JC / Railbird

Suffolk Downs

No Bluff

When the Boston Globe endorsed the Wynn-Everett casino proposal the day before the Massachusetts Gaming Commission began its deliberations on the Boston-area license, the newspaper dismissed the likelihood that Suffolk Downs would close unless Mohegan Sun was the winner:

According to the track, it will end racing if the casino does not open. But the commission ought to take the doom-and-gloom warnings with a grain of salt; threats to close may be a pressure tactic.

Nope, to the surprise of no one who actually follows racing in Massachusetts. The track owners have been upfront about the situation for years — racing at Suffolk would continue only with a casino. (Had expanded gaming legislation not passed in 2011, it’s very possible the track would have closed then.) With the Mohegan bid dead, the process of shutting down began:

… on Wednesday morning, Suffolk Downs chief Chip Tuttle stood before 200 emotional employees in the Topsider Room overlooking the track, hailing them for fighting the good fight, and then telling them what they already knew. On his desk, a three-inch deep pile of letters giving employees 60 days notice awaited his signature.

Heartbreaking, as is Lynne Snierson’s report from Suffolk Downs, where people around the track were reeling from the loss and grappling with the question of what they would do next. “Where am I going to take my family and start my life over?”, said Tammi Piermarini, four-time leading jockey:

“I have to uproot and go someplace because riding horses is my business. It’s hard enough being a woman in a male-dominated sport, but now I’m 47. I may be the third-winningest female rider, but trainers are going to say, ‘What has she done lately?’”

Jon Chesto wonders why the commission seemingly gave less weight to the Thoroughbred industry than it did harness when it awarded the slots license to the Penn National-Plainridge proposal earlier this year:

For some reason, though, the commission handled this vote quite differently. Unlike in February, the commissioners gave no mention to the economic benefits of horse racing in their summarized assessments of the two proposals that became public last week. As a result, it was barely a factor in the final deliberations that led up to the 3-1 vote … Mohegan got points for the design of its Revere proposal, and its cooperative efforts to reach a mitigation agreement with Boston officials. Mohegan didn’t get points, at least not formally, for protecting Suffolk’s workers.

Informally, it got points from Gayle Cameron, the sole commissioner to argue for Thoroughbred racing during deliberations (“We’re talking about preserving jobs, preserving the existing industry, and I think that’s worth some weight in this discussion,” she said on Monday) — and yet, she ultimately joined commissioners Enrique Zuniga and Bruce Stebbins in voting for Wynn.

Chesto suggests that the difference between the votes may have been due to Mohegan Sun distancing itself from the Suffolk racing operation, which was necessary because the East Boston referendum results mandated that there could be no casino operations or facilities on that side of the track’s property. Maybe — that certainly seems plausible. But maybe the commissioners — like the Globe — thought the track’s threat to close wasn’t entirely serious. In a report for the Commission, HLT Advisory downplayed the possible disruption to the state’s Thoroughbred industry if Suffolk shut down (PDF):

Despite public comments by Sterling Suffolk Racecourse LLC and others that Suffolk Downs will close if MSM is not successful with their Category 1 Application, continuation of thoroughbred racing in Massachusetts will be dependent on a variety of factors, including consumer interest in the racing product, ongoing underwriting of any future losses by Sterling Suffolk or others, underlying land value/development potential of the racetrack and competitive influences. Some thoroughbred racing activity may continue at Suffolk Downs or at another new/renovated racetrack elsewhere in Massachusetts in the future as revenues are generated for the Horse Racing Development Fund.

LOL at the idea of a new, non-casino racetrack being built in a local gaming market that’s about to become extremely competitive, even with 75% of the $133 million that HLT projects flowing into the Racing Development Fund over five years allocated to Thoroughbred racing:

According to a statement issued this afternoon, “the Commission and its Racing Division are fully committed to an extensive and sustained exploration of every available option that may preserve the long tradition of thoroughbred racing in the Commonwealth.” They will discuss the matter at a meeting on September 25. The last day of racing at Suffolk Downs will be September 29.

Posted in Racing on September 18, 2014 / Tagged Suffolk Downs

The Price to Pay

It’s over. The years-long pursuit of Suffolk Downs for expanded gaming — first, for casino legislation in Massachusetts, then for one of the three resort casino licenses authorized by the Commonwealth in 2011 — came to an end on Tuesday when the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, by a vote of 3-1, awarded the Boston-area license to Wynn, which proposed a $1.6 billion project on a former industrial site (with questionable ownership) in Everett, instead of Mohegan Sun, which proposed to build a $1.3 billion complex on land leased from the track. With the decision, the track will close.

You bet, I’m disappointed. Suffolk Downs was where I became a racing fan 11 years ago. It was where I learned to handicap, and how to handle a horse, and it’s been the track I thought of as home, even during the four years I lived in New York. And my connection — well, it’s nothing compared to the connections forged by the horsemen and track workers who have made their lives around the place, sometimes over generations, sticking with it through rough years and holding out hope that better times would come with a casino.

