Political showdown shuts three racetracks

A political showdown between the House and Senate abruptly ended simulcasting at the state's four racetracks last night, indefinitely closing at least three of the tracks and heightening tensions before a key vote next week on legalizing slot machines.

The two chambers adjourned yesterday without reaching an agreement to extend the tracks' simulcasting rights, which expired at midnight this morning. The House wanted to grant a 30-day extension and revisit the issue later this month, but the Senate wanted to extend simulcasting until at least the end of the year. Neither side budged.

As a result, Suffolk Downs in East Boston, Wonderland Greyhound Park in Revere, and Plainridge Racecourse in Plainville are planning to close at least through Monday. The fate of Raynham Park in Raynham was unclear yesterday. No track will offer local bettors a chance to wager on today's Florida Derby, one of the country's biggest horse races.

The stalemate is the latest chapter in a fierce battle between the House and Senate over the future of gambling in Massachusetts. The Senate has approved adding slot machines at the racetracks, but House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi said this week that he doesn't think such a measure should or will pass when it comes before his chamber Wednesday.

For months, the fates of slots and simulcasting have been linked closely. The Senate's refusal to go along with the House's proposed 30-day extension effectively brings more pressure on House members in advance of next week's vote.

State Senator Michael W. Morrissey, a Quincy Democrat who supports legalizing slots, said he believes that DiMasi's comments this week have sunk any chance the slots bill will pass, and he said the Legislature needed far more than 30 days to work out a fair simulcasting deal for the four tracks.

''Having an imposed deadline of 30 days, I don't know that it serves anybody well," he said, adding, ''What the Senate is trying to do is preserve the livelihood and jobs of the hundreds of people who work at the tracks."

But House leaders see it differently.

''The speaker is disappointed that the Senate adjourned before an agreement could be reached on a temporary extension for simulcasting," said Kyle Sullivan, a DiMasi spokesman.

''The one-month extension approved by the House on Tuesday would have allowed the tracks to continue simulcasting and permitted a full and open debate on a multiyear extension on April 10," Sullivan said.

But slots supporters such as Representative Kathi-Anne Reinstein, a Revere Democrat with two tracks in her district, acknowledge that the sudden closing of the tracks, putting scores of employees out of work, could have a silver lining politically.

''It's going to bring more people to the State House to show people that they need to be employed," Reinstein said. ''There's no other way to do that than to have them out of work.

''I never hoped it would come to this, but, now that it has, I want everyone at the State House," she continued.

Chip Tuttle, a spokesman for Suffolk Downs, said that the Florida Derby normally would provide a big day for the track, with more than $1 million in wagering. The legislative standoff hurts patrons and workers, he said.

''There are lots of employees who live paycheck to paycheck, and the idea that they're going to be out of work for four or five or six days, with no certainty of when they come back to work, is disturbing," he said. ''They're very disappointed."

Gary T. Piontkowski, the president of Plainridge, said he was planning to spend yesterday preparing for the track's opening day Monday, a day he said 200 horses were scheduled to race, private parties were booked, and 4,000 people were expected.

He said a complication in state law triggered by the standoff meant he wasn't permitted to run races during the day, and he was calling horse owners yesterday to tell them the track would be closed Monday.

''It's a disaster," he said.

Track owners, many lawmakers, and several mayors have pushed for slot machines at the tracks, or so-called racinos, as a way to raise tens of millions of dollars in new state revenue and save a dying industry. The Senate bill, passed last fall, would allow for up to 2,000 slot machines at each track.

Slots proponents touted a gaming consultant's report released yesterday by the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, saying that slot machines would create 5,000 to 8,000 jobs and preserve 6,500 jobs associated with the state's racing industry. Opponents of slots, though, argue that supporters are grossly exaggerating the financial benefit to the state and how many Massachusetts jobs are involved.

Material from State House News Service was used in this report.