Monmouth Park for the birds

Recent letters to the editor have discussed allowing slots at Monmouth Park racetrack while another suggested making it more family-oriented.

In response to a suggestion by state Senate President Richard Codey, D-Essex, that the track install lighting to accommodate night racing, one letter writer suggested providing music, restaurants and entertainment for children to increase attendance during the day.

We also have Atlantic City casinos subsidizing the purses at the track — under the threat of slots (competition) if they don’t provide the money — to boost attendance.

Two things immediately come to mind.

First, on July 19 there were the most obnoxious sounds coming from the track that I have ever heard. I believe it’s called music by some. It’s the same approach the Army used to get Manuel Noriega to surrender in Panama a few years ago. The racket drew 16,000 people. We live about a mile as the crow flies and it was awful. The next day, there was garbage as far as the eye could see inside and outside the track.

Second, has it occurred to anyone yet that horse racing is passe? It’s over. It’s not drawing people. It’s not making money. It should not be subsidized, and it should not have slots. Monmouth Park is in the middle of quiet residential areas. How about removing all the structures and letting it become a bird sanctuary?

Joseph A. DeMarco