PLAINVILLE - Snow came down in blinding sheets around the paddocks at Plainridge Racecourse Thursday afternoon as winter refused to loosen its unrelenting icy grip, but inside the horse barns there was nothing but warmth, elation and thoughts of the spring harness racing season that starts in April. News that the state Gaming Commission awarded the states only slots license to Plainridge set off a wave of euphoria and relief among the horsemen, whose livelihoods and lives, as they know them, depended on the decision. Ive still got butterflies, said a smiling and relieved Joe Therrien, a driver, trainer and blacksmith at the track for 15 years. The last few days waiting for the word were tense times, he said. It was keeping us up nights, he said. If Plainridge, which was competing with two other venues didnt get the slots license, hed have to uproot his family to stay in the racing business, he said. Therrien, 43, and a horseman all his life, was not looking forward to packing up and moving to a racetrack in Maine or New York. Im ecstatic, the Foxboro resident said. This means we dont have to move. We just had a baby, and wed have to go if it was a no. Therrien was tending his four horses Thursday afternoon when the word came down that the commission had awarded the slots license to gambling company Penn National, future owner of Plainridge, on a 3-2 vote. Were not crying anymore, he said. With the license in hand Penn National can now complete the purchase of Plainridge and build a gambling facility with 1,250 slot machines, which, in turn, will save the failing harness racing business located there since 1999. And the future of the racing industry in Massachusetts was of great concern to some gaming commissioners. Commissioner Enrique Zuniga said Plainridges history as a harness racing track would also benefit Southeastern Massachusetts economically. Its not just a topic of jobs, its also a topic of supporting small business. Many of the people make their livelihoods from the (horse racing) industry qualify as small businesses, he said. That line of reasoning, and the outcome of Thursdays tentative vote made driver and trainer Jim Hardy another very happy horseman. What a big win this is, he said This is huge. Theres been a lot of anxiety about this. We were all worried. Hardy grew up around horses and has been a racer, trainer and owner most of his 48 years. Its a profession he loves, and a change is not something he wants. To stay in the business, hed have had to move, but thats not a concern now. Now you can invest, buy a little farm, dig your roots back in, the North Attleboro resident said. Now you have a place to stay and call home. In their sometimes forceful debate, gaming commissioners focused primarily on regional economic growth and job creation, with what they called a philosophical difference splitting the group between a push to maintain the racing industry by supporting Plainville and a move into new industries like medical devices promised by the other frontrunner, Cordish Companies, in Leominsters bid for the slots license. We have to look at where the jobs of the future are going to come from and we need to ensure that nobodys left behind, said Commissioner John McHugh, who supported Leominster. Cordish had pledged in its application to aid other industries in the region in addition to gaming, notably providing $1 million annually for a growing medical device sector. McHugh praised the collaboration with the medical device industry as an out of the box solution to revitalizing North Central Massachusetts. We do need to think of innovative ways and take chances to help those areas grow their economy, he said, noting that Leominster and surrounding communities have a higher unemployment rate than Plainville. Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby was also determined to support the prospect of high-tech jobs in Leominster, even if it meant the demise of harness racing in Plainville. I understand all the benefits ... but the (racing) industry needs to take a hard look at itself and figure out how to get by despite the changes and compromises it has to make, he said. Commissioner Gayle Cameron disagreed vehemently in her support for Plainridge. I dont think thats what were doing here today, she said, noting that the Plainville proposal had received higher ratings in some categories than Leominster, including for its finances. Its not our job to decide, Why are we saving an industry thats dying on its own? Im looking at what added value comes along with this application and putting the value on those jobs, she said.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Mar 2014 02:47:54 +0000
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