Action on Brockton Meet Delayed Again

The possible return of live racing to the Brockton Fairgrounds has been pushed back on the calendar after the owners requested their petition for funding from the Race Horse Development Fund be pulled from the agenda of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission's public hearing June 23.

The request will be rescheduled at a date to be determined on the MGC's July calendar.

The Carney family, which owns the property and last fall received a conditional license from the MGC for the statutory maximum of 15 live racing days under the aegis of the Middleborough Agricultural Society, hoped to be able to pay purses and begin the meet in early July.

The track, which last hosted a Thoroughbred meet in 2000, was required to meet MGC imposed benchmarks, including several regarding the safety and welfare of human and equine athletes, before the conditional license was changed to a full license and it would qualify for RHDF monies.

One of those conditions was accreditation from the National Thoroughbred Racing Association Safety and Integrity Alliance for fair tracks.

"I couldn't get it all together in time. There was just so much crammed in," said Chris Carney, who has been overseeing the resurfacing of the half-mile racing strip, installation of a new safety rail, and a makeover of the barn area, among other upgrades. "I'm still working on the track, doing the rail, and taking care of a lot of other things."

Carney said he plans to go back to the MGC in the middle of July in the hope of starting the meet July 30, but will have a better idea of how many race-ready horses remain in the area after Suffolk Downs starts the first of its one weekend per month, six-day 2016 meet the weekend of July 9-10. Suffolk will not race again until the weekend of Aug. 6-7.

"This is a minor setback," Carney said. "If the rail from before hadn't been stolen and I had a safety rail in place, I wouldn't have a problem now. I have barns already set up for 150 horses and I'm working on the other barns. It's just a matter of time."

The MGC has the authority to decide how much money from the RHDF can be designated for purses once it determines the applicant has qualified for the full racing license. The proposed average daily purse distribution at Brockton is $150,000.

In other action June 23, the MGC approved Suffolk's request for a 15% takeout rate on all wagers. Interim director of racing Dr. Alex Lightbown testified that the track will offer the lowest takeout rates in the country on its live races.

Suffolk will offer an average daily purse of $500,000 with the opening-day feature the inagural $75,000 Jill Jellison Memorial Stakes for fillies and mares at five furlongs on the turf. Jellison, the popular longtime member of the New England jockey colony and one of the most successful female riders in North America, succumbed to her battle with cancer last year at age 51.