Committee Recommends Change to Massachusetts Fund
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission's Horse Racing Committee has recommended that the split of the state's multimillion-dollar Race Horse Development Fund be revised again.
Lynne Snierson
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Former Partners File Lawsuit Against Suffolk Operator
A group of former minority owners of Suffolk Downs filed a lawsuit in Boston against Richard Fields' Coastal Development SSR LLC, alleging they were stiffed on their share of the proceeds from the sale of the 161-acre property for $155 million.
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The Stronach Group Maintains Interest in New England
Despite not filing for live 2018 racing dates in Massachusetts by the Oct. 1 deadline, The Stronach Group maintains it still wants to expand its influence into New England in the future.
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Suffolk Downs Will Have Live Racing in 2018
As Suffolk Downs concluded a successful 2017 live racing season of eight days Oct. 1, the pressing question on the minds of many was whether live racing would return next year to New England. The answer is in the affirmative.
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Suffolk Downs to Add Two Racing Days This Year
Suffolk Downs will add an additional pair of days to the 2017 live racing calendar after track management and the New England affiliate of the HBPA hammered out a deal to fund the purses with money from uncashed parimutuel tickets.
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Massachusetts Lawmakers Extend Racing, Simulcasting
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.
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Stronach Group Explores Expansion into Massachusetts
Tim Ritvo, The Stronach Group's chief operating officer, met with racetrack owners, state legislators, and Massachusetts gaming commissioners July 24 to discuss the possibility of converting a former greyhound track into a Thoroughbred venue.
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Jockey Diane Nelson Dies
Diane J. Nelson, a multiple graded stakes-winning rider, who made her mark in the saddle and in front of the camera, died this month and was memorialized in a service in her native New York July 10. She was 54.
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Massachusetts Legislators Keep Racing Fund Intact
Massachusetts horsemen achieved a major victory when lawmakers reached compromise on the $40 billion 2018 budget bill that eliminates $400 million in spending yet leaves intact a significant portion of the money in the Race Horse Development Fund.
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Suffolk Downs Plans Lucrative Incentives for 2017 Meet
Suffolk Downs begins its short 2017 live meet July 8 with a two-day weekend racing festival format, lucrative purses, full fields, low takeout for bettors, and generous incentives for every participating owner and trainer.
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The Stronach Group Considers New England Venture
As New England Thoroughbred horsemen and stakeholders continue to stare at a precarious fate in the industry, The Stronach Group is looking at possible expansion into the region.
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Monmouth Park Bans Shipping to Suffolk Downs
As Suffolk Downs readies to open for its six days of racing this year, track officials were hard hit with the news that horses stabled at Monmouth Park will not be allowed to return to the stable area there if they are shipped to compete in Boston.
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New England Horsemen Fight for Funding
With the Race Horse Development Fund, which was created to give the struggling Massachusetts horse racing and breeding industry a lifeline, now in serious peril, Thoroughbred horsemen traveled to the state capitol in Boston to lobby lawmakers June 7.
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Suffolk Downs Sale Approved by Gaming Commission
The sale of Suffolk Downs to a major Boston real estate development company was green-lighted by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission at a public hearing March 30, but the deal will not adversely affect the six-day live meet planned for this summer.
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Suffolk Downs Files Paperwork for Racetrack Sale
The owners of Suffolk Downs have sent a document to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission asking for formal approval of the sale of the property to a major Boston-based real estate development company.
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Ontario Horsemen Question Approach to Woodbine Cuts
The Horse People's Alliance of Ontario is calling for increased transparency and more accountability in the industry and in regulation because of concerns about changes to Woodbine purses in 2017.
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Suffolk Downs Property Remains on the Market
There is no agreement in place to sell Suffolk Downs to a real estate developer, but the property remains on the market, according to the track's management.
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'King of the Fairs' Figueroa Dies at Age 88
Carlos R. Figueroa, a longtime New England trainer and the self-styled "King of the Fairs," passed away Jan. 3 in New Hampshire from complications of pneumonia. He was 88.
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Ontario Group Forms Advisory Committee
The members of the newly formed Horse People's Alliance of Ontario, which represents Thoroughbred, Standardbred, and Quarter Horse stakeholders throughout the Canadian province, have taken another step forward by forming an advisory committee.
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Suffolk Raises Possibility of 2018 Racing
While there are no guarantees, the door has been left open for Suffolk Downs to continue to offer a limited number of live racing days beyond the 2017 season.
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Regulator's Simulcast Decision Awards Suffolk
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission settled a long and acrimonious dispute over simulcasting revenues between the management teams of Suffolk Downs and Raynham Greyhound Park Oct. 13 by ruling in favor of the Thoroughbred track.
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Suffolk Downs Applies for Six 2017 Race Dates
While the Suffolk Downs ownership group moves forward with plans to redevelop the property as real estate, it intends to again host an abbreviated Thoroughbred meet next summer.
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New England HBPA Seeks Unity in Development
The New England HBPA called for unity among owners and trainers, inviting members of rival Massachusetts Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association to discuss plans for the development of a non-profit equine center.
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Brockton Cancels Fair Meet Plans
New England track was seeking funds to run a 15-day meet in 2016.
