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Residents push back against proposed horse race track in Leominster
But proponents say it will help the hurting equine industry in the state and provide an economic boost to the city.
Developers are proposing a bold plan to turn a closed landfill in Leominster into Massachusetts’ only active thoroughbred horse racing track, complete with a sports bar and simulcast betting, to boost the local economy and ease traffic.
But some residents are pushing back, raising concerns about environmental risks and the impact of expanded gambling on their community.
“We actually already have a race track on Mechanic Street,” said Michael Caputo, a resident of Leominster, at a City Council meeting on April 14. “You just have to stand outside and watch it – cars fly up and down all day long, day and night.”
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The proposed plan, he says, would only add drinking to the equation.
“Leominster is a growing city,” said Caputo. “We don’t need this. It would be a step backward.”
Baystate Racing LLC and developer James Whitney are partnering to propose a thoroughbred horse racing site on the landfill that closed in 1982, which is located off Mechanic Street.
The project would have a multi-use entertainment venue, a sports bar and restaurant with a viewing deck, a racetrack, paddock stables, and a pavilion.
If the project passes local boards and zoning, it plans to host thoroughbred horse racing over two festival weekends, totaling six days of racing activities each year. For the remaining weekends, the facility will be open for general events, sports, festivals, and fairs.
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The initial draft of the Community Host Agreement, submitted to Lemonister on April 7, states that the plan addresses two challenges facing Leominster residents: the continued monitoring and maintenance of the closed landfill and addressing traffic concerns on Mechanic Street.
The first step towards gaining approval is to sign a Community Host Agreement with the Leominster City Council.
The draft says the project will make a $300,000 payment to the city for the option to develop the landfill and an annual payment of $1 million in revenue sharing once the Fairgrounds opens.
The developers also need approval for a zoning overlay district, followed by OKs from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (Mass DEP) and the city’s board of health, to take the necessary steps to assume responsibility for the landfill.
Bucking the trend
The opening of a new thoroughbred horse race track is bucking the trend seen across the region. The equine industry suffered after Rockingham Park in New Hampshire ended live thoroughbred racing in 2002 and Suffolk Downs in East Boston closed in 2019.
The only live horse racing in Massachusetts is conducted at Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville, which hosts harness racing, where horses pull a chariot with a driver.
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Despite only having two race weekends a year, Arlene Brown, the owner of Briar Hill Farm and board member of the Massachusetts Thoroughbred Breeders Association, says everything counts towards helping the equine industry.
The races will be restricted to horses born in Massachusetts, which will spur the farming ecosystem, including transportation, veterinary care, hay, and feed.
“Those six days will help secure my farm and others and keep the property out of the hands of builders and developers,” Brown wrote to Boston.com. “A six-day race calendar matters because it brings all of the other elements together.”
The developers say it will also be enough to financially support the project, which will be assisted by wagering events outside the horse tracks, through simulcasting at the sports bar.
The Gaming Commission will also help support race festivals through access to purse money collected from revenues provided by other gaming facilities in the state.
According to an Economic Impact Report by Spectrum Gaming Group on behalf of the developers, the sports bar is expected to attract around 350 non-racing patrons daily, who will likely place bets while dining and watching games.
During the two weekends of racing, the report estimates that it will bring about 2,000 to 5,000 people to the site.
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Altogether, the report estimates that race-related activities will bring in $3.3 million in revenue in the Fairgrounds’ first year of operation.
Community members question the project
This isn’t the first rodeo for Baystate Racing, a Worcester-based firm, which previously proposed putting the race track in Gardner.
According to The Gardner News, the City Council rejected the Baystate racing proposal in the city last year, citing uncertainty over traffic, environmental impact concerns, and a general lack of answers to their questions.
To thwart the current project, Leominster resident Lisa Nugent submitted a petition to the City Council to prohibit all horse and dog racing and any associated betting or wagering anywhere within the city.
The petition was submitted for legal review and forwarded to the Planning Board for next steps, and will return for a vote by the City Council by June.
The move aligns with a Change.org petition, also organized by Nugent, which has garnered close to 1,500 signatures against the project.
In a bid to stop the developers, Nugent said at a recent City Council meeting that, “I’m hoping the City Council can help to keep them from putting the cart before the horse, sort of speak.”
At the meeting, residents voiced concerns over how gambling could increase residents’ rates of bankruptcy, divorce, crime, and suicide.
Residents also questioned putting the environmental responsibility of a closed landfill in the hands of the developers.
As one resident, Nadine Anderson, put it, “This is a bad bet for Leominster.”
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