Massachusetts Lawmakers Extend Racing, Simulcasting
Description:
Massachusetts lawmakers voted to extend the current statute authorizing and governing live racing and simulcasting in the state on the evening of July 26, thus avoiding a shutdown of the entire horse racing industry in the state.
The State Senate and House of Representatives both gave the go-ahead to House Bill 208 and now the measure goes to the desk of Gov. Charlie Baker (R) for his signature. The bill is almost identical to the one enacted last year, which was due to sunset on July 31, 2017 but now will be in effect until July 31, 2018.
The law not only affects live Thoroughbred racing and simulcasting at Suffolk Downs, but also live harness racing and simulcasting at Plainridge Park Casino and the simulcasting-only operation at Raynham Park, which hosted live greyhound racing until it was outlawed in 2010 by the state.
The owners of Suffolk Downs submitted a letter to the state legislature July 20 expressing their full support for the bill. Not only does it allow the current live meet to continue and simulcasting to go on interrupted, it keeps track workers employed.
With passage, the bill postpones a repeal of the state's core racing and simulcasting mandates in sections 128A and 128C of the general laws that form the current framework.
With the July 26 passage of House Bill 208, Suffolk Downs is allowed to remain a licensee for racing and year-round simulcasting as long as the track hosts from one to 50 days of live racing in a calendar year. Suffolk opened its six-day 2017 live racing season with a weekend racing festival format on the weekend of July 8-9. The two-day live racing festivals continue on the weekends of August 5-6 and September 2-3.
Passage of the bill also means that former greyhound tracks may continue to simulcast year-round without having to run a live meet. In addition to be the state's only Thoroughbred track licensee, Suffolk Downs also holds the simulcasting rights to the old Wonderland dog track, which was shuttered years ago and sits empty on a site near Suffolk.