The $250,000 Spirit of Massachusetts Trot that was held at Plainridge Park last Friday was the latest in a long list of achievements the resurgent track just south of Boston has added to its resume over the last three years.

With a thriving gaming property established and a solid harness racing program in place as a result of the Race Horse Development Fund, the management and horsemen of Plainridge Park have made the most out of every opportunity to enhance their racing product and do what is necessary to nurture its continued growth in the future.

Their efforts to date have seen annual live racing wagers increase by over $10 million, live daily average wagers increase by over $60,000 and annual simulcast wagering increase by more than $3 million. And those numbers have been generated solely through local overnight racing.

The tracks mission from the start was to stabilize the racing program for all the horsemen who have raced at Plainridge for almost 20 years, but to also make Massachusetts harness racing vital again nationally and bring it into the consciousness of horsemen across North America.

The first step in doing that was rejoining the Grand Circuit and hosting the biggest harness race ever held in the history of the state; the $250,000 Spirit Of Massachusetts Trot.

A walk through the property on the day of the race gave visual evidence of the success of the event. A completely full parking lot and ramp, programs sold out, hat giveaway completed in 45 minutes, a full betting area in the grandstand and a packed apron by the track.

But the optics weren’t the only proof of the interest in the race. At the end of the day the numbers bore it out as well.

The handle on track was four-times higher than the average race card and eight-times greater than the average per race for the Spirit of Massachusetts Trot. And the off-track handle was twice as large as an average overnight card. The handle for the Spirit of Massachusetts race alone was the largest single-race handle since Penn National Gaming took the track over in April of 2014.

There were also noticeable increases in casino activity and sales at all the restaurants throughout the property.

Steve O’Toole is the Director of Live Racing at Plainridge Park and he couldn’t be more pleased with the event itself and the feedback he received from everyone after the race.

“The day in, day out customers loved it. The more casual fans were very happy to have a reason to visit the track. Hosting a Grand Circuit event is a source of pride and as a result, the interest in our racing has been measurable and I feel it has been a direct result of our efforts this year putting together the Spirit of Massachusetts Trot” said O’Toole.

“We received positive feedback all around. The horsemen were pleased with the detention barn, condition of the racetrack and the dinner reception for the race connections upstairs. Our patrons loved all the extra activities surrounding the race like the New England Patriot’s End Zone Militia and the Massachusetts Mounted State Police being a part of it all day.”

Every member of the track’s team worked tirelessly to ensure a quality experience for their customers and clearly their efforts paid off.

“The racing staff worked non-stop all afternoon covering all the bases with the production we had planned and they carried it off pretty much flawlessly. The race itself was interesting to watch and lived up to the hype as well. There is always room to improve and we can certainly identify those areas, however with everything we had going on I think it went very well” said O’Toole.

(Plainridge Park)