Joe Therian has been in the horse racing business all his life, but the industry got so bad in Massachusetts he moved to Saratoga, N.Y., in 2003. There, he saw the positive impact slot machine revenue had in reviving harness horse racing, a sport many thought was dying.
Now, the Foxboro native is back in Massachusetts and seeing the same revival at the racetrack at Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville, which opened with 1,250 slot machines a year ago Friday.
Therian said he moved back to the area because he missed home, but the trainer, driver, blacksmith said he had only two horses in his stable. Now that slot machine money is being pumped into the horse-racing industry in Massachusetts, his stable is at eight horses.
Investors have not only bought six new horses since March, they are on the lookout for more. Some of those investors had been out of the business for years because it was not profitable, he said.
“It was very tough to make a living,” he said. “The difference now is like night and day.”
The constant fear horseman had that Plainridge was about to go out of business is also gone.
Therian said farms that board horses and suppliers who sell feed and equipment are also seeing a revival. It’s all about money.
Nine percent of slot machine revenue goes into a horse racing development fund. As of May, that amounted to $13.8 million. Fifty-five percent of that goes toward purses at Plainridge.
Therian said the infusion of cash means horse owners, drivers and suppliers can now make a living in the sport they love.
Minimum purses, or winnings, for horse owners, used to be $2,000. They are now $3,200, he said. Purses for the open class, or top-of-the-line horses, are up from $4,500 to $10,000.
According to Plainridge, the average racing day handle, or amount bet by customers, is up 28 percent over last year, going from $132,746 to $170,275, a difference of $37,529 per day.
The number of days of racing is now at 115 for 2016, up from 105 days last year.
Purses have increased 35 percent.
“If it wasn’t for the slots, we wouldn’t be here. It’s like soup and sandwhich or horse and buggy. They go together,” said William Abdelnour of the Harness Horsemen’s Association of New England.
Racing General Manager Steve O’Toole, who has worked in the industry since high school, said the casino is also bringing in more customers to the track.
He said slots players get curious about the horse races, and walk over to the nearby track.
Plainridge has developed simplified programs describing the horses and drivers in terms newcomers can understand, he said. The programs uses a star system similiar to movie reviews to rate horses and drivers.
The influx of money from the slots is also attracting a higher quality of horse to Plainridge, and that in turn draws in more customers.
Therian said dedicated horse racing fans follow the top horses around the country. When one comes to Plainridge, the fans turn out.
O’Toole said horse owners are not only buying more horses, but they are trading up for faster horses because they can make more money with the higher purses.
Meanwhile, top-notch drivers from other tracks are also coming to Plainridge to race on Mondays and Tuesday, when most other tracks don’t have live racing, O’Toole said.
“That adds to the variety and competition,” he said.
Therian said the atmosphere at Plainridge has changed dramatically. Facilities have been upgraded, and there is a new optimism. To add to the good feelings, parents are bringing their children to the track in the morning to watch the horses work out.
“We’re getting a chance to put on a show,” he said.
By Jim Hand
Reprinted with permission of thesunchronicle.com site