The Far Hills steeplechase race meet will honor the late John Forbes–a fixture at Monmouth Park where he trained for 40 years–with the first John Forbes Memorial Race during its six-race program Oct. 15.
The 101st Far Hills Race Meeting will offer $575,000 in purses for the six races at Moorland Farm in Far Hills, N.J., highlighted by the $250,000 Grade 1 Grand National.
The John Forbes Memorial, the only flat race on the program, will be contested at two miles on the turf. It will go as the final race on the six-race card and has a purse of $100,000. Forbes passed away at the age of 73 Jan. 31, 2021.
“John Forbes was synonymous with Monmouth Park for 40 years in a variety of roles. He was a tireless advocate for racing, for the industry and for Monmouth Park,” said Dennis Drazin, Chairman and CEO of Darby Development LLC, the operator of Monmouth Park. “It's only fitting that he has a race named in his honor.”
Forbes won 2,174 races before he stopped training in 2012 to focus on horsemen's issues, becoming the president of the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association when the group took over the lease for Monmouth Park from The New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority. He was the leading trainer at Monmouth Park five times and won seven training titles at the Meadowlands. Forbes' best horse was GISW sire Tale of the Cat and he helped launch the career of Hall of Fame rider Julie Krone.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
