I caught the bug when I was only 9. Suddenly, they were all I read about, all I drew, all I wanted to watch on television, all I wanted to spend time with.
Parents with young daughters of their own probably know exactly what bug I’m talking about — horse fever.
Part of that obsession involved having TVG on frequently, often instead of Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network, to watch the Thoroughbreds, Standardbreds and Quarter Horses give it their all everywhere from Santa Anita to Saratoga.
One of those tracks was Suffolk Downs in East Boston, the fate of which has seemed uncertain since 2014, when the Massachusetts Gaming Commission denied a full casino license to Sterling Suffolk Racecourse (SSR), which leases the racing and simulcasting operations.
Thanks to a change in Massachusetts’ racing statutes that reduced the required number of live racing days, the track has hosted abbreviated meets of four to eight days since 2015. Though a shell of what it must have been when it opened in 1935, the track still has a faint pulse.
But this time, it seems the end is actually drawing near. SSR announced that the final three weekends of live racing would be May 18-19, June 8-9, and June 29-30 this year. The announcement was made all the more real by the news that demolition of the property, beginning with the stable area, is on the developer’s schedule for July 1.
When I read this news via Blood Horse, I knew I needed to see Suffolk Downs with my own two eyes, instead of on TV, before it was too late. It has been the closest thing to a track “in my backyard” for the seven years I’ve been living in Massachusetts, and I’ve taken it for granted.
I decided June 8 was the day I’d finally make that hour and a half pilgrimage, accompanied by my fiancé, Roland. It was the natural choice, seeing how we could also bet on the Belmont Stakes when the day of live racing was done.
To prepare, I made a haphazard attempt to read up on the horses listed in the racing program on the track’s website. There would be 10 basic claiming races and a couple of exhibition races, where gambling wasn’t allowed.
We couldn’t have picked a better day, with blue skies and a warm breeze in East Boston. Perhaps what I was struck by first was the ease of parking (which is free, an extra perk). Having watched American Pharaoh win the Triple Crown at Belmont Park and having watched him promptly lose the Travers Stakes to Keene Ice at Saratoga the following month, I was prepared for a long walk from my car to the grandstand.
I know what you’re thinking. Claiming races versus Grade I stakes races? The two experiences can’t be compared. But remember, we live in Franklin County. Many of the people here, like myself, naturally have an appreciation for the small and quaint. So I was entirely thrilled about the less than a minute walk from the parking lot to the venue doors, and about the ease with which spectators could find a spot at the track’s edge. Belmont Stakes day incites flashbacks of being tucked in like sardines, but at Suffolk Downs you can have your own bench, table or simply a spot by the rail. Be thankful for the little things.
I can’t say everything went swimmingly in the gambling department (can anyone ever really say that?). The primary problem was that the horses’ post positions had changed in the racing program available at the track from what I had found on the website, which caused me to scramble to piece together my notes enough to place the bets I wanted. There also seemed to be an unusually high number of scratches, as many as three horses per race, which often sent me back to the drawing board.
After this stressful start, I breathed a sigh of relief when Roland and I had placed all our bets for the day — thank you to the highly accommodating staff at the betting windows — and could just enjoy the races, on both turf and dirt. Being such a small track, we could stand just feet away from the paddock, watching the horses get tacked up and the jockeys mount. The ponies were also a huge hit with both adults and children, eagerly standing at the edge of the paddock to soak in all the pets and selfies. Despite being in East Boston, Suffolk Downs had the small-town, community vibe that I don’t think you’ll find at larger tracks.
The venue itself could use some TLC, but was nothing like I expected for a facility that’s slated for demolition. Perhaps the clearest indicator of the building’s age was the floor, which feels like something out of a funhouse, the concrete rising and falling with every few steps.
While the races were small potatoes in comparison to the ones I’d witnessed in New York, that didn’t lessen the thrill of hearing the horses come thundering down the backstretch and across the finish line right by our spot at the rail.
One of the heart-pounding highlights of the day came in Race 9, where I’d put an exacta down on Creative Thunder (a 10-year-old gray gelding sired by Tapit) and Twin Engine (a 9-year-old chestnut stallion with Giant’s Causeway lineage). The two came flying down to the wire, closing late in a four-way photo finish with Internet Success and Lyrical Miracle, and ended up placing third and fourth. If there’d been another half furlong in the race, my bet would have been fruitful. But racing is full of “if only.”
In addition to the small-town vibe, Suffolk Downs was definitely an unconventional racing experience in a lot of ways. For one, you might have paused at the ages of Creative Thunder and Twin Engine. Horses frequently hit the track at age 2 (which, in horse years, is equivalent, developmentally, to a human 6-year-old) and retire after 4, at which point the horses often have lasting health problems due to such stress being put on their bones before they’re fully formed.
By contrast, in 11 races at Suffolk Downs, there were only two 3-year-olds. In fact, the horses were more often 5, and even as old as 11. Horses are thought to be developmentally mature between the ages of 5 and 7, making it safer to race them at that age. In this respect, the Suffolk Downs competitors offered a refreshing change of pace (metaphorically, that is).
I was also impressed by the female jockeys — Jacqueline Davis, Tammi Piermarini and Katie Davis (who, in five total races, had two wins, one place and a show). Only 14 percent of working jockeys in America are women, so it’s inspiring to see them holding their own and then some in a male-dominated profession.
Though demolition is slated for the East Boston site, SSR hopes to start anew, executing an agreement last year with the owners of the old Great Barrington Fairgrounds to refurbish the property for live racing. SSR hopes the site, which hasn’t run a meet since 1998, will be ready to welcome horses in the fall of 2020.
It’s also possible that simulcasting could continue in Boston in a new facility. The existing state statute prohibits the licensee from conducting the simulcasting and racing operations in different counties, but there are bills pending in the legislature that could change that rule.
As the saying goes, when one door closes, another opens. I hope that SSR’s visions for the Great Barrington Fairgrounds become a reality, as it will make for another reason for travelers to visit western Massachusetts, as well as provide some solace for the history we will lose come July 1.