by Lynne Snierson, USTA Web Newsroom Correspondent

Boston, MA — Standardbred horsemen in Massachusetts got another new lease on life after a statewide referendum to repeal the existing expanded gambling legislation was defeated emphatically on election night.

Question 3 on the statewide ballot failed 60.1 percent (1,252,179 votes) to 39.9 percent (832,025). Had the anti-casino forces prevailed, construction on the new $225 million Plainridge Park Casino would have come to a halt and a stake would have been driven through the heart of the state’s racing and breeding industry.

Penn National Gaming Inc. was awarded the state’s only slots parlor license by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Feb. 28 after winning a three-way competition. PNGI then executed a purchase and sales agreement on the property with the previous owners, who had been deemed as unsuitable to hold a gaming license by the MGC the previous August, leaving the track’s future very much in doubt at the time.

Had the anti-casino forces prevailed on election night, Plainridge, which had experienced years of plummeting purses and handles as well as declining field sizes, would have been shut down and the horsemen would have been out of business as the track is the only harness racing facility in the state.

The referendum’s defeat is a key victory for the horsemen as PNGI has pledged to revitalize the Massachusetts harness racing industry.

Moreover, the casino bill was crafted with guaranteed protections for the state’s Standardbred and Thoroughbred industries with the establishment of the Race Horse Development Fund. The RHDF will be fueled with five percent of the license fees and nine percent of the revenue from the slots parlor and three future resort destination casinos. The fund will be spilt 75 percent-25 percent, Thoroughbred to Standardbred, and therefore tens of millions of dollars annually were also at stake.

From the 25 percent harness horsemen’s share, 80 percent must fund purses, 16 percent is dedicated to breeders, and four percent is for backstretch welfare.

The new Plainridge Park Casino is set to open in June 2015. PNGI said the project will create 1,000 temporary construction jobs and 500 permanent jobs.

In the town of Plainville, Mass., where the track is situated, 80 percent of the electorate voted to kill the repeal. The town is projected to receive $4 million annually once the casino comes on line.