FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Joan Lawrence, NTRA Communications, (646) 335-6833, jlawrence@ntra.com
MONMOUTH PARK EARNS REACCREDITATION FROM NTRA SAFETY & INTEGRITY ALLIANCE
LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 11, 2017) – The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) announced today that Monmouth Park has earned reaccreditation from the NTRA Safety & Integrity Alliance. Featuring 14 graded stakes this year marks the 50th running of the Grade 1 $1 million Betfair.com Haskell Invitational and the 66th renewal of the Grade I United Nations Stakes. Located in Oceanport, N.J., live racing returns to the Jersey shore for its 72nd year starting May 13 through September 10.
Monmouth Park has continuously been fully accredited shortly after the Alliance’s inception in 2009. All accreditations and reaccreditations carry an effective period of two years.
The reaccreditation of Monmouth Park was the culmination of a lengthy process that hosted several meetings with Alliance officials. An on-site review included inspections of all facets of the racing facility. Interviews were also conducted with race track executives, racetrack personnel, jockeys, owners, trainers, stewards and fans. The inspection team was comprised of Dr. Ron Jensen, DVM, former equine medical director for the California Horse Racing Board; Mike Kilpack, security and integrity consultant and past chairman of the Organization of Racetrack Investigators; Jim Gates, racetrack operations consultant, former general manager of Churchill Downs; and Steve Koch, executive director of the NTRA Safety & Integrity Alliance.
Monmouth Park is one of 23 racing facilities fully accredited by the Alliance that together host 90 percent of graded stakes and generate 75 percent of North American pari-mutuel handle. The others are Aqueduct Racetrack, Arlington Park, Belmont Park, Canterbury Park, Churchill Downs, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, Finger Lakes, Golden Gate Fields, Gulfstream Park, Indiana Grand, Keeneland, Kentucky Downs, Laurel Park, Los Alamitos Race Course, Pimlico Race Course, Santa Anita Park, Saratoga Race Course, Suffolk Downs, Sunland Park, Turfway Park and Woodbine.
The NTRA Safety & Integrity Alliance is horse racing’s key mechanism for implementing racetrack safety and integrity initiatives on a uniform basis nationwide. Information on the Alliance, supported by the Hagyard Equine Medical Institute and Insurance Office of America can be found at NTRAalliance.com.
About the NTRA
The NTRA, based in Lexington, Ky., is a broad-based coalition of more than 100 horse racing interests and thousands of individual stakeholders consisting of horseplayers, racetrack operators, owners, breeders, trainers and affiliated horse racing associations, charged with increasing the popularity, welfare and integrity of Thoroughbred racing through consensus-based leadership, legislative advocacy, safety and integrity initiatives, fan engagement and corporate partner development. The NTRA owns and manages the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance, NTRA.com, the Eclipse Awards, the National Handicapping Championship, NTRA Advantage, a corporate partner sales and sponsorship program, and Horse PAC, a federal political action committee. NTRA press releases appear on NTRA.com, Twitter (@ntra) and Facebook (facebook.com/1NTRA).
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