Plainridge ready to run horses later this month

BOSTON - Horses could start preparing for races at Plainridge Park Racecourse as soon as the governor launches Phase 3 of the state's reopening and live races could begin at the Plainville oval early next month, the tracker operator said Tuesday morning.

At the outset of a meeting to discuss possible reopening protocols with the Mass. Gaming Commission and the Harness Horseman's Association of New England -- which had called for regulators to hold up the renewal of Plainridge Park Casino's license until the track is reopened -- an executive from track and slots parlor parent company Penn National Gaming announced that they will reopen the track as soon as allowed.

"Barring any changes in any of the language or guidelines put out by the governor's office, we are making preparations to conduct qualifying races on June 29 and July 2, with the intention to have our first live parimutuel race on Monday, July 6," Christopher McErlean, vice president of racing for Penn National Gaming, said. "We're putting all our plans in motion to hit those targets. Again, assuming no changes in any of the requirements under the governor's guidelines."

Like casino gambling, spectator-free horse racing is part of Phase 3 of Gov. Charlie Baker's economic reopening plan, meaning the track could reopen as early as Monday, June 29. The Gaming Commission, which voted in early May to postpone the racing season "until further notice," did not vote Tuesday to allow racing to resume, but officials appeared to be on board with Penn's plan Tuesday.

"Things are looking very positive for reopening right at the beginning of Phase 3, consistent with the governor's guidelines and we do understand the importance of the industry to those whose livelihoods depend on racing," Interim Executive Director Karen Wells said.

The Gaming Commission on Tuesday walked through a set of guidelines developed by Penn National Gaming that HHANE is on board with. Under the proposal -- which the commission could vote next week to accept -- only people directly involved in racing (trainers, grooms and others, but no horse owners) would be allowed at the track, everyone arriving at the track will have their temperature checked, a mask or face covering would be required for everyone, and the lounge for sulky drivers would be closed.

"We have several racetracks that are now racing under some similar protocols," McErlean said. He added, "The main basics really come down to the social distancing, face masks, temperature checks and limiting the number of individuals in there in the respective areas."

Unlike most of the other businesses that are preparing to reopen, the racing industry is unique in that another species is central to its operations. As such, commissioners wanted to know whether there is any potential risk that horses could spread the highly-contagious coronavirus.

"There's no indication that it's transmitted by horses. And we have biosecurity measures in place for the horses that we've been doing for years as far as things like disinfecting the tie chains between races, washing and disinfecting water buckets and that type of thing," Alex Lightbown, the commission's director of racing, said.

Running qualifying races, McErlean said, will also give track officials a chance to see the COVID-19 safety protocols in action and make any changes ahead of the start of official races.

"We're going to learn some things, hopefully, when we get to the qualifiers and ... we have a theory as to how things should flow. I'm sure once we get into practice, there'll be some alterations," he said.

Officials at the Plainville track will also be busy, McErlean said, getting the track surface, barn and other areas ready for a season that had been originally slated to start in April.

"We're in the process of calling individuals back now that are beginning to work within the the barn area for cleanup and any repairs necessary back there," he said. "The track surface, which we did have some work done [on] over the shutdown ... I think we're far enough along where right now we can, in a fairly quick time frame, get the track prepared in a safe manner and have it race-ready to hit our target dates."

Ahead of Tuesday's meeting, HHANE, which represents owners, trainers, drivers, breeders and others who earn a living from the horse racing industry, said it was ready to press the Gaming Commission to hold off on processing Plainridge Park Casino's license renewal until the facility's track is open for spectator-free racing.

The Plainville slots parlor's initial five-year license is set to expire June 24 unless the commission votes by that date to accept Penn's renewal application as "timely and sufficient." The horsemen had been planning to argue that having live racing was a key part of Penn's winning bid for the state's lone slots parlor license, and that the license should not be renewed until the track is back open.

Though Penn, HHANE and the Gaming Commission all appeared on the same page Tuesday and ready to start official races July 6, there is still one other group that must act to make that happen: the Legislature.

The legal authority for horse racing and simulcasting is set to expire July 1, and the Legislature has been slow to reauthorize those activities in recent years, forcing the cancellation of some races. At a meeting scheduled for Thursday, the Gaming Commission is expected to receive an update on the status of attempts to remind legislative leaders of that deadline.