Opinion piece: The Mediterranean circuit should promote growth, not reductions
Johannes Piassek- January 22, 2026
The opinions expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author. John Piassek, the Maryland handicapper for The Racing Biz, previously worked for the Maryland Horse Breeders Association.
In mid-December, Michael Musto, the executive director of the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, wrote a letter to the editor of the newspaper Paulick Report calling for a true Mid-Atlantic circuit.
But the core of his plan is to shorten the number of racing days, which he believes will be the rising tide to lift all boats.
That’s not a recipe for success; it is a road map to immediately put dozens of breeders and riders out of business.
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The goal of a unified Mid-Atlantic region should be to encourage growth in every state in the area, rather than drastically cutting the dates. A successful Delaware Park leads to more Delaware-certified horses, boosting that state’s horse industry. A thriving Parx means more Pennsylvania-bred animals and a strong product in one of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas. A healthy Laurel Park provides a major racing presence in one of the most horse-oriented states in the country.
The Mid-Atlantic calendar is not perfect, but currently offers plenty of opportunities for riders and horses of varying abilities to race.
Could more coordination be needed? Certainly.
In 2025, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia will take some small steps in that direction during the Maryland summer break. Maryland and Virginia teamed up to offer numerous combined state-restricted stakes, while Maryland-bred horses and Maryland riders were able to earn out-of-state state-bred bonus money.
If Pennsylvania, New Jersey and West Virginia were added to the mix during their dark periods, and stallion bonuses were introduced, it would boost breeding in every state in the area and ensure that breeders have some chance to make money. Still, these bonuses only apply for a few weeks, so while they can tide people over during a shorter break, they’re not a substitute for a full schedule.
That’s an area where emerging collaboration is making a difference, and the future should – in fact, should – do more of that. Riders and breeder groups need to identify the laws and regulations and work to put each state into a silo with the goal of allowing more cross-border cooperation. Tracks should look for ways to encourage collaboration on race days and betting schedules.
That would likely lead to fewer race dates, and in fact the future portends such a reduction anyway.
But Musto’s plan calls for 275 dates across the region, no races at all in the winter months and at least $1 million in purses per date.
Assuming 12 races per race date, that would mean a reduction of approximately 60% in the number of races in the region.
The problem is not difficult to see.
If Delaware Park’s dates were cut in half, there would be less incentive for horses to earn Delaware certification, which would be bad news for the dozens of participating farms. Shrink Monmouth Park’s dates even further, and there would be fewer opportunities for Jersey-bred animals to earn a check, which could well mean the end of the Garden State’s beleaguered breeding program.
Cutting winter dates across the region would mean no money coming in for months — from Dec. 1 to the end of February in Musto’s proposal — unless they wanted to pay the cost of shipping to New York or Florida.
Even from a gambler’s perspective, larger fields are just one part of an improved gambling product. If the course in the spotlight still has a high takeout and dramatic late odds changes, all the major fields in the world won’t make it an improved product for bettors.
California is a good example of why contraction in reality is not always as good as in practice. 1/ST Racing closed Golden Gate Fields in Northern California last June to, in theory, shore up what was left. While the jury is still out on the whole, the demise of Golden Gate and the destruction of California’s fair circuit led to only a 5% increase in field size at the 2025 winter-spring meet at Santa Anita. Hardly a trajectory-changing outcome.
Over the past two decades, the number of races at the Mid-Atlantic circuits has fallen by 37%: a real-world experiment in the making. Did that turn the tide? The number of foals bred here has fallen by 60% and the number of stallions here has fallen by 74%.
With fewer opportunities to race, almost everyone in every state, especially working-class and middle-class businesses, would make less money. This would further accelerate the shrinking process in each state, until only the largest operations remain, if anyone remains at all.
Racing cannot bullshit its way to growth. It must address the core issues that frustrate gamblers, breeders and riders. It must find ways to stop the bleeding, not increase it.
A true Mid-Atlantic circuit should be about that: growing the pie and expanding opportunity for all in a sustainable way.
When it comes to encouraging racing in the Mid-Atlantic, sometimes less is not more; less is just less.
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