Suffolk will revive MassCap Sept. 22

When Robert Kraft bought the Patriots, his goal was to turn the team into a championship-driven, must-see commodity in a stadium that would maximize the experience for the ticket-buying public. The Red Sox' owners have done the same at Fenway Park.

Yesterday, during a press conference at the Four Seasons Hotel, the Suffolk Downs ownership announced plans to upgrade the East Boston racetrack into a family-oriented destination. The first step was the renewal of the Massachusetts Handicap, which was last run in 2004.

The 1 1/8-mile race, which was made famous by Seabiscuit 70 years ago, has been scheduled for Sept. 22, five weeks before the Breeders' Cup at Monmouth Park in New Jersey. The base purse will be $500,000. In order to attract a strong field, there will be bonuses if the winner of the MassCap has also won multiple Grade I or Group I stakes races of a mile or longer this year.

Other high-profile winners of the MassCap include Waquoit (1987), Cigar (1995 and '96), Skip Away (1997 and '98), and Offlee Wild (2004).

"We are excited to bring back the MassCap," said Richard Fields, the newest member of the ownership group. "The MassCap is part of a program that my partner, Bill Mulrow, and I and my family have made a commitment to rejuvenate the track and bring it back to the greatness that it had. I believe it can be done. We are realistic. We know that it is a lot of work that has to be done, we know that it is not going to be easy. But I think with the help of everybody -- the horsemen, the jockeys, and all of you folks supporting us -- that we can get there.

"For us, this is a long-term commitment. My family has a commitment to [agricultural] programs around the country. We are a horse and cattle operation. We believe very strongly that this track has to stay here and has to prosper and has to survive. We've made that commitment to the original shareholders, we've made that commitment to the horsemen, we've made it to the jockeys, we've made it to all the employees. When I first got involved, I was told that Suffolk Downs is a family. We've met just about everybody there, and it is a family. Our goal is to make [Suffolk] family-friendly and to make it customer-friendly."

Fields, chairman of Coastal Development LLC and owns Jackson Land and Cattle in Jackson Hole, Wyo., is perhaps best known for codeveloping Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tampa and Hollywood, Fla.

"Our goal now is to try to get Mass.-bred horses back again," said Fields. "We're going to work with the horsemen and we're going to work very hard with the breeders and the trainers and make a real commitment that in the next few years, you're going to see real serious Mass.-bred [horses] here. You're going to see a lot of marketing, you're going to see a lot of innovative ideas."

Fields didn't directly address his long-term plans with regard to bringing a resort casino to the state, similar to his ventures in Florida. He focused instead on the improvements needed at the track.

"We are right now evaluating a lot of the issues at the track that need attention," he said. "That has to do with the backstretch, some of the barns area, some of the housing -- we feel it's very important to spend a lot of energy and redo that. We are also working on redoing a lot of the facilities so it becomes more family-friendly. We are working on a long-term development program that we have just started to initiate. It's going to take a while for us to really get our arms around it, but I think you're going to see some changes very quickly."

Nancy Marrapese-Burrell can be reached at Marrapese@globe.com.