Suffolk opens for second weekend of racing

Suffolk Downs hosts a two-day race meet this weekend, the second of three such mini-meetings scheduled for 2016.

Suffolk, in East Boston, Mass., opened in 1935 and long was a fixture on the New England circuit, but after struggling for years, the track in 2014 lost a bid to open a casino, effectively ending live racing.

The Massachusetts legislature in March 2015 passed a bill lowering the minimum number of live racing days required to host simulcasting from 80 to 1, which allowed Suffolk to open on a limited basis the last two years. Suffolk raced three days in 2015 and will have six live cards this year, the third and fourth of which are this weekend. The final two are Sept. 3-4.

Purses are funded mainly through subsidies from other gambling entities operating in the state. Purses are strong for the level of racing. For example, $5,000 claimers run for a $16,000 purse. Suffolk will race another limited schedule in 2017, but plans beyond next year are murky.

“We know this race meeting is a little unconventional, but it’s about the only way we could keep racing going in New England and give local horsemen a chance to earn purses over the short term,” said Chip Tuttle, Suffolk’s chief operating officer. “We appreciate horsemen shipping in to support it and the cooperation we are getting from other tracks on the East Coast.”

Takeout on all wagers at Suffolk is just 15 percent. Tony Bentley will call the races this weekend.

Saturday’s co-featured Drumtop Stakes, race 9 on a 10-race card, is a $75,000 turf mile for 3-year-old fillies that drew a field of eight, several of whom are legitimate stakes horses.

Involuntary, in from Fair Hill in Maryland for trainer Arnaud Delacour, probably will be favored despite drawing the outside post. Involuntary won her first two starts, at Tampa Bay Downs and Pimlico, then was disqualified from third to seventh in the $194,000 Penn Oaks before finishing second of 10 in the Christiana Stakes on July 6 at Delaware Park. April Gaze, who was fourth in the Christiana, also is entered in the Drumtop and will at least be a pace factor.

Two other win candidates ship from New York: Shake Down Baby, a restricted stakes winner sprinting over the all-weather track at Woodbine, starts for trainer Christophe Clement, while Enjoy Yourself, trained by John Terranova, finished a solid second in the Florida Oaks earlier this year before getting into water too deep last out in the Wonder Again at Belmont Park.

Co-featured on the card is the $75,000 Louise Kimball Stakes for Massachusetts-bred 3-year-old fillies going six furlongs. Dr Ruthless, who finished a distant fifth in the African Prince on July 9 over the track, is the 5-2 morning-line choice.

Sunday’s card, which is turf-heavy, features a pair of $75,000 stakes for Massachusetts-breds, the First Episode and the Last Dance – which, unfortunately, is appropriately named for this era in Suffolk history.