Slightly Scaled Back Far Hills Race Parties On

Clear weather, world-class horses and riders, and an almost unimaginable spread of food and drink accompanied Saturday's Far Hills Race Meeting — a serious equestrian event on the world's steeplechase racing circuit — but with crowds a little smaller than usual.

This was the first year of a ban prohibiting general admission ticketholders from bringing in alcohol or consuming it on the premises at Moorland Farm in Far Hills. The ban was a reaction to last year's complaints that public drunkenness, drug use and rowdiness had reached an intolerable level.

But the tents, tailgate spots and other areas staked out with a number still permitted those racegoers to consume alcohol along with catered gourmet feasts and desserts amidst decorations for what has been the area's major social event for decades.

It may have seemed almost like business as usual — but it wasn't.

Although he said he wasn't sure of numbers as of Saturday, race co-chair Guy Torsilieri estimated the crowd at about 30,000 to 35,000 people for the charity event that benefits Somerset Medical Center. In the past, attendance has been estimated at 40,000, or more.

"That's fine with me," Torsilieri said. Informed that one racegoer had said the trains out to Far Hills were less crowded with people who often began drinking en route, Torsilieri said that those were the people who weren't wanted at the race.

Part of the plan to rein in excessive behavior at "The Hunt" had been Far Hills Race Meeting Association's hiring of a private security firm to patrol the grounds, along with the usual contingent of local police. They were joined by the very visible presence of 100 state police for the first time this year who were supposedly on the lookout for such violations as underage alcohol consumption.

J.P. Becker of Manhattan, enjoying the event while sitting on bales of hay with friends at the top of the hill, said he had rented a space for the past three years. But he noted that the ride out on the train was quieter than usual this year. New Jersey Transit also had put a ban on consuming alcohol on the train for this year's Hunt day. 

But for some longtime fans, the social event involving family and friends was just as good as ever, and maybe growing.

Maureen Brennan of Basking Ridge said she has rented space 300 for 20-plus years with a friend from Bernardsville with whom she attended high school. 

Now the spot — easily identified by her stuffed "Foxy" — also is filled with co-workers from throughout her career, longtime friends and, this year, the return of her son's friends from Carlton, Vt., even though her son couldn't attend.

Asked about the leftovers at her party at Moorland Farms, Brennan said they would be part of the after-party, and a gathering expected to last through Sunday.

For the longtimers, kids and family have been part of their traditional day at the races. Barbara Howard of Gladstone, whose granddaughter Libby Gilbert was riding her horse "Echo" in the race, said that her daughter had years ago ridden in the pony races that had been part of a smaller, more informal era for the steeplechase races.