JC / Railbird

#suffolkdispute2011

Wild Talk in NE

Frustrated by a breakdown in negotiations with Suffolk Downs over 2011 purses and race dates, the lawyer representing the New England horsemen’s group is considering alternate venues for live racing, reports the Blood-Horse:

“If Suffolk Downs doesn’t want to work with us, we’ll find someone else that does. There is no reason we have to have live racing at Suffolk Downs.”

The New England horsemen are good people, but this is mad, as is their lawyer Frank Frisoli’s assertion that, “Suffolk [management] can recognize that we’re a partnership, or they can continue to stick their head in the sand.”

It’s not management that’s playing ostrich. Over the past four years, Suffolk has restored parts of the cut stakes schedule, fixed up bits of the grandstand and backstretch, celebrated a 75th anniversary — and lost $40 million keeping racing going. That’s not because Suffolk management is filled with altruists — if expanded gaming ever comes to Massachusetts, the track expects returns on that money many times over — but it has gallantly sustained the unsustainable. The message being sent this winter, and which the horsemen can’t seem to hear for the sand in their ears, is blunt — no more.

Posted in Industry on February 2, 2011 / Tagged #suffolkdispute2011, Horsemen, Massachusetts, Negotiations, NEHBPA, New England, Suffolk Downs / 10 comments

Suffolk Blues

Barry Roos on the latest sign of New England racing’s decline:

Sadly it appears the end may be near for racing in New England. The HBPA is blocking the NYRA signal as no agreement was reached with the horsemen. After the worst meet in racing history and no extended gambling passed last year, I didn’t think there would be much chance of racing returning. I figured Suffolk would just fade away.

When live harness racing ceased at Rockingham Park last year, it went with a whimper. The same could happen at Suffolk Downs, the last link to a once great thoroughbred racing circuit. Neither the Boston Globe nor the Boston Herald published even a paragraph on the dispute between the New England horsemen and track management over 2011 purses and days that resulted in the NYRA signal being blocked. The horsemen allege negotiations not done in good faith (PDF), the track that the financial situation is grim:

“The unfortunate fact of the matter is that absent expanded gaming, the business model for 100 days of racing here is not sustainable,” said Chip Tuttle, Suffolk Downs chief operating officer. “The horsemen are having a very difficult time coming to grips with that.”

We’ve been here before with Suffolk. After the stakes schedule was cut in 2005, I posted a pessimistic piece melodramatically titled, “It’s Dying,” and worried about the inevitable end of thoroughbred racing in New England. The economics have only worsened since, but the track, which celebrated its 75th anniversary last year, still has found a way to open for racing each spring. Management has been betting on slots, and in 2010, thanks to intense lobbying and a state leadership largely in agreement on expanded gaming, their wager came tantalizingly close to paying off, before the bill foundered over the number of racinos the governor would approve.

A new casino bill was filed at the start of the 2011 state legislative session. The game’s still on, and I’m willing to bet, racing will be too, for another year.

Whether that’s good, at the likely purse level, is another matter. Suffolk is offering $75,000 per day for the state-mandated minimum of 100 days. The horsemen want $106,000, which Suffolk countered by offering reduced race dates. Daily purses of $75,000 would be the lowest on the East Coast, and the racing, for that sum or $106,000 per day, over 100 days or 67 days, is certain to be a reprise of last year’s bottom-level cards. That’s not only bad for bettors, it’s bad for the horses and humans on the backstretch.

Posted in Industry on January 31, 2011 / Tagged #suffolkdispute2011, Horsemen, Massachusetts, Negotiations, NEHBPA, New England, Slots Legislation, Suffolk Downs / 12 comments

2011 Suffolk-NEHBPA Dispute Timeline

January 26, 2011: In negotiations for the 2011 live racing season, Suffolk Downs offers the New England HBPA $7.5 million in total purses for a 100-day meet, or higher purses for a reduced meet, which would require a change in the state legislation regulating racing days.

See: Suffolk Blues.

January 29, 2011: The New England HBPA, rejecting Suffolk Downs offered terms for a 2011 meet, blocks the Aqueduct simulcasting signal. The NEHBPA demands $10.6 million in total purses, no reduction in the legally mandated number of race days, and a 50-50 simulcasting revenue split.

See: Wild Talk in NE; The Other Side; Stalemate Update.

February 5, 2011: Negotiations at a standstill, the Ohio and Florida horsemens’ groups pull the Beulah, Tampa Bay, and Gulfstream simulcasting signals from Suffolk Downs in solidarity with the NEHBPA.

See: Digging In; “A Slap in the Face.”

February 9, 2011: Oregon horsemen pull the Portland Meadows signal.

See: The Impasse, Continued; Suffolk Scene; Negotiations to Resume?

February 10, 2011: The NEHBPA presents Suffolk Downs with a counter-offer for the upcoming meet. Horsemen hold firm on their earlier demands for purses, days, and the simulcasting split, but do concede purse guarantees. Maryland horsemen pull the Laurel simulcasting signal from the track. Suffolk Downs threatens legal action against the NEHBPA.

See: Point by Point; New Proposal, Laurel Cut; Sharing the Risk.

February 14, 2011: On the first Saturday that many Massachusetts bettors are unable to wager on Gulfstream, Aqueduct, and several other signals, Rockingham Park, in New Hampshire, and other nearby facilities report an increase in attendance and handle.

See: Betting Elsewhere.

February 15, 2011: Suffolk Downs replies by letter to the NEHBPA proposal. The communication is not a formal response, but a request to restore simulcasting signals, and a counter-argument to assertions made by the horsemen’s group in support of their demands.

See: Suffolk Responds; 100 Days or No Days.

February 17, 2011: Negotiations resume.

See: Later Today; Horsemen, Suffolk Talk.

February 21, 2011: There are indications of a breakthrough in talks.

See: No Consensus (Yet); NEHBPA Discussions Continue; It’s Not Critical; Proposal Revised, Talks Continue.

February 25, 2011: After several days of discussion, the NEHBPA rejects the latest offer from Suffolk Downs, which raised total purses to $8.4 million for 75-85 days of racing and provided for an equitable simulcasting split. The track also asked that the horsemen agree to not oppose legislation reducing race days. In a late-night development, however, the NEHBPA announces it will accept a modified offer, one that provides $8.25 million for 100 days.

See: What’s Next?; Unaminously Accepted.

February 27, 2011: Suffolk Downs officials state the NEHBPA accepted an offer that was never made and reject the proposal.

See: The Offer That Isn’t; “Sink or Swim.”

March 1, 2011: Following additional talks, Suffolk Downs and the NEHBPA agree in principle to terms for the upcoming meet.

See: Almost There.

March 4, 2011: An agreement is announced. Suffolk Downs and the NEHBPA agree to a two-year contract that provides $8.25 million in total purses for 80 days and a 50-50 simulcasting split. The agreement also stipulates that the backstretch will be open from April to November and that the NEHBPA will remain neutral on race-day legislation.

See: Suffolk Deal Struck; The 80-Day Compromise.

Timeline originally published on 2/8/2011 and updated through 3/5/2011.

Posted in Industry on January 26, 2011 / Tagged #suffolkdispute2011 / Comments Off on 2011 Suffolk-NEHBPA Dispute Timeline