The owner of Tioga Downs is in negotiations to purchase the Meadowlands.
Jeff Gural has until April to make a final offer to purchase the New Jersey-run facility.
Despite being considered the premiere harness horse racing track in the world, attendance at the Meadowlands has been in a steep decline over the past few years. Gov. Chris Christie has been looking for a way to get the state out of the horse racing business.
On Friday, he announced a temporary deal to keep racing at the Meadowlands through the spring and gave Gural until the end of April to come up with a plan to privatize the track.
If a deal is not reached, the track could shut down for everything except the Hambletonian, harness racing’s equivalent to the Kentucky Derby. Horsemen say that would mean the end of horse racing in New Jersey.
