N.J. racetrack at risk in Christie vs. NFL
TRENTON, N.J. — Attorneys arguing for Gov. Chris Christie's proposed sports betting at Monmouth Park painted a dire picture for the Oceanport horse track if the NFL and other sports leagues prevail in a lawsuit to block the plans.
U.S. District Court Judge Michael Shipp said at a hearing Thursday he expects to rule on a request by the leagues for an injunction against sports betting within a day. A temporary restraining order against New Jersey issued by Shipp last month expires Friday.
A federal law bans sports betting except in Nevada and three other states.
Monmouth Park had planned to open its betting windows Oct. 26 and Ronald Riccio, representing track management, told Shipp the delay has been threatening the track's financial viability and development plans.
"The business of Monmouth Park is at standstill now because the revenue we thought we'd be able to generate with sports betting isn't coming in,'' Riccio said. "Projects that were on the drawing board are now on hold.''
Jeffrey Mishkin, representing the leagues, contended there will be no hardship if an injunction is granted, but Riccio sharply dissented.
"Tell the people who work at the racetrack there's no hardship if their place of employment has to close because there's an injunction against the one thing that the operators of the facility believe is needed to save that place,'' Riccio said. "Tell them there's no hardship by losing their job especially in an economy like this.''
"It's a domino effect, your honor,'' Riccio added. "If Monmouth Park closes, the New Jersey equine industry is as good as dead and the open areas and open space that is protected by the equine industry, that's going to go down the tubes.''
Dennis Drazin, a Monmouth Park management consultant, said outside the courtroom the track is operating at a loss. Officials are counting on future revenue from sports betting and from a potential expansion of casinos outside Atlantic City, he said.
Drazin said there are no plans to shutter the facility.
Legal analysts who attended the hearing said the leagues are likely to get their wish from Shipp, with an injunction that will keep the betting windows closed.
That would set the stage for a filing by Christie's attorneys in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, a venue that previously signaled that a self-regulated entity — as is envisioned for Monmouth Park — could conduct sports betting under federal law, said Daniel Wallach, a shareholder at the Becker & Poliakoff law firm.
The appeals process could take up to six months to complete, Wallach said.
New Jersey has been trying to buck a 1992 federal law intended to restrict sports betting to Nevada, Delaware, Oregon and Montana. State voters by a wide margin approved a sports gambling referendum in 2011.
A wrinkle in the dispute developed last week when National Basketball Association Commissioner Adam Silver came out in favor of allowing wagering on sports in an op-ed published in The New York Times. The NBA is one of the leagues suing New Jersey.
But Silver, rather than endorsing New Jersey's initiative, wrote that federal "laws on sports betting should be changed.''