Plainridge Racecourse
| Location | Plainville, Massachusetts |
|---|---|
| Owned by | Penn National Gaming |
| Date opened | March 17, 1999 |
| Race type | Harness racing |
| Course type | Flat |
| Live racing handle | $1.5 million (2011) |
| Official website | |
Plainridge Park Casino is a harness racing track and slot machine parlor in Plainville, Massachusetts, owned and operated by Penn National Gaming.
In 1997, Massachusetts's only harness racing track,Foxboro Park, was closed after a legal dispute between its owner, Robert Kraft, and its operator, Charles Sarkis. Two competing plans to resurrect the sport were soon brought before the Massachusetts Racing Commission, with Kraft seeking to reopen Foxboro under a new operator, while Gary Piontkowski, who had managed Foxboro under Sarkis, proposed to build a new track at a 90-acre site in Plainville. Kraft withdrew his application weeks later, however, leaving Piontkowski as harness racing's only hope in the state.
The Racing Commission issued a conditional license for Piontkowski's proposed track in November 1997, with a targeted opening date of May 1998. Piontkowski would purchase the land for $4.5 million, and buy an existing 40,000-square-foot building to use as the grandstand. The project would be financed by an $11 million loan from Cornerstone Capital.
Piontkowski's application ran into trouble when the Commission found that Cornerstone had never actually committed to the loan, and that Piontkowski might have used a loan broker who had since been imprisoned for bank fraud. The project was nevertheless granted a two-month extension of its financing deadline, raising criticism that commissioners were being too lenient with Piontkowski, who had previously served as the Racing Commission's chairman. By April 1998, the commission approved a new financing plan, with ownership of the track to be shared by nine investors, with Piontkowski holding a 15% share.
In May 1998, a neighboring landowner filed a lawsuit seeking to nullify the track's building permit, prompting Piontkowski to suspend construction and push back the track's debut to the next season. The lawsuit was later settled out of court.
A new application was filed in October 1998, under which the purchase of the land and construction of the track would be financed by real estate developer Lou Giuliano, who would lease the track to Piontkowski's company for $1 million per year. The Racing Commission approved the license in November.
The track opened for simulcast wagering on March 17, 1999, and held its first day of live racing a month later on April 19.
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