Gloucester Township Off-Track Betting Parlor Approved by NJ Racing Commission

The New Jersey Racing Commission approved an application for an off-track horse-racing facility at the former Stone Grill restaurant at 1300 Blackwood Clementon Road in Gloucester Township according to a published report.

The application from Penn National Gaming was on the agenda for the commission's meeting Wednesday in Freehold, but the website with commission rulings was last updated on Monday. The South Jersey Times reported Thursday the commission unanimously approved the application, citing Assemblyman John Burzichelli D, Paulsboro, as a source. 

The commission held a hearing on the facility in Gloucester Township on June 20 and Penn National Gaming officials said they expected a ruling before the end of the month. The site was scheduled to open in October.

It was not immediately clear why the ruling took so long, or if the facility will still open this month.

Penn National Gaming Inc. plans to construct a 1,600-square-foot betting parlor at the former restaurant that will allow patrons to bet on horse races from around the world. The site's existing infrastructure will allow the gaming company to renovate the building in a central location and avoid building from the ground up, a company official said.

“I think it’s really a perfect match,” Gloucester Township Mayor David Mayer said after testifying at the hearing in June. “They won’t have to change the footprint at all.”

Mayer said the project will help revitalize the Blackwood-Clementon Road corridor and bring up to 40 jobs to the township. He said the township will also receive 1 percent of the revenue from the facility.