The original Monmouth Park track was a half-mile layout, that featured more harness racing than thoroughbred. There was quite a bit of rail yard trackage back then, according to some things I've come across. Later additions made the track 5/8 mile.
After the ban on racing, and Camp Alfred Vail came into being (later named Fort Monmouth), the track was rebuilt at its present location, as the mile track you see today.
I worked with a guy who had done some landscaping / grass maintenance in the area of the original track in the fort, and he said here and there an old tie would surface through the ground and they'd have to dig it out.
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