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  Plainridge, Plain but Functional !     

Three County FairPlainridge Logo

Opened in 1999, Plainridge Racecourse was built to fill the void in New England harness racing left by the closing of nearby Foxboro Raceway. Built on a small footprint with a major portion designed for simulcasting, it is a realistic approach for todays racing climate.

Plainridge is the first new race track to be built in New England in about fifty years, and is one of only a handful of tracks built in the country dedicated solely to harness racing in that time frame.

  In 2011 the start of the racing season was delayed until May over a dispute with the Massachusetts Racing Commission. Plainridge ran a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday schedule for the year. James Hardy was the leading driver for the year.

Plainridge RacecourseWelcome to Plainridge

In 2012 racing ran from April to December with the normal three day format. Plainridge also applied for the State's only Class 2 gaming license. A Class 2 license would allow slot machines but no casino style gaming. The Bert Beckwith Memorial which one time ran for a $75,000 purse, and attracted many top horses, was reduced to $25,000. James Hardy, once again came away with the driving title.

As it turns out Plainridge Racecourse, as of 2014 is the last remaining pari-mutual racing facility in Massachusetts, but even it's fate was up in the air for awhile. In February, 2014 Plainridge was granted the only class 2 gaming license in the state. Penn Gaming who has purchased the track with the intent of adding a slot parlor, immediately began a renovation that would be complete in early 2015. Things were looking good, harness racing would be saved, new jobs would be added, but wait, this is Massachusetts.

Although gaming in Massachusetts was voted in by a ballot on a general election, the anti gaming zealots in the state didn't think those people that voted for it were making a wise choice. This group gathered enough signatures to force the question back on the ballot in the 2014 election. The casino people were stunned, especially the Penn Gaming group which now had a halfway completed structure at Plainridge. They immediately issued a statement that if the election went against them, that was it, they were done, harness racing was done, everything thing was done. The other groups vying for the coveted Class 1 license followed suit and a bitter campaign begin. In the end the casino people won the election handily and all was was rosy back in the city of Plainville, the slot parlor back on schedule to open in the spring of 2015.