Suffolk runs in place

Opening Day is the first Saturday in May. Construction moves ahead on track improvements. A full season of racing has been scheduled.

But . . . at Suffolk Downs these days, there is always a but.

''We're going to go," said Bob O'Malley, Suffolk's chief operating officer. ''But we need that bill passed."

''That bill" is the legislation that would allow slot machines at Suffolk, which most feel is the lifeline the track needs to continue after this season.

The track received one reprieve when the Legislature approved a 90-day extension of simulcast laws that would have expired at the end of December. Suffolk officials and supporters have also tried to tie a slot machine proposal to the simulcast bill, without success. But O'Malley feels that everything is connected, and the approval of slot machines, which have become a staple at tracks in New York, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere -- wherever tracks need a revenue boost -- is a necessity for survival.

O'Malley hopes a decision is reached by the end of March. Until then, he has people scouting and recruiting jockeys, trainers, and horses, in the hopes of keeping thoroughbred racing alive in New England for another year.

It is a far cry from the days when Suffolk was one of the crown jewels of a lively New England racing circuit that included Rockingham Park in New Hampshire and Narragansett Park and Lincoln Downs in Rhode Island.

To some old-timers, it was paradise. But, as the Joni Mitchell song goes, the trend was to pave paradise and put up a parking lot. Some think that could soon be Suffolk's fate, considering its proximity to Logan Airport.

For now at Suffolk, it's year-round simulcasting, which is the way most tracks make their money (along with slots) these days. And O'Malley, a New England racing institution himself, continues to fight the good fight.

''We've had a pretty good month [of simulcasting]," said O'Malley. ''The weather helped. Last year's weather was brutal, but this year everything is better. It gives us more opportunity [to generate revenue]."

O'Malley needs the slot legislation to pass, and then he would like to see a new racing bill that gives hope for the future, ending the day-to-day worries of small cards, smaller purses, and canceled races.

When Suffolk opened in 1935, it was regarded as a temple on the mud flats of East Boston. Thoroughbred racing was the sport of the rich and famous, and the not so rich and famous of Massachusetts also responded. On Aug. 10, 1935, a record crowd of 52,726 poured through the gates.

Blueblood horses such as Seabiscuit, who won the third running of the Massachusetts Handicap in 1937, and later Riva Ridge and Cigar, have graced the Suffolk stables.

But all of that has changed. The MassCap was not even run last year, and putting together a race card on any given day was a challenge. It was a tough year in many ways. Track officials even had to cancel a midweek card so employees and horsemen could attend a hearing on slot machines and simulcasting. Worst of all, jockey Michael Lapensee died after a spill in October.

O'Malley remains hopeful, though. ''We're going to run this season no matter what," he said.

Wonderful news

The right front ankle injury that KO'd Stevie Wonderboy from this year's Triple Crown races is not all that uncommon -- and not considered serious. And if Stevie Wonderboy were a $25,000 claimer, he would be up and running sooner rather than later. But as a Breeders' Cup Juvenile champion with stud potential worth millions, he was scratched quickly by owner Merv Griffin and will wait for the summer to run . . . Stevie Wonderboy's withdrawal from the Kentucky Derby will extend the streak of bad luck for 2-year-old Eclipse Award winners. No 2-year-old Eclipse winner has won the Derby since Spectacular Bid in 1979 . . . Good news for Pimlico officials. Quarantines of two barns at the track have been lifted after tests revealed no trace of the equine herpes virus that killed three horses at the home of the Preakness . . . One of the topics of discussion at the quadrennial Thoroughbred Racing Association and Harness Tracks of America meeting in Las Vegas this week was how to deal with declining fan interest in the sport. Said HTA executive vice president Stan Bergstein: ''If racing doesn't adjust, then we'll miss appealing to the second generation. We already missed the TV generation. We don't want to miss the Internet generation."

Material from wire services was used in this report.