EAST RUTHERFORD — A key union representing tellers at the Meadowlands Racetrack tonight refused to vote on a package of job concessions aimed at keeping the financially troubled facility open, a leader of the state’s harness racing industry said. The failure to vote by Local 137 of the AFL-CIO could signal the end to more than 34 years of...
Bruce Saunders, from East Rutherford, works a horse at the Meadowlands Racetrack in this July 2010 photo.EAST RUTHERFORD — A key union representing tellers at the Meadowlands Racetrack tonight refused to vote on a package of job concessions aimed at keeping the financially troubled facility open, a leader of the state’s harness racing industry said.
The failure to vote by Local 137 of the AFL-CIO could signal the end to more than 34 years of live harness racing at the track, which Gov. Chris Christie vowed to shut if the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority could not find an investor to lease the operation.
Christie and the sports authority tapped New York developer Jeffrey Gural in December to try to make one last go of the racetrack, which is owned and operated by the state and has been losing about $10 million annually.
Thomas Luchento, president of the Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association of New Jersey, one of the potential partners with Gural in the possible lease of the Meadowlands, said he was informed of the nonvote by the union.
"It was a foolish move," said Luchento. "They cut their own throats. They were very shortsighted. Not only did they hurt themselves, they hurt the entire industry."
Robert Liguori, business manager of Local 137, did not return calls tonight.
Gural, chairman of American Racing and Entertainment LLC, which owns two racinos — a hybrid of casinos and horse-racing facilities — in upstate New York, did not respond to three e-mails tonight.
Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said the governor would sort the matter out and comment Friday.
Gural was first given until April 1 to work out a deal with the unions. Two weeks ago, he got an extension until Friday, which he said at the time was his "drop-dead date" to put a package together to submit to Christie. On Wednesday, he said he would not ask for another extension.
Partnering with the Standardbred Breeders group, Gural was attempting to negotiate with about half a dozen unions, including building trades, plumbers and electricians.
But the tellers, who work the windows taking bets and cash, were seen as key to the success of the plan because other bargaining units were expected to follow their lead.
Opened in 1976, the Meadowlands Racetrack initially boasted a daily average attendance of 17,000. Gural estimates daily attendance is now closer to 3,000. The racetrack was limping along with $30 million in subsidies from Atlantic City casinos.
Part of his proposal was to build a smaller grandstand on the backfield and to reduce race days to Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, fattening the purses to attract the more well-known horses and more bettors. He also wanted to build an off-track wagering facility in Bayonne to help offset track losses.