Newmark’s Jeff Gural submits plan to run Meadowlands Racetrack

From left: NJ Governor Chris Christie, a Meadowlands horse trotter and Newmark Knight Frank’s Jeff Gural

Newmark Knight Frank’s Jeff Gural submitted a proposal to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to operate New Jersey’s doomed Meadowlands Racetrack, according to the Bergen Record. The state’s horseracing tracks have drawn the ire of politicians for depending upon a $30 million subsidy from Atlantic City casino earnings that could otherwise be used for more pressing municipal needs.

Christie has already cut the funding for the racetracks, and the Meadowlands Track is scheduled to shut down in April. But if Gural makes a satisfactory offer soon — and he would do so with the understanding that subsidies would be limited or non-existent — the track can still host its usual slate of big races come May.

Gural has raised $40 million for the erection of new grandstands and off-track betting sites that would make it a viable venture, but he’s still well short of the $100 million he estimates is required for the project. [The Record]