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NJ Horses Ship to Suffolk Despite Penalty
The financial penalty recently imposed by the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association on Monmouth Park-stabled trainers who run at Suffolk Downs and then try to return did not keep anyone away from the starting gate in Massachusetts Aug. 6.
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Brockton Request for Funds Delayed Yet Again
Horsemen in New England will have to wait longer to see if live racing can return to the Brockton Fairgrounds this year.
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Monmouth, Suffolk Battle Over Entries
Monmouth Park has engaged Suffolk Downs in a battle over the entry box, and the horsemen feel caught in the crossfire.
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Funding Issue Latest Delay for Brockton Meet
The potential return of live racing to the Brockton Fairgrounds was delayed once again July 21, when the Massachusetts Gaming Commission tabled the track's request for funds to cover the administrative and operational expenses of running a live meet.
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Massachusetts Takes Step Toward New Track
The creation of a non-profit Thoroughbred racetrack and equine center in Massachusetts advanced closer to reality with the release of a favorable independent feasibility study July 8.
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MA Court Rules in Favor of Slots Referendum
A statewide referendum to allow a slots parlor adjacent to Suffolk Downs will move forward after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled June 28 the question can be on the November ballot.
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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 for a public hearing June 23.
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MA Fund Splits Altered to Favor Standardbreds
Thoroughbred horsemen in Massachusetts will get a significantly smaller allocation of the state's multimillion dollar Race Horse Development Fund for purses and breeders' awards.
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New England HBPA Files Federal Lawsuit
The New England HBPA alleges a rival horsemen's group violated the Interstate Horseracing Act when it signed a purse contract with the Brockton Fairgrounds without its consent as the authorized horsemen’s group in Massachusetts.
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Rockingham to End All Operations Aug. 31
Rockingham Park, New England's first track that debuted with a Thoroughbred meet in 1906, has reached the finish line and will shutter its doors for good Aug. 31.
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Deal in Place for Meet at Brockton Fairgrounds
The Mass Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and the Carney Family, owners of the Brockton Fairgrounds, have finalized a two-year purse agreement for 30 days of live racing at the facility in 2016 and 2017.
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MA Horsemen Have Plan for Multi-Purpose Track
In an attempt to keep Thoroughbred racing alive in Massachusetts, the New England HBPA has formed a coalition that is intent upon building a new, non-profit equine center and racetrack in the state.
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MA Breeds at Odds Over Cut of Purse Revenue
A subcommittee of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission March 29 opted to delay a vote and instead solicit input on the percentage of revenue Thoroughbred and Standardbred purses and breeding funds get from casino gaming.
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Rockingham Park Will Be Sold for Development
An official with Rockingham Park, which remains open for simulcasts but hasn't offered live racing since 2009, confirmed March 24 that the property will be put on the market.
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NH Senate Tables Rockingham Casino Bill
The New Hampshire Senate voted Feb. 18 to table a bill authorizing one casino to be located at Rockingham Park, dealing yet another blow to hopes for the revitalization of the track and the return of live Thoroughbred racing.
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Hopes Dim for Chances of Racing at Rockingham
Given the lack of political will to enact casino gambling in New Hampshire during the current legislative session, Rockingham Park appears headed to the sales block for redevelopment.
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Massachusetts Slots Referendum Progresses
A ballot question that would allow a slot machine parlor near Suffolk Downs has cleared a hurdle and could appear on the statewide Massachusetts ballot in November.
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Massachusetts Approves Added Dates in 2016
Live Thoroughbred racing can return to Brockton Fairgrounds for the first time since 2001 and Suffolk Downs will double the days of its live meet in 2016.
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Massachusetts Racing Appears at Crossroads
The horsemen of New England agree that live racing and breeding is in serious peril in the region, but the rival factions of owners, trainers, and breeders remain deeply divided on the optimum way to revitalize the industry.
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Suffolk, Brockton Fair Apply for 2016 Dates
The ownership groups of Suffolk Downs and the Brockton Fairgrounds, which has not hosted Thoroughbred racing since 2001, have filed applications with the Massachusetts Gaming Commission for live racing dates in 2016.
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Suffolk Features 15% Across-the-Board Takeout
Bettors on track and at simulcast outlets across the country will have an incentive at Suffolk Downs Oct. 3: The pari-mutuel takeout to a rate has been lowered to 15% across the board.
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Horsemen Celebrate Suffolk Homecoming
The sunny disposition of those on track was the polar opposite of the one seen last Oct. 4 for the 2014 meet's closing day, when the dismal crowd figured they were witnessing the bitter end of live racing.
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Stronach Group Still Interested in Suffolk
Suffolk Downs management and the New England Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association are keeping the lamp lit for the Massachusetts Thoroughbred racing and breeding industry.
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Suffolk to Reopen for First of Three Programs
One year after the ownership group of Suffolk Downs announced it would no longer host live racing and subsequently shuttered the barn area, the track will reopen its doors Sept. 5 for the first of three racing programs.
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EHM Tests Come Back Negative at Boston's Suffolk Downs
All operations at Suffolk Downs have returned to normal after tests came back negative on five horses who developed elevated temperatures after one horse stabled on the backside died from a case of equine herpes myelitis earlier this month.
