"There has been general malaise that's affected everything, " said Flemington Borough Council Member Joseph Novick about downtown.

WSJ: Town Centers Seek Another Shot at a Bar

There were cute accommodations aplenty, including the Main Street Manor in Flemington and the Anam Cara outside of Philadelphia.

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In Flemington, a new bar isn't the only thing the borough needs.

WSJ: Town Centers Seek Another Shot at a Bar

Even the thousands of roses at the Flemington racecourse are timed to bloom for The Cup, and a gentleman without a yellow rose on his lapel might as well be naked.

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With the Union Hotel in mind, Assemblywoman Donna Simon, who represents Flemington and surrounding areas, introduced a bill last year to allow the state to grant additional liquor licenses for medium-size historic hotels.

WSJ: Town Centers Seek Another Shot at a Bar

The law was revised in 1960 to allow additional licenses for every 3, 000 in population growth in a town, but places like Flemington, a borough of 4, 600 about an hour's drive west of Manhattan, haven't grown enough to gain significant numbers of new licenses.

WSJ: Town Centers Seek Another Shot at a Bar