Spotlight: Laurie Molnar

For Laurie Molnar, harness racing is all she knows. “I was born into it. My whole family was into it: my grandfather, my father, my uncles, everybody. They were into it before I was born. It’s all I’ve done since I was a kid. I tried to go to college for something else but then I ended up going to the track,” Molnar laughed.

She has fond memories of the Freehold Raceway backside as her family was stabled there until it closed. “It was great, it was just a big family. It was really nice to be there; everybody took care of everybody. It was just a friendly environment.”

Laurie’s first start as trainer was in 1993. Since then, she has sent out over 4,000 starters and made over two million dollars in trainer earnings.

In addition to training, Molnar wears another hat in harness racing which is owner/manager of Crystal Brook training center in Colts Neck, New Jersey. Laurie said, “It kind of happened by accident that we are here.” Molnar and her partner, Paul Jessop, had a large stable of horses there when the farm was put up for sale. “With the stall rent we were paying, we figured we might as well pay a mortgage.”

They purchased the farm and got it protected under New Jersey’s “Green-Acre” program, which preserves open space across the state, and have been running the training facility ever since. “Most of the people that are here now have been here for 20 years so it’s just like having another family.”

Despite being in the next town over, Freehold Raceway is still home to Laurie Molnar. “It’s home to me because it’s fifteen minutes away.”

In March of 2023, Molnar was diagnosed with breast cancer that spread to her liver. After countless doctor appointments and treatments, she recently received news that her latest scan shows her to be cancer free.

Though she had to take a step back from training, Laurie never stayed very far away from the horses and is a favorite face to see in the Freehold paddock. Those in harness racing know that a person’s “harness-racing family”, even if not blood-related, will always be there to support in times of need. And no matter what obstacles come her way, Laurie Molnar won’t let anything stop her from doing what she loves.

By Katie Eick, for Freehold Raceway