Suffolk Downs has moved the running of the $500,000 Massachusetts Handicap (gr. II) to June 19. The Mass Cap, which is returning from a one-year hiatus, was originally scheduled to be run on May 29.In a release from the track, Suffolk Downs officials said a number of factors contributed to the decision to move the date of the race. One of the primary reasons was the desire to distance the race from the May 14 Pimlico Special (gr. II)."We know we are now in competition with the Stephen Foster, but feel we remain a viable East Coast alternative to shipping to the Midwest," Suffolk Downs chief operating officer Bob O'Malley in a release. "We hope the purse and history of the Mass Cap will enable us to compete with the Brooklyn."The $750,000 Stephen Foster Handicap (gr. I) at Churchill Downs is scheduled a week prior to the Mass Cap on June 12, as is the $250,000 Brooklyn Handicap (gr. II). Both are run at the same 1 1/8-mile distance as the Mass Cap.The 14-race Mass Cap Day card will also feature the $200,000 James B. Mosley Breeders' Cup Handicap, a six-furlong race won last year by Peeping Tom.
