Stronach Group exploring construction of track in Massachusetts

The Stronach Group intends to file plans for a proposed racetrack in central Massachusetts in advance of a Monday meeting with local government officials in Lancaster, officials for the town said on Tuesday.

The plans are expected by the close of business on Wednesday, according to Lancaster’s town administrator, Orlando Pacheco. A number of the town’s planning agencies will participate in the Monday meeting, according to Pacheco, who said that the town does not have many details yet about the proposal.

“I don’t expect any approvals to come out of this meeting,” Pacheco said. “It’s an information-gathering process.”

According to Pacheco, The Stronach Group intends to build the racetrack on a 400-acre property north of Lancaster that is in the process of a transfer of ownership. The new owner has not been identified, but Pacheco said it is not The Stronach Group.

Tim Ritvo, the chief operating officer of The Stronach Group, said on Tuesday that the company is in the “exploratory stages” with the racetrack proposal, which would entail leasing the property.

“We’re in the beginning stages,” Ritvo said. “We’ve talked to the landowners and one councilman. We think there may be a way forward with this.”

This is the second exploratory move from The Stronach Group to operate a racetrack in Massachusetts. Last year, the company met with the owners of a defunct greyhound track, Raynham, and a shuttered fair meet location about the possibility of converting either of the facilities to a horse track, but the talks fizzled.

In that effort, Ritvo met with state legislators in an attempt to build support for legislation that would give the state’s gambling commission more power to control simulcasting and the distribution of wagering funds. Ritvo also said at the time that The Stronach Group would seek to use a portion of the state’s Race Horse Development Fund, which receives payments from the state’s existing casinos, to pay for renovations of the tracks.

A bill that would amend the racing law to give more power to the gambling commission was recently ordered to be studied by the Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, along with legislation that would authorize a “feasibility study for a horse park” in the state and legalize online sports betting, according to records of the Massachusetts legislature.

Ritvo said on Wednesday that the company would pay for all the development and construction costs of a racetrack while seeking a long-term agreement with horsemen that would allow the track to keep the vast majority of revenue from handle. Meanwhile, the majority of the purse money for the track’s live racing would be provided by funds from the Race Horse Development Fund.

“This is a business model that works if everything aligns,” Ritvo said. “There has to be favorable legislation, a long-term agreement with the horsemen, and money from the slots fund.”

Massachusetts has been without any significant live racing dates since Suffolk Downs in East Boston announced it would close after the track was passed over for a casino license in 2014. Since then, the track has run a smattering of weekend race dates in a fair-like setting on the property, which has been sold to a development company. The property will begin to be redeveloped next year.

Earlier this year, the owners of Suffolk announced an agreement, in partnership with the New England Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association and the state’s breeders, to redevelop the Great Barrington Fair property in the far western area of the state. That plan also hinges on legislation that would allow the groups to tap the Race Horse Development Fund for renovations to the property, along with a guarantee that Suffolk could continue to offer year-round simulcasting at its former location.

Pacheco said that Lancaster officials are looking forward to receiving details about the plan from The Stronach Group.

“We just know they are interested in building a track, but that’s pretty much all we know at this point,” Pacheco said. “We don’t have an exact size and scope of the proposal, other than their intent for the land. Our goal is to have a meeting with all our other boards to provide a look at the project, get some feedback.”

* An earlier version of this story mischaracterized a comment from Tim Ritvo. He said money from the Race Horse Development Fund will go to purses; it will not go to pay for track construction.