Vote for Approval of New Massachusetts Track Delayed

In the wake of increasing local opposition to the proposed Thoroughbred racetrack and equine center in Massachusetts, selectmen in the Town of Hardwick decided to delay a scheduled vote for approval of the project so that the community may have more of a voice in the process.

The action was taken at an open meeting Oct. 25 by the three-member select board in hopes of moving the question to voters on a ballot initiative. The delay would allow opponents more time to gather the necessary signatures required for a referendum.

"The one thing I will say is that everybody in this town wants to vote on this," Selectman H. Robert Ruggles told the Worcester Telegram. "I really think that we should give them the opportunity, but that requires a 'yes' vote."

Reportedly, the board's chairperson, Julie Quink, and Selectman Kelley Kemp agreed.

Richard Fields, one of the principals of Sterling Suffolk Racecourse which owned Suffolk Downs, and Robin Kalaidjian, a longtime owner and breeder in the state, are the principals in Commonwealth Equine and Agricultural Center. They have a plan to purchase the 360-acre Meadowbrook Farm in the Town of Hardwick, located in central Massachusetts, and revitalize live racing and breeding in the state. The proposal also includes a retirement facility for racehorses on-site.

There has been no live Thoroughbred racing in Massachusetts or New England since June 30, 2019, when the New England HBPA hosted its final Racing Festival meet of eight days at Suffolk Downs, which was sold to a real estate developer in 2017.

Though the Hardwick board of selectmen have publicly indicated favorability to the project and state law allows them to be the deciding vote, they now believe that the community should have a bigger voice in the process.

Reportedly, the board and local officials said that many town residents have contacted them to expressly say they should have the chance to vote on the matter. Townsfolk believe a proposal of this magnitude is too important to simply be decided solely by the three-member board.

Meanwhile, Fields and his partners submitted a 2023 live racing dates application to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission before the Oct. 1 deadline. They are requesting a live meet of two days of all turf racing, with a daily average purse distribution of $750,000, for next year as a start to restoring live racing, with hopes of increasing the number of days in coming years.

The MGC has scheduled a hearing on the Hardwick proposal for Oct. 31. By state law, the MGC must render its decision on whether to grant the racing license by Nov. 15.

The board's vote on Monday night to delay the proposal now puts added pressure on that timeline.