Live Racing Could Return to Massachusetts in 2023

After suffering through years of crushing disappointments while witnessing no fewer than 10 proposals to build a new racetrack in Massachusetts go down in flames, the state's horsemen are confident that now live Thoroughbred racing will be finally restored.

"We're working on the application for live racing dates in 2023 and we're going to submit it to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission in about 10 to 12 days. We're very excited. The horsemen are excited. The breeders are excited. Everyone is excited. We're putting together a five-year racing plan for the commission now," said Richard Fields, the former owner of the defunct Suffolk Downs and a principal in Commonwealth Equine and Agricultural Center along with longtime breeder and owner Armand Janjigian and his wife, Robin Kalaidjian.

"Here's the good news. We plan to race next fall and that's pretty exciting. That will be a blast," said Fields.

The five-member gaming commission stated during a meeting on Sept. 15 that they are eagerly anticipating receipt of the application. In a twist of irony, it was in September of 2014 that the MGC, which then was comprised of five different members, chose to award the single Boston-area destination resort casino license to Wynn Resorts instead of to Suffolk Downs and its gaming partner. At that time, Fields and his partners determined that continuing to have full live meets at the existing track was not economically feasible.

"It's been one disappointment after another. Everybody deserves credit for hanging in there, possibly by their fingertips. There have been a lot of disappointments. This project is now rolling and that's what counts. You have to stay with these things. You can't give up. You have to keep swinging away and eventually all the stars become lined up. I think they are now," said Fields.

Fields and his partners are in the process of buying the bucolic 360-acre Great Meadow Farm, which has been a working agricultural farm for generations in the central Massachusetts town of Hardwick and is by law protected agricultural property. Fields said that the purchase price cannot be disclosed at this time and the new track doesn't even have a name yet, but the project is building steam daily.

The last full Thoroughbred meet at Suffolk Downs was in 2014 and from 2015 to 2019 the track was the site for Festival Racing on only a few days each year. At the end of July, the state legislature passed a sports betting bill, which earmarks a mobile and retail license for a new Thoroughbred racetrack, and that made all the difference.

"We are rejuvenating racing and breeding in the Commonwealth thanks to the passage of the sports betting bill," Fields said. "All of this is possible only because the Commonwealth passed sports betting and the revenue that will come to this project will help underwrite it. It's an important part of it."

Most of the other racetrack development proposals that never came to fruition over the years were in large part due to resistance among the local townsfolk. Fields and Kalaidjian attended a meeting of the Hardwick Planning Board and selectmen on Sept. 13 and came away heartened by the warm welcome extended to them.

"I thought the meeting was wonderful. The town is wonderful. The people are great and they are very supportive. They asked great questions and there seems to be a general sense of good will and support in the community," said Fields. "We’ve been spending some time out there. What I love about this community is it's a right-to-farm community and I feel like it's home. It's a perfect place for us because this is an agricultural as well as an equine project. It fits in perfectly with the community. I'm really thrilled, and I couldn’t be happier."

Plans call for all turf racing on a one-mile course and to start, with four days of live festival racing in September 2023 run on two weekends. Initially, purses are expected to average $750,000 daily and will be funded by the $25 million from the state's Race Horse Development Fund being held in escrow by the MGC. Since by state statute the RHDF is supplied by a percentage of the revenue from the state's gaming industry, that $25 million total will grow even larger by next year.

The Town of Hardwick stands to benefit as well.

"There is a substantial amount of money that will go to the town that we think will probably equal about 8% of the town's annual budget. It's a big chunk," Fields explained.

Moreover, there are the new jobs to be created. While there will only be live racing on those few days, the equine aspects of the project include training, breeding, and a retirement home for Thoroughbreds. Later a bed and breakfast and a farm-to-table restaurant featuring all locally-sourced products will be added.  

"It's the full cycle of the equine world. But this is not just a racetrack. There's a big agricultural component. It's an agricultural, culinary, and equine project," said Fields. "This is great for the town and it fits into the environment of the town. It will create 25 to 50 full-time jobs right away and when we have the festivals there will be 100-plus part-time jobs. There will also be many ancillary jobs sprinkled all across the Commonwealth, as well as the revenue for the town. The festivals will come and go but the rest of the actual operation will stay."

Longtime racing executive Lou Raffetto will be the general manager for the racing side of the business. Fields said that the $25 million-plus from the Race Horse Development Fund will allow Raffetto to put together cards that will be competitive throughout the industry. The New England HBPA already has signed a purse agreement with the principals.

"With the legislation, the selection of the right community, putting together the right plan and the right team, I do think it's a new era and we're all looking forward to it," Fields said.

What is also cause for optimism is that with all its components this project is unlike any other racetrack anywhere.

"It's going to be a spectacular project. You're looking at something that is holistic and unique. It's not just come to a race. It's come to a very special place and enjoy this spectacular setting. This is not just a racetrack. It's an equine experience. There's no way to describe how special this place is. I fell in love with this place. This is heaven on earth," Fields said.