NJ Transit Special Rail Service Offered To Far Hills Horse Race

FAR HILLS, NJ — NJ Transit is offering special rail service between Hoboken and Far Hills to transport customers to and from the 98th annual Far Hills Steeplechase at Moorland Farms on Saturday.

NJ Transit's Far Hills Station on the Gladstone Branch of the Morris & Essex Lines is located directly across the street from Moorland Farms, the site of the event.

For this special event, customers are advised that no beverages including alchol, open or closed, will be permitted on any train, bus or platform to and from Far Hills on Saturday. This policy will be strictly enforced.

To avoid lines, customers are strongly encouraged to purchase roundtrip tickets in advance. Customers boarding at Far Hills without a valid ticket or pass will be required to purchase a special ticket prior to boarding the train for $20. The special ticket is valid until 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 20 only for travel between Far Hills and any NJ Transit rail station.

On Saturday, ticket offices will be open special hours at Summit, Berkeley Heights, Lyons, Bernardsville, Far Hills, Gladstone, and Dover. See www.njtransit.com for specific times.

Stepping Up Enforcement

State, county and local law enforcement officers will once again be conducting identification checks of underage individuals suspected of drinking alcoholic beverages on the race grounds. The enhanced crackdown began last year. (See Related: Police To Crack Down On Underage Drinking At Far Hills Horse Race)

As part of this year’s initiative, any individual entering the event who is visibly intoxicated will be denied entry. Additionally, all individuals over the age of 21 will receive an identification wrist band indicating that they are of legal age to consume alcohol. Officers will be conducting roving patrols throughout the day on the race grounds to identify individuals who are highly intoxicated and being disruptive.

In the past years, police report making at least more than 30 arrests annually. Last year, police arrested 57 people; in 2016 35 people were arrested; in 2015, 35 people were arrested; in 2014, 36 arrests were made and in 2013, 55 people were arrested.

Out of the 57 people arrested in 2017, 22 arrests were made for underage drinking and 15 for public urination. (See Related: 57 Arrested At Far Hills Horse Race)

98th Annual Far Hills Steeplechase

The Far Hills Race Meeting traces its origins to the Essex Hunt, a fox hunting event founded in Montclair in 1870. In 1913, the organizers of the Essex Hunt incorporated as the Essex Fox Hounds. In 1916, the event moved from the original club site to the Grant B. Schley estate — today known as Moorland Farm.

Eventually becoming the Far Hills Race Meeting, the races have been continually run—apart from a short hiatus during World War II —on the same site.

Gates open at 8 a.m. on race day. Post time for the first race is 1 p.m. General admission tickets are $100 in advance or $200 at the gate. Advance ticket sales run from Sept. 23 until October 20. To purchase tickets or for a list of ticket sale locations, visit www.farhillsrace.org.

(Image via Google Maps: Far Hills Train Station)

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