Massachusetts horsemen apply for 2015 racing dates

Representatives of the New England Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association hand-delivered on Wednesday a live racing dates application for 2015 to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, and they are engaged in discussions with Suffolk Downs management concerning the lease of the racetrack.

The application deadline was 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

Anthony Spadea, president of the New England HBPA, said the application was for one day of racing, but that the horsemen will ask for more.

“We needed to meet today’s deadline and that is why our application is a placeholder at this stage,” he said.

Spadea said discussions with Suffolk on the possibility of the horsemen leasing the track are in the “preliminary” stage.

At a hearing on Sept. 25, the MGC ruled in favor of allowing “placeholder” applications as long as they demonstrated an operator’s “intent to race,” in order to encourage someone to step forward after Suffolk Downs said it had no intention of running a meet next year. The commissioners will allow those applications to be amended later.

Under state law, any entity granted the dates for 2015 must run a minimum of 65 racing days.

The owners of the Brockton Fairgrounds, which is owned by the family of George Carney and last hosted a fair meet in 2001, also met the deadline and submitted three Thoroughbred dates applications. One is for a 60-day meet next year, and two are for one date each and can be amended to 15 days each.

As a consequence of Suffolk’s gaming partner, Mohegan Sun, being turned down for the single Boston-area casino license in favor of a rival proposal from Wynn Resorts, Suffolk has said it will end live racing at the conclusion of the meet on Saturday and close the building altogether in December.

Since there is no longer a New England circuit, the horsemen are concerned about having no place to race and that many people will be put out of work. Rockingham Park in New Hampshire remains idle, and the owners said they will not consider restoring racing unless the state passes expanded gambling legislation.

Spadea said the horsemen will “explore all possible options for the survival of Thoroughbred racing in Massachusetts.”

“We remain optimistic that an agreement which is economically feasible can be reached with Suffolk Downs so that we can race our horses there next year,” Spadea said.

There are 1,500 people whose jobs are involved with the Massachusetts Thoroughbred industry, and there are 62 breeding farms in the state. According to a report prepared for Suffolk Downs, the industry has an annual economic impact of more than $116 million and provides 6,650 acres of open green space in the state.