Freehold looks to make up ground in NJ sports betting race

FREEHOLD, N.J. (AP) — Slow out of the gate as New Jersey sprinted ahead in the nascent U.S. sports betting market, Freehold Raceway is hoping to catch up to the pack as the latest entity in the state to offer it.

The oldest harness racing track in the U.S. is the third track in the state to take legal sports bets, joining eight of the nine Atlantic City casinos.

But it faces several hurdles, including the sizeable lead its competitors have. New Jersey casinos and tracks have been offering sports betting since June 2018, a month after the state won a U.S. Supreme Court case clearing the way for all 50 states to offer sports betting.

“It's growing every day, and it's in a great area,” said Matt Cullen, senior vice president of interactive gaming and sports for Pennsylvania's Parx casino, which runs the sports book at Freehold. “We're really excited about it.”

For now, Freehold is open seven days a week for in-person sports betting. But it, like other sport betting licensees, has up to three internet identities, or “skins” that are in the process of being approved by New Jersey gambling regulators. Cullen said he hopes to have the online operation up and running within a month.

That is particularly crucial in New Jersey, where more than 80% of sports betting is done online or over mobile devices. The online bets are restricted to people physically present in New Jersey.

Freehold will compete for customers with another horse track in the same county, Monmouth Park, which is just 17 miles away in Oceanport, nearer to the shore. It is just across busy Route 9 from Freehold Raceway Mall, which could give it a boost during the holiday shopping season, although how large those crowds will be during the coronavirus outbreak is unknown.

Cullen predicted Freehold...