Fairgrounds Owner Pursues Horse Racing After Casino Bid Dies

(AP Photo/Garry Jones)

BOSTON (AP) — Thoroughbred horse racing is poised to return to the Brockton Fairgrounds this summer, after Massachusetts regulators rejected a bid to build a casino on the property.

Owner George Carney tells The Associated Press that the demise of a $677 million resort casino plan hasn’t stopped him from moving ahead with improvements to the site’s track, which hasn’t hosted a race since 2001.

Organizers say they’ll seek about $5 million from the state’s Race Horse Development Fund, which takes a portion of casino revenues and uses it to boost horse racing purses and other industry initiatives.

Boston’s Suffolk Downs also intends to seek about $2.6 million to help finance six days of thoroughbred races. And the Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville is expected to seek support for about 115 days of racing.

The fund has more than $11 million on hand.