Suffolk Open to Any Viable Plans for Racing

 

A Suffolk Downs executive told horsemen Sept. 20 the track will not invest any more money in the track or apply for racing dates in 2015 but would listen to any viable plans formulated by the New England Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association to continue racing. 

 

Nevertheless, the track's chief operating officer, Chip Tuttle, stressed that he did not wish to give anyone false hope. In the wake of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission's Sept. 17 decision to award the sole Boston area casino license to Wynn Resorts rather than to Suffolk's partner, Mohegan Sun, Suffolk Downs announced that this live meet will be it's last.

 

"We have no plans to continue to race, but if someone else does and it is a plan that makes economic sense, we are willing to listen," said Tuttle. 

 

New England HBPA president Anthony Spadea implored his members to remain strong and united as they move forward and reminded then that the organization will have available money put into escrow through the state's new Race Horse Development Fund, which was established as part of the 2011 expanded gaming legislation to protect the racing industry in the face of casino competition.

 

Thoroughbred horsemen will get 75% of the fund, which will be fueled by a percentage of the $175 million license fees from the state's single slots parlor and three casinos and the future revenue they generate. Eighty percent of the total is dedicated to purses, with 16% going to breeders and another 4% set aside for backstretch welfare.

 

Therefore, there may be a possibility the horsemen could find a way to lease the facility.

 

"You've got a lot of smart people who know what they are doing and are looking out for your interests," Spadea assured the members. "We are going to explore every avenue to find a way to race and a place to race. Let's stay strong so we can come up with the best solution."

 

The owners of the Brockton Fairgrounds have offered a home to the horsemen and said they intend to apply for dates on Oct. 1. But with only about 150 stalls on site and a racing strip significantly smaller that Suffolk's one-mile oval and no turf course, that is not a long term solution.

 

"I certainly won't be racing my horses on an old fair track," said owner and trainer Matthew Clarke. "I am a realist and I understand that the owners of Suffolk cannot continue to invest money in the track (without the casino license) and keep racing. I am very happy with what I heard in that meeting. They will listen to a plan that might restore the track to profitability. I pledge to work diligently with any horseman who is prepared to work toward that end."

 

Lorita Lindemann, who once trained a string of 40 horses at the now-idle Rockingham Park, was less optimistic.

 

"I hope for the best but expect the worst," she said. "We as horsemen are in a very precarious situation. No one I've spoken with is able to really wrap their head around the enormity of what's happening. When Rockingham stopped Thoroughbred racing (2002), we had the option of still racing at Suffolk. Now we don't have a lot of options."

 

Tuttle said that the track's owners are exploring the idea of extending the meet, scheduled to close on Monday, Sept. 29 until Saturday, Oct. 4 to give the 79-year-old track a fitting ending. 

 

He also said that the backside will remain open for a "couple of weeks" afterward in order to assist the horsemen in their transition.

 

On Sept. 26, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission will reconvene and take up the matter of the track's impending closing and the looming unemployment for several hundred employees and thousands of people who make their livings from 1,500 direct and not direct racing and breeding jobs.

 

"All the horsemen are trying to attend that meeting," said Alan Lockhart, a third generation Massachusetts horseman whose grandfather, Lloyd, is enshrined in the New England Turf Writers Hall of Fame. "None of this makes any sense. We're all still trying to understand it."