Harness track proposal gets initial OK

Louis Giuliano has won preliminary approval from the Massachusetts Racing Commission to open Foxboro Place, a new harness track, on an approximately 50-acre parcel across Route 1 from Gillette Stadium. He had been a principal in the Plainridge harness track, which sits roughly 6 miles south of the stadium, at Route 1 and Interstate 495.

The Foxborough property, which Giuliano would lease from owners Donald Rodman and John Murphy, is used as an overflow parking lot for stadium events. Foxboro Park, which was on the same side of Route 1 as the New England Patriots' football facility, was torn down to make way for the team's new stadium, which opened last year.

To build the facility, Giuliano needs town zoning approval. The property is in an area zoned now as an economic development district, which allows various business uses including a stadium.

Foxborough Building Inspector William Casbarra has ruled that the racetrack does not qualify as a stadium and thus would not be allowed under the current zoning. Giuliano has taken Casbarra's decision to the town's Zoning Board of Appeals, which has scheduled a Dec. 17 hearing on the matter. If Giuliano loses there, he could appeal again to Superior Court or try to win Town Meeting approval of a zoning change.

Giuliano's proposal for the facility calls for a 75,000-square-foot, two-story grandstand building, three barns and a paddock. Giuliano said the track would generate between $700,000 and $800,000 a year for the town.

"We won't require services," Giuliano said. "If we need a police officer, we'll pay a police officer. If we need a firefighter, we'll pay a firefighter."

Town officials so far have been cool to the proposal. While the Board of Selectmen has not taken a vote, two members of the three-person board, chairman Anthony LaChappelle and Robert Hickey Jr., have voiced opposition. The third, Robert Delaney, has said he wants more information.

Giuliano is scheduled to appear before selectmen on Tuesday to make his case.

LaChappelle recently questioned whether harness racing could succeed in Foxborough, given the history of the former track.

"It wasn't exactly a thriving enterprise," said LaChapelle. "Why would we want another one there?"

The track, originally known as Foxboro Raceway, opened in the mid-1940s and closed amid financial difficulties in 1986. New investors revived the track in 1992, but it closed for good in 1997 after landowner Robert Kraft evicted the business to make way for his new stadium complex.

Giuliano said the problems of Foxboro Park were caused by disputes among owners and landlords.

While horse and dog tracks have struggled in Massachusetts and elsewhere in recent years, a live racing venue might have better prospects if the state were to legalize slot machines.

Most casino gambling proposals in recent years have included provisions that would allow slots in race tracks. Governor Mitt Romney's budget proposal last year included a provision that would have allowed slot machines at the four operating tracks, Raynham-Taunton and Wonderland greyhound tracks and the Plainridge and Suffolk Downs horse tracks. The plan did not win legislative approval.

State Representative Michael Coppola, a Foxborough Republican, has urged town officials to consider that slot machines eventually could be a part of any racing facility in town.

Slot machines are not part of Foxboro Park's business plan, according to Giuliano, who is former president of the Massachusetts Horsemen's Association and owner of a Rhode Island horse farm.

"Slot machines have been coming and coming in Massachusetts, but they never seem to make it," Giuliano said.

A real estate developer from Smithfield, R.I., Giuliano has long been involved in the horse racing industry. He and former state racing commissioner Gary Piontkowski were principals in the founding of the Plainridge harness track, which opened in Plainville in 1999.

Giuliano and Piontkowski later had a falling out and became involved in a bitter legal dispute, with Piontkowski eventually assuming control of Plainridge. Giuliano tried to acquire other land in Plainville to open a harness race track, but was denied a permit by the state Racing Commission in 2001.

Giuliano said Foxboro Place and Plainridge could co-exist despite their proximity.

Foxboro Place would cater to people interested in live racing, while Plainridge's draw is simulcasting, Giuliano said.

In his Foxborough proposal, Giuliano sought permission to race on 100 dates. The commission approved racing on one day -- Sept. 1, 2004.

Commission counsel John Craven said the ruling allows Giuliano to go forward with his plans but also requires him to return to the commission in order to open a full-scale racetrack. Giuliano said he would like to operate live racing at the harness track from Aug. 15 through Dec. 31. The facility would remain open the rest of the year for simulcast wagering on races conducted elsewhere.