Simulcast bill passes Senate
Pacheco: Jobs saved at tracks
Thursday, November 19, 2009 1:59 AM EST
In this Nov. 11, 2008, photo, greyhounds race at Raynham-Taunton Greyhound Park in Raynham. Massachusetts voters passed a ballot question that will ban greyhound racing in 2010. (Associated Press photo)
SILVER CITY STAFF
BOSTON - The state Senate has passed a bill that allows the state's two greyhound racetracks to remain open to take wagers on simulcast races held out of state after the ban on live racing goes into effect Jan. 1.
The House last week approved a bill extending simulcasting at the greyhound tracks to July 31.
Hundreds of jobs were on the line as simulcasting also had been slated to stop the end of the calendar year, officials said.
The Wonderland Greyhound Park has already ceased live racing. The Raynham Park track has remained open. They will essentially become off-track betting parlors.
"Quite simply, this is a jobs bill," said Sen. Marc R. Pacheco, D-Taunton. "This bill ensures that the greyhound tracks will continue to employ hundreds of people who otherwise would have found themselves jobless in the middle of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression."
Pacheco had been looking for ways to lessen the impact the looming elimination of live greyhound racing will have on track workers since the ban was narrowly approved by the statewide electorate in 2008.
Polls taken in the months following the election suggested Massachusetts voters had second thoughts on their approval of the ban after it became clear that track closings could force hundreds out of jobs and hurt local economies, the senator pointed out. Voters in Pacheco's district overwhelmingly voted against the ballot initiative.
"Over 1,066 families in Massachusetts make their livings working in the racing industry. Ideally, I would have liked to have seen a temporary live racing extension that would have kept all of these people employed until the economy turned around and job market improved," Pacheco said. "The simulcast extension that was approved by the Senate, however, is a good compromise that will still save a large portion of those jobs. It's safe to say that the holiday season will be a little brighter for hundreds of families statewide as a result of this bill."
Meanwhile, Plainridge Racecourse in Plainville and other tracks hope to get approval for slot machines, which the Legislature is expected to tackle next year.
The fourth track in the state is Suffolk Downs in East Boston, and has horse racing and simulcasting as Plainridge does.
