In what many are calling a blatant abuse of influence, Meadowlands owner Jeff Gural is once again throwing his weight around—this time pressuring the Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association of New Jersey (SBOANJ) into coughing up $200,000 to help secure the 2022 Breeders Crown for his racetrack.
According to several insiders, Gural has made it clear that failure to approve the expenditure could come at a high cost. He allegedly threatened to withdraw funding from cornerstone events like the Hambletonian and other stakes races—money that New Jersey horsemen rely on to sustain their operations and livelihoods.
Even more troubling is the report that respected trainers Linda Toscano and Julie Miller—both of whom train horses for Gural—were pressured to change their votes in favor of the expenditure. If true, this is not just backroom politics—it’s coercion at the highest level, a disturbing manipulation of voting integrity within the very organization meant to represent the collective interests of horsemen.
Let’s be clear: this isn’t about the Breeders Crown. It’s about control.
Gural’s long-standing pattern of leverage—using purse strings and race dates to bend the industry to his will—is well known, but this incident crosses a new line. Threatening to cancel funding for the sport’s most prestigious race if the SBOANJ doesn’t vote his way? That’s not negotiation. That’s extortion in a tailored suit.
Why should New Jersey’s horsemen be on the hook for $200,000 when the Meadowlands already benefits from industry subsidies and slot revenue elsewhere? And more importantly—who’s really benefiting from this deal?
The SBOANJ is supposed to represent all horsemen—not just the demands of one racetrack executive with an ego bigger than his entry box. Yet, with pressure mounting and key members allegedly flipping votes under duress, it’s clear that Gural’s influence extends well beyond the paddock.
At what point do we call it what it is?
This isn’t leadership. This is a shake-down. And if the horsemen don’t push back now, there may not be a voice left to represent them next time.