Devastating is the word for what’s happening to the hundreds who will be laid off after the meet closes on September 29, and for those who will be forced out of the work that is, for some, all they’ve known. “Not everyone is cut out for the Innovation Economy, and the people who work here embody that,” Suffolk COO Chip Tuttle said in an interview with WBUR after the decision. “So we’ve got some very hard-working but low-skilled folks here for whom this is going to be an incredibly difficult transition.”

Speaking to that issue, raised by a reporter during the press conference that followed the official license award ceremony this morning, commissioner James McHugh — the only one to vote for the Mohegan Sun at Suffolk Downs proposal — said that he and the other commissioners were aware of the “sadness” felt by Thoroughbred racing supporters following the decision for Wynn, and that track workers wouldn’t be forgotten. “They’re good people, it’s a good industry,” he said, “and we’re going to do all we can to assist them.”

That’s a nice sentiment, even if it sounds a bit hollow the day after rejecting Mohegan Sun’s bid. Had the proposal been successful, the lease arrangement could have been lucrative — according to figures cited by commissioner Enrique Zuniga and reported in CommonWealth:

Suffolk Downs would receive rent payments of about $35 million a year that could rise to between $75 million and $85 million a year based on the gross revenues of the casino operation. Zuniga also said Suffolk Downs had put up $70 million in equity in the casino and stands to receive more than 5 percent of any distributions to the owners of the facility.

With those payments, and 75% of the money from the state’s Race Horse Development Fund (a percentage of casino and slots licensing fees and revenues set aside for purses, breeding, and backstretch support) due Suffolk, track officials had committed to racing for another 15 years and outlined a plan for $40 million in facilities improvements.

Now? There might be mixed use development. “It’s a unique opportunity. The imagination can run wild a bit,” a developer told the Boston Herald:

Begelfer said … the Eastie-Revere site could mimic the once derelict, now trendy Seaport District. The former racetrack could host affordable middle-class housing as well office space for tech startups being priced out of Cambridge.

Or maybe a soccer stadium will take the track’s place.

I guess that’s progress, and better land use, and makes sense given trends in the racing industry nationally. Suffolk Downs hasn’t been profitable in years; since 2007, it’s lost approximately $50 million. The handle is small. The racing is cheap. But it’s a track with history, and for many years, a signature stakes race that featured some of racing’s best. It was one of the first tracks to welcome female jockeys. And it’s the last link to Thoroughbred racing in New England. When it closes, a whole industry, culture, and class of work will disappear along with the open space and horses. A community that’s survived decades will be torn apart. “That is one of the prices to pay for this decision,” said Zuniga. That’s it, those lives and jobs, just the cost of supporting Wynn.

More: Jen Montfort makes a great point: “Another loser in this? The horses that were helped into retirement through TRF and CANTER through Suffy’s support of TB aftercare.” Lynne Snierson’s report for the Blood-Horse is terrific coverage of a terrible day. Bruce Mohl at CommonWealth produced some of the best stories about the Boston-area casino license deliberations: Here’s his summary of Tuesday’s decision, which includes the too-true observation, “But Wynn is also a royal pain,” and raises legitimate questions about how collaborative the mogul will be as the Everett casino project moves forward.

Posted in Racing on September 17, 2014 / Tagged Suffolk Downs

Strong Opening

Suffolk Downs opened for the summer on Saturday, and what a day it was: Drawn by good weather and a Kentucky Derby starter with a local connection, a crowd of 14,612 packed the grandstand for a nine-race card on which $441,507 was bet. If the lines were long, the mood was celebratory as friends and neighbors welcomed each other back for the season, and community organizations were honored with winner’s circle presentations, including one for the Revere Fire Department (photo above), thanking them for so ably putting out a fire that broke out in the track kitchen last week. Trainer Jay Bernardini had three wins on the day; jockeys David Amiss, Vernon Bush, and Dyn Panell scored with two each. Racing resumes Wednesday.

Posted in Racing on May 4, 2014 / Tagged Suffolk Downs

Derby Day Notes

Untapable gets a Beyer speed figure of 107 for her Kentucky Oaks victory, and a TimeformUS figure of 114, numbers that put her in the same company as Kentucky Derby starters California Chrome and Wicked Strong in their final preps. When the “absolutely fabulous” filly makes her next start, the $4 she paid to win as the favorite on Friday is going to look like big money.

Early wagering on the Kentucky Derby has California Chome as the 2-1 favorite, with 27% of the $3.9 million win pool as of 10:00 AM. My picks in the race are California Chrome – Medal Count – Samraat. See who the Hello Race Fans team likes in all of today’s stakes races at Churchill. Good luck!

It’s not only Derby day, it’s opening day at Suffolk Downs, MAYBE FOR THE LAST TIME EVER, as every notice about the start of the 2014 meet points out. First post is 2:15 PM. Top rider Tammi Piermarini has mounts in eight races.

Posted in Racing on May 3, 2014 / Tagged Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks, Speed Figures, Suffolk Downs, Untapable