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N.H. racetrack fighting for survival
SALEM, N.H. -- Ed Callahan has a plan. He's had it for a couple of years. He ``knows what makes sense, " knows what he would like to see.
As he ponders the future while sitting in the half-filled Turf Club on a sleepy, misty afternoon, Callahan, the vice president and general manager at Rockingham Park, is waiting for the running of the New Hampshire Sweepstakes, which used to be one of the marquee events at the Rock.
But that was back when stars both human and equine, such as Seabiscuit and Dr. Fager, Willie Shoemaker and Eddie Arcaro, and local legend Carl Gambardella made stops here.
Now there is a mall next door, and harness racing has replaced the thoroughbreds. In the 100th summer since Rockingham Park first opened its gates, the atmosphere is much more low key.
Racing is in trouble in New England. Crowds are down, purses are shrinking, and the future is as cloudy as the sky as Callahan looks ahead. Yet Callahan still sees blue skies through the clouds.
``The ideal situation would be to get some kind of subsidy such as slots or something like that, which would help build up the purses," said Callahan, who has been at the Rock since 1984, ``and then I could see us coming up with a spring, summer, and fall circuit, where we have harness racing in May and June, go to the flats in July, August, and early September, and then go back to harness racing for a few more weeks in the fall. We'd have to do a lot of work to make it work, but we could do it."
In a region where horse racing -- particularly thoroughbred racing -- is wheezing for survival, where historic tracks such as Narragansett and Lincoln Downs have been either torn down or converted, where Suffolk Downs seems to be on a week-to-week lease, the Rock is trying to put on its best face, offering some relief for summertime blues.
Sure, it's harness racing, with limited cards, small purses, and smaller crowds, except on big simulcast days, but it's racing at the Rock in the summer and that still seems special. Always has been, despite a century of missteps.
Officially, the Rock opened June 28, 1906, a million-dollar palace that promoted itself as the finest racetrack in the world. A 2-year-old thoroughbred named Alyth won the first race.
Three days later, there was confusion. Since gambling was illegal in New Hampshire the betting windows had to be closed. The Rock's investors went underground for the rest of the 21-day meet, and at the end of the summer the finest racetrack in the world was shut down.
With no betting, racing was dead at the Rock for almost 30 years. There were other events such as weeklong harness cards, dirt bike racing, hot air balloon shows, and carnivals, but no thoroughbred racing.
Incredibly, history repeated itself in the summer of 1931 when the New Hampshire Breeders Association, which had purchased the track for the bargain price of $300,000 in the spring, held another grand opening. A crowd of 15,000 watched thoroughbreds race, but they still couldn't bet. Six days later, the Rock was closed again.
This time the hiatus lasted only two years as Lou Smith and Sam Simon, who had been fans of the Rock since watching auto racing there in 1929, helped wage a successful campaign to get the state Legislature to legalize betting. In a town meeting in April 1933, the people of Salem voted to restore racing at the Rock by a vote of 617-2.
Finally, the Rock was able to live up to its hype. The horses came, and so did the fans. Seabiscuit, still a legend in the making, came to Rockingham five times and never won. Those types of historical footnotes are what keep Callahan optimistic.
For most of his stay at the Rock, Callahan has been in battle mode -- against Suffolk Downs, dog tracks, the lottery commission, even the casino backers in Connecticut.
``The biggest problem all of us faced was when Foxwoods opened in 1992," said Callahan. ``Business for everybody went down and it's never coming back. We don't have the tools to compete for that.
``The top 100 gamblers who were all here in 1990 are all sitting down in Connecticut. Foxwoods was the thing that swung the pendulum in the wrong direction. Since then everybody is fighting for the scraps that are left over. We handled $200 million in 1990, $195 million in 1991, and $93 million in 1992. Fifty percent of our business went out the door."
Things got worse when Suffolk Downs, which had closed its doors for two years, reopened in the early 1990s with an attitude that suggested confrontation, not compromise.
``The statement that sticks with me," said Callahan, ``is that [Suffolk] said, `We won't sit down with you until there is blood on the racetrack.' "
The sniping has continued ever since, and while Suffolk is hoping for a slot machine transfusion to save its life, Rockingham is adjusting and surviving.
``Everybody is working so hard to make this work," said Gina Traficante, who grew up in Salem and has worked as a waitress in the Turf Club for two years, plus worked the circuit at Keeneland and Churchill Downs as well. ``The business here has declined and our best days are with the [Kentucky] Derby and the Preakness. Everybody here is looking forward to the time when the thoroughbreds come back."
Callahan said it is an ongoing period of adjustment. ``The employees have been great. They have done a remarkable job of working with less."
Callahan toyed with the idea of bringing thoroughbreds back this summer for a limited schedule on the Rockingham turf course, but an agreement could not be reached with Suffolk, which fears more erosion to its horse base.
``It's sad for everybody that loves racing," said Callahan. ``There is a beauty and grace to racing. Yet we're all in trouble here if something doesn't happen in the near future. I'm not going to throw harness racing to the wind. But we can shift the days to make it work."
Gