup races alone, held on Friday and Saturday, totaled $23 million in purses.

Even with the state investing $30 million to upgrade the Monmouth Park racetrack for the internationally recognized thoroughbred horse race, Dennis Dowd, racing's senior vice president for the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, estimated the overall economic benefit of the event to New Jersey at $60 million.

Horses started arriving early in the week for the Breeders' Cup, and by Thursday, Monmouth Park was bedlam, according to Elaine McMinn, an Upper Freehold resident who owns Briarwood Saddlery, a tack and supply shop at Monmouth Park.

"There were lots of new faces," she said. "The press were swarming for pictures and interviews. Cars and trucks were parked everywhere. There was one tractor-trailer after another arriving and horses every where you looked, it seemed."

By midweek, McMinn said, she could feel the excitement mounting, with people coming to her from every direction asking for supplies.

"The worst part was when they would ask me to bring them something the next day," she said. "They were spread over many barns and were not always by the stalls where the horses were located."

While the event proved to be one of the most exciting times for the racetrack, it coincided with the state's worst weather in months.

"Even though it was miserable, everyone just kept on working and making the best of the situation," McMinn said. "I was very happy to see the sun come out for the last few races."

In McMinn's view, Monmouth Park did a wonderful job preparing for the event.

"It is not a large facility, and some thought it was a large leap to get the job done," she said. "Well, they did. On most parts, it was organized and running smoothly. There are always glitches with a job this enormous, but I believe it was a success in the end."

Highlights of the event for McMinn included seeing former Gov. Christine Todd Whitman visiting the track on Saturday and watching Curlin win the Breeders' Cup Classic.

"He was a favorite of mine for a while, and I was lucky enough to actually meet him and get a picture of him in his stall earlier in the year," she said.

Besides the inclement weather on most of the racing days, the crowd faced another downer when George Washington, an Irish horse, had to be euthanized after fracturing his leg during the Breeders' Cup Classic.

"My heart goes out to his owners, trainers, grooms and country," McMinn said.

Stephanie Anderson, of Millstone, was one of hundreds of local residents who volunteered at the event. She said she will carry the experience with her for the rest of her life.

As a clubhouse usher for $750 seats on the ground level just beyond the finish line, Anderson had the opportunity to stand at the rail next to actress Bo Derek for the last race.

"I am still on a high from the entire weekend. It was physically exhausting by the end of the day Saturday, but worth every blister, ache and pain," she said. "I would do it again on a moment's notice."

Anderson said those who ran the event put forth every effort to make volunteers feel special and appreciated. All volunteers received pens and green windbreaker jackets, she said.

"The event was a huge success, more so than they anticipated, and the inclement weather didn't put a damper on the attendance or wagering," she said. "Everyone there, patrons included, had a wonderful air about them, people from all over the world coming together for the special event."

The high point of the experience for Anderson was watching the parade of horses before the final race. She said she enjoyed seeing the exquisite animals walk by her only a few feet away.

"With that focus and determination in their eyes, they all believed they were the winners," she said.

Anderson said that she bet on George Washington to place or show and cried with other volunteers upon hearing that the horse had been put down.

For Sue Finley, of Fair Haven, the copublisher of the Red Bank-based Thoroughbred Daily News, the tragedy involving George Washington wiped away any highlights of the event.

Finley has attended about half of the 23 runnings of the Breeders' Cup.

"I attended most of them as a credentialed member of the media, and as such, it's difficult to compare what I experienced at most of them to what fans normally experience who walk in without the credentials and privileges normally accorded to the media," she said.

As for Monmouth Park's take on the event, Finley said, "We were able to easily make bets and buy food for our children with minimal lines. That compares very favorably to what we experienced at Belmont Park in 1995, where the food and betting lines were up to a half-hour long."

Finley commended the volunteers for their participation in the event, but another volunteer, Valerie Paluzzi, who lives in Old Bridge and owns land in Upper Freehold, said that while she enjoyed the training portion of the Breeders' Cup, she felt the rest of the event and the volunteers could have been better organized.

"I think most volunteers were not aware of how many questions and directions people would ask," she said, adding that many volunteers didn't know the park's layout.

According to Paluzzi, some volunteers and even paid workers chose to mill around and watch the races rather than work their posts.

"[Some] disappeared, so others had to handle their part too," she said, adding that volunteers in section seven of the grandstand also had to oversee section six for this reason.

For Paluzzi, the highlight of the event was getting the go-ahead to leave her post with friends on Saturday to watch the horses in the 10th race walk through and to see the Breeders' Cup Classic horses parade around the paddocks. She wanted Hard Spun to win, but the horse finished second to Curlin.

Barbara Luna, of Long Branch, who has spent most of her professional career at the racetrack, worked at the Breeders' Cup as a producer for Shamrock Productions in Atlantic Highlands, which shot footage for The Breeders' Cup Ltd. to use next year in commercials and promotions. Her job enabled her to see the best from every angle, she said.

"The fans were upbeat, the horses beautiful, and things seemed to run well," she said. "I was worried that all of the modernization would not maintain the beauty of the true Monmouth Park, but everything looked wonderful."

Luna said the event was the biggest thing that has ever happened at the track, and everyone involved should be very proud.

Rick Wills, the owner of Rick's Saddle Shop in the Cream Ridge section of Upper Freehold and Englishtown, said he was very encouraged to see so many people at the track, even in terrible weather. He noted that fans could see the track well from all of the seats, even in the temporary stands.

Wills said he and his friends arrived early each day, and parking was no problem.

"Leaving was a bit of a challenge, but it was a reasonable amount of time," he said.

Wills spotted Gov. Jon Corzine and Secretary of Agriculture Charles Kuperus there, supporting the sport, he said.

Joe Jennings, who owns Walnford Stud, a thoroughbred breeding farm in Upper Freehold, said Monmouth Park did a good job handling the crowds.

"It was a great shot in the arm for everybody," he said.

Jennings said the best part of thoroughbred racing is being involved. He said those who can't afford to race a horse on their own should look into the available partnerships.

"There's no other thrill like it," he said. He urged fans to return to the venue during regular racing season.

"It doesn't have to be a Breeders' Cup race," he said. "It's an exciting sport, with a lot of history and integrity involved."

He emphasized that racing is a sport, unlike stuffing quarters into "mindless slot machines."