Suffolk plan runs into opposition

A Massachusetts horse trainer on Thursday urged the state’s gambling commission to reject a plan by Suffolk Downs and the state’s horsemen’s organization to run a three-day meet at the track this summer, saying the meet would not benefit the Massachusetts horse industry, according to media reports.

William Lagorio, a trainer who has started approximately 50 horses a year for the past decade at Suffolk, said that he represented more than 100 people in the Massachusetts racing industry when urging the commission to reject the proposal. He told the commission that the plan would reward out-of-state horsemen who would be encouraged to ship in to Suffolk on the three race days because of plans to distribute $500,000 in purses a day.

The gambling commission is expected to vote on the proposal later this month.

Under the plan devised by Suffolk and the New England Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, Suffolk would hold live race cards on July 1, Aug. 8, and Sept. 5 under a lease of the track by the NEHBPA. The groups have asked the commission to approve the schedule, along with the use of money from a fund providing racing subsidies from state casino operations for purses.

Suffolk announced late last year that it intended to close after the commission passed over the track’s application for a casino license. The track had previously carded approximately 100 live racing dates a year, with average purse distribution of $100,000 a day.

The NEHBPA has said it plans to hold three days of live racing for the next two years at the track. In the meantime, they will explore ways to raise money to build a non-profit equine facility in the state for use in 2017 and beyond, largely with the benefit of the money flowing into the subsidy fund.