TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie this afternoon vetoed a move by the New Jersey Racing Commission to allocate $15 million in state subsidies to bolster horse racing purses. Christie said the allocation made by the commission at its June 29 meeting contradicted his goal to make the industry self-sufficient. He cited recent agreements to privatize Meadowlands Racetrack and Monmouth...
Gov. Chris Christie in during a Statehouse press conference in May.TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie this afternoon vetoed a move by the New Jersey Racing Commission to allocate $15 million in state subsidies to bolster horse racing purses.
Christie said the allocation made by the commission at its June 29 meeting contradicted his goal to make the industry self-sufficient. He cited recent agreements to privatize Meadowlands Racetrack and Monmouth Park.
The governor said the subsidies defied "reason and logic" and called the commission's allocations "haphazard" and "not supported by any evidence in the record."
"Specifically, part of the allocation involves awarding state subsidies to groups that did not request money," the governor said in a letter to the commission.
For example, he said, the commission allocated $7.5 million to the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority for purses at Meadowlands despite the organization's request for no money.
Christie said other organizations, such as the Atlantic City Race Course and the Freehold Raceway, received far more money than they requested.
"In doing so, the commissioners grossly over-subsidized all of these entities," he said. "As such, the actions of the commissioners of the NJRC appear to constitute an abdication of their responsibilities."
A spokesman for the commission could not immediately be reached for comment.
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