Quote:
Originally Posted by Afleet
why doesnt racing work in New England? Taxes eating up their discretionary income?
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Aside from general overall sport decline, the major body blows were:
Foxwoods 1992. Boston Built Foxwoods. Now the largest casino in the world.
Then Slots at small feeder tracks.
That created a HUGE sucking sound of horses and trainers leaving. I saw trainers pack-it-all up , put 30 horses on 2 trailers and went to places I had barely heard of. Delta Downs....Slot infused purses.
Suffolk was great, a really great place, and nothing to be ashamed about. After NYRA, Florida ( when gulf and hialeah were running), and then Maryland, *when pimlico actually ran a full meet. The Suffolk Downs-Rockingham park circuit was 4th. Better than PA, NJ, Delaware imho,
Suffolk was like Saratoga, in that an entire town wrapped itself around the racetrack. The Track is jammed into an Urban environment. Not like aqueduct or belmont that are way out near Long Island, Suffolk is beside a bunch of gang banger housing projects in East Boston! A mile from Logan Airport. Its own subway stop named Suffolk Downs. It was a Quality Track. A real stop. But now its Ghetto and sketchy.