2023 Haskell: Howell woman's love of horses leads to Facebook advocacy page, 7,000 members
OCEANPORT - Lisa Bulger started going to the racetrack while she was growing up in Howell, just to pet the ponies they’d have for kids to ride in a family activity section at Monmouth Park.
And sometimes pet them on the ride home, too.
“If we saw a farm with a fence and there were horses, we would be getting out and talking to them,” Lisa said.
Lisa and her husband Bobby, both 55 and living in Cranford, were back at the track Saturday for the running of the Haskell Stakes, the biggest race of the year in New Jersey. Longshot Geaux Rocket Ride defeated a field that included Kentucky Derby champ Mage.
And with tens of thousands of fans at Monmouth enjoying a breezy and beautiful afternoon, the Bulgers probably had a role in convincing some of them it was worth the trip.
More: Haskell Stakes 2023: Geaux Rocket Ride pulls off upset win over Kentucky Derby winner Mage
Lisa and Bobby in 2015 started a Facebook page – “Monmouth Park Racetrack (Memories Then and Now) – that promotes horses, horse owners, trainers and jockeys.
It’s an offshoot of Lisa’s desire to be more involved with horses, which has included volunteering at different farms with assisted therapy riding.
“I actually wasn't sure how I felt about horse racing. I felt like I kind of had assumptions that they're harmful, and they force them, and it's not nice, and the whole bit,” Lisa said. “I did not know the facts and I wasn’t aware. I thought it was mean.”
More: 'No hoof, no horse': Meet the people who keep Haskell 2023 racehorses on even footing
'Monmouth Park Racetrack (Memories Then and Now)' Facebook page gets big
The Facebook group has grown to just under 7,000 members and Haskell Day serves as an annual reunion for some of them.
Jessica Zach, 42, who manages the Lawrenceville Ski Barn, said she became personal friends with the Bulgers from the Facebook group and a chance meeting at Belmont Park in New York.
“I was trying to think, ‘I knew these two from somewhere,’ and then it clicked … the Facebook group,” she said.
Group members celebrate jockey birthdays, big win photo finishes and throwbacks to memorable race days that members chime in on.
“It makes it very personal. It humanizes the sport a bit more and brings a face to it,” Zeck said.
“Everybody knows we’re on the same team,” Bobby said. “We work together on promoting Monmouth and the horsemen here. I am the page bouncer. It’s like if you get rowdy at a bar, we throw you out.
“This is our happy place.”
Quenching thirst at Monmouth Park? Facebook page is here for that
Plus there’s plenty of insider information, including where to find the best margarita or bloody Mary at the racetrack.
Bobby can tell you where top trainer Chad Brown took his horseman’s test and different oddities about Monmouth Park.
“Almost everybody in racing, at one time or another, has come through Monmouth. Great jockeys, great trainers, great horsemen and great people,” Bobby said. “No matter where you’ve gone to or what you’ve done since Monmouth, you’re always one of us. We’re one big family.”
On Saturday as the couple was walking toward the track, they came across one of many familiar faces from the group - Johnny Vega works with the crew on the track and is the son of legendary Tony Vega, a jockey with a storied history at Monmouth Park.
The three of them posed for a photo.
Johnny Vega said the sport had a bad reputation to some and he’s grateful to the Bulgers for what they do with the Facebook page.
“Without that, it wouldn’t feel like we had fans,” Vega said. “Nobody knows about the good. Great things that happen here on a daily basis. A lot of people don’t know about all that. The group exposes the great stuff about this place.”
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Lisa Bulger Facebook page draws Haskell Day reunion at Monmouth Park
