The Monmouth County Agricultural Society was formed on December 17, 1853, and in 1854 they began holding an annual fair at Freehold Raceway with harness racing.

[2] Freehold Raceway was the site of the first ever photo finish triple dead heat win in a harness race.

Double, triple and even quadruple dead heats were more commonly awarded in horse racing when finishes were judged by the naked eye in real time.

With the advent of photo finish technology in the second quarter of the 20th century, there was a significant decrease in dead heats.

During a harness race on October 3, 1953, the noses of horses Patchover (driven by Ed Myer), Payne Hall (F. Albertson) and Penny Maid (E. Beede) passed the finish line at exactly the same time.