The world-famous Budweiser Clydesdales will visit the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford on Friday, Sep. 25, as live Thoroughbred turf racing continues with the 2026 Monmouth at the Meadowlands all-turf Thoroughbred meet.
The meet started Friday, Sept. 18, and continues on Fridays and Saturdays for nine nights through Oct. 16: Sept. 18, 19, 25, 26, and Oct. 2, 3, 9, 10, 16. The schedule on Sept. 25:
🐎 Clydesdales Meet and Greet: 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. on the track apron near the winner’s circle.
🐎Clydesdales Track Parade: 8 p.m., following the 3rd race.
🐎Post Time: The post time for the Thoroughbred turf race is 7 p.m.
🐎Cost: Admission and general parking are completely free.
Clydesdales: Among World’s Largest Breeds
One of the world’s largest breeds, ranchers select Clydesdales were developed by crossing imported Flemish stallions with local Scottish draft mares. Clydesdales breeders look for specific physical traits like size, distinct bay coloring, and white feathered legs, then raise them with careful early socialization and steady training. Major breeding operations manage specialized pastures, veterinary labs, and foaling barns to support genetic preservation and animal health.
Anheuser-Busch breeds dozens of Clydesdales every year at facilities like Warm Springs Ranch in Missouri, a 300-acre breeding and rearing facility that houses breeding stock, foals, and retired hitch horses. Independent private farms, family ranches, and small-scale breeders across North America and globally also breed Clydesdales.
The Business of Clydesdales
Clydesdale Breeders of the U.S.A. is the primary official member organization and registry in the United States, representing over 1,200 members and registering hundreds of new foals each year. They host events like the National Clydesdale Sale in Springfield, Illinois, where independent breeders buy, sell, and showcase their stock.
The Livestock Conservancy monitors the global population of Clydesdales, which is estimated at fewer than 5,000 worldwide and is considered a rare historic breed. It works alongside private conservation breeders to maintain genetic diversity.
To make the official traveling Anheuser-Busch hitch team, a horse must be a gelding at least 4 years old, stand 72 inches (18 hands) tall, weigh between 1,800 and 2,300 pounds, and feature highly specific markings (a white blaze, black mane and tail, and four white stocking feet).
Clydesdales, Beer, Prohibition
These gentle giants have been part of American culture for more than 90 years. The Clydesdale horses date back to 1933, when August A. Busch Jr. and Adolphus Busch III surprised their father, August A. Busch, Sr., with a six-horse Clydesdale hitch to commemorate the repeal of Prohibition. Realizing the marketing potential of a horse-drawn beer wagon, the company also arranged to have a second six-horse Clydesdale hitch sent to New York to mark the event, according to the Anheuser-Busch website.
Thousands lined the streets of New York City when Anheuser-Busch sent a six-horse Clydesdale hitch to Manhattan to celebrate the repeal of Prohibition, per the website. The horses pulled a red beer wagon through the streets to the Empire State Building, and presented a case of Budweiser to former New York Gov. Alfred E. Smith in appreciation of his years of service in the fight against Prohibition.
The horses are now iconic to Budweiser beer and regularly participate in events, parades, and advertisements. The horses have marched in two U.S. presidential inauguration parades: Harry S. Truman’s in 1949 and Bill Clinton’s in 1993. A hitch of Clydesdales pulled the City of St. Louis float in the Tournament of Roses parade from 1954 to 2011. They returned to the parade in 2014 to pull their own beer wagon. The annual New Year’s Day parade is held along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California.
Multiple traveling hitches regularly participate in regional and national events, local parades, and state fairs. When the horses are ready to retire at an average of 10 years old, they transition to permanent homes and facilities where they live out the rest of their lives.
Monmouth at Meadowlands
The Monmouth at Meadowlands meet is a 9-night boutique, all-turf Thoroughbred horse racing event featuring a compact, 6-race card each night, the Meadowlands Racetrack said.
The first night on Sept. 18 will have 45 horses across the six races. Entries are drawn just a few days in advance for each subsequent race night. There could be 400 to 500 total horse entries by the time the meet concludes.
The opening-day program features four mile and a sixteenth races and a pair of five-furlong maiden sprints, Monmouth said in a press release on Tuesday, Sept. 15.
The first of those maiden sprints is for New Jersey-bred 2-year-olds with a $40,000 purse. It will go as the second race. It will be immediately followed by a $34,000 filly and mare maiden race.
