The Jersey Shore summer tradition continues in New Jersey gambling for handicappers and thoroughbred racing fans as the post-position draw was announced Wednesday for the Haskell Stakes.
Saturday will be the 55th edition of the $1 million Grade 1 TVG.com Haskell at historic Monmouth Park in Oceanport.
This also will be the first Grade 1 stakes race in New Jersey in which fixed odds will be offered by Australian-based oddsmaker BetMakers.
More on Fixed Odds Wagering
Fixed odds in sports betting means bettors get the odds of the horse at the time of their individual bet being made.
BetMakers - which is hoping to get its fixed odds mobile app launched in the Garden State by Saturday - debuted fixed odds at Monmouth Park on May 8 and is the only racetrack in the United States to offer such wagering.
Fixed odds are offered on all live Monmouth Park races on win, place and show bets, with a minimum bet of $1.
“We are hopeful of launching MonmouthBets.com, which will mean everyone in the room can get online and make a bet,” said Dallas Baker, head of international operations for BetMakers, during Wednesday’s press conference. “Fingers crossed that will happen for the weekend. We are in a bit of a sprint to get it up-and-running, but if not up this weekend, will be up next week for sure.”
In late June, BetMakers announced that Monmouth Park will be partners again as sponsors for the $1 million “BetMakers Bonanza” bonus for the connections of any horse that sweeps a series of three designated Grace 1 races.
The three races will be the Haskell (Monmouth Park) on July 23, the Travers Stakes (Saratoga/New York) on Aug. 27 and the Breeders’ Cup Classic (Keeneland/Kentucky) on Nov. 5.
This will be the third consecutive year that Monmouth Park and BetMakers have offered the bonus. Authentic won the $1 million for winning all three races in 2021: Haskell, Kentucky Derby (which was held on Sept. 5 due to COVID-19 rescheduling) and the Breeders’ Cup Classic. That resulted in Authentic winning Horse of the Year honors.
For updates on racing and online casinos, stay close to TopNJCasinos.com.
Taiba favorite as Baffert returns
No. 2 Taiba, with jockey Mike Smith and trainer Bob Baffert, is the favorite at 7-5 in a field of eight horses over 1 1/8 miles. The Haskell is carded as Race 12 on the 14-race card with an approximate post time set for 5:45 p.m. (CNBC).
The race marks the return to Oceanport of Baffert, who returns seeking his record 10th Haskell victory (15 starts: 9 firsts, five seconds, one third).
Baffert had been serving a 90-day suspension for the disqualification of Medina Spirit, who crossed the wire first in the 2021 Kentucky Derby, but then was found to have the prohibited medication betamethasone in his system.
The two-time Triple Crown-winning trainer wasn’t allowed on the grounds at any track and his horses were turned over to other trainers in his absence.
Last month, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) suspended Baffert for one year for repeated medication violations, although none of them occurred in New York. That punishment, which bars him from Saratoga, Belmont and Aqueduct, ends Jan. 26, 2023.
Baffert also remains under a two-year ban by Churchill Downs that will keep him out of the Kentucky Derby until 2023. He is suing the Louisville track to have it overturned.
Haskell Stakes Field
Here is a look at the Haskell field, with morning line and BetMakers odds:
