The only thoroughbred racetrack remaining in New England, Suffolk Downs is caught between its glorious, but long since faded past, and the vision of a glorious but still uncertain future, one with a refurbished track, a resort casino, a hotel, and retail shops. Owners, employees, and patrons await action by the Massachusetts Legislature on passage of a gaming bill that could facilitate the track’s revitalization.

Ghosts chase the thoroughbreds down the stretch and old-timers recite memories of packed grandstands watching Seabiscuit and War Admiral and Whirlaway. Most of the crowd now — yesterday’s peaked at 10,310 before a furious rainstorm sent some scurrying home — is over 50.

Principal owner Richard Fields knows a lot of things must change if the track is to survive, but he said his focus is on attracting a new generation of horse racing fans. Money is surely a motive, but so is development of the sport.

“We’ve made a commitment to racing,’’ said Fields, of the proposed resort casino, for which plans were unveiled this week. “Wherever you are in the project, you’re going to see the racing. We’ve got to develop the sport, we’ve got to find new customers. We need to bring new people into it.

“I mean, everybody who goes to the paddock just falls in love [with the horses]. If you just put slots at the track, and it’s run by gaming companies not related to [horse racing], it’s not going to work. This sport has to be reinvented; we’ve come up with a concept and a vision that is really a celebration of what racing was 75 years ago.’’

Fields counts on one winning aspect of horse racing: It still takes your breath away to see the horses thundering around the far curve of the oval, galloping so quickly and smoothly they appear to be riding on air.

Former jockey Chris McCarron, who returned yesterday to be honored after the eighth race, echoed Fields’s words.

“Suffolk’s got a good chance to rebound and become the fixture in racing like it once was,’’ said the Dorchester native who retired in 2002 as thoroughbred racing’s all-time leader in purse earnings with more than $264 million. “All it takes is money. If you boost the purses, the trainers will come, the people will come back to see good, competitive racing. The way to do that is money.’’

Ultimately, it was a horse race that stole the show yesterday.

The James B. Moseley Sprint Stakes, 6 furlongs on the main track, was scheduled as the ninth race. But as the jockeys were mounting up in the paddock, Everyday Heroes threw a shoe. Trainers struggled to quiet the horse, but he persisted in rearing up and pulling away. The start was delayed. And delayed again. Murmurs started up in the crowd, “Why don’t they just scratch him?’’

But the shoe finally fit, and jockey Channing Hill, who had been standing by watching the wild-eyed horse struggle with his handlers, jumped on.

And rode the horse to victory.

“He only ran the last 70 yards,’’ said Hill, who timed his finishing burst perfectly, galloping past Ju Jitsu Jax down the stretch to win in 1:11.11 on a sloppy track. “He just wanted to play with that other horse. He got a little way ahead and we just reeled him in.’’

Hill, a rising star at New York tracks, said he was a little nervous watching Everyday Heroes’ prerace tantrums, but said he knew his mount was a little “quirky.’’

“He’s just a colt who realized he’s bigger than everybody else,’’ said Hill. “He’s like a big kid. But he’s got a ton of talent.’’

So does Hill, who also won the Seabiscuit Stakes, 5 furlongs scheduled for the turf but moved to the track after the downpour, aboard Awakino Cat. “It was a little bit wet but that actually helped me out,’’ said Hill, who won in 58.93 seconds.

“I love Boston,’’ Hill said. “I’ve never ridden here before but I’ve come up to Boston to hang out. Everyone here is so nice.’’

Suffolk Downs needs more than nice. Hill has won at Saratoga and Keeneland, racing’s top tracks, and said there is no better experience than winning in front of those cheering crowds.

“You feel like horse racing is alive,’’ he said.