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Plainville, MA — The 2024 Spirit of Massachusetts Trot harness racing card at Plainridge Park that was held on Sunday (July 21) turned out to be the most successful at the windows in the seven-year history of the event.
The $334,389 overall handle was the highest total ever realized for a Spirit Day card and the $48,137 on-track take was the second highest behind only the 2019 program.
Steve O’Toole, Director of Racing at Plainridge Park, was very happy with those numbers and was quick to credit those who made it happen.
“We have a very loyal customer base at Plainridge and they came out in force on a beautiful summer day to bet on a very competitive card of racing put together by race secretary, Paul Verrette. I want to thank my entire staff for their hard work in planning and logistics leading up to Sunday in order to put on this first-class event. We are already looking forward to next year,” said O’Toole.
Important bill defeated last week
A bill that was introduced as a result of the FY25 budget proposal by the Governor and Senate of Massachusetts which would have severely impacted the Race Horse Development Fund in the state, was defeated last week.
This was accomplished in part by the unified support of the hard-working horsemen and women who race at Plainridge Park, many of whom are associated with the Standardbred Owners of Massachusetts (SOM).
The SOM would like to thank all our members who made calls and sent letters to our representatives in government, whose combined efforts and support helped to preserve our breeder’s fund and purse structure, so racing in the state can continue to grow and remain strong.
The SOM would also like to thank Pilgrim Strategies for their hard work on our behalf, in order to achieve this positive outcome.
by Tim Bojarski, for Plainridge Park
