The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has approved a request to postpone the opening day of the 2015 Plainridge Racecourse meet for two weeks.
The delay was necessitated by the snowiest winter in Massachusetts’ history, which set back training schedules throughout the Bay State.
The 2015 live opener will now take place on Wednesday, April 15 with first post at 4 p.m. Plainridge will also offer live racing on Thursday, April 16, again with a 4 p.m. first post.
On April 19, Plainridge will add Sunday afternoons to its schedule, with a first-race post time of 1 p.m.
One hundred and five programs of live racing – a 30 per cent increase over recent seasons – will be conducted at the Massachusetts track in 2015. The cards originally scheduled for early April will be re-scheduled later in the meet.
Pre-meet qualifying races are scheduled for Wednesday, April 8 and Saturday, April 11. First-race post time for the qualifiers will be at 1 p.m., and the entry box will close at 9 a.m. the day prior to each session.
The first draw of 2015 will take place on Sunday, April 12, when both the Wednesday and Thursdays cards will be assembled.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission reminds all horsemen that as of April 1 anyone entering the Plainridge backstretch, which includes the barn area, the racetrack, and the paddock area, must have a current MGC licence. Also, before any horse can participate in the qualifiers, its owner, trainer and driver must be licensed by the MGC. The MGC office at Plainridge is open for licencing on Monday-Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
(Plainridge Racecourse)