in our Spotlight on Business Report the oldest horse racing track in the country is shutting down the historic Freehold Raceway where harness racing first began in get this 1853 will cease operations at the end of the year the track has become a landmark both for the area and the state employees and Freehold bureau's mayor reportedly said they were blindsided by Thursday's decision but the raceways general manager said in a statement there's no plausible Way Forward under existing conditions the facility is jointly owned by pen entertainment and Greenway racing the closure won't affect Monmouth racetrack or the Meadowlands and it's unclear what will happen to the property now but Freehold officials say they're hopeful a buyer will emerge to continue running the track Freehold is the third horse racing track to close in New Jersey since 2001 [Music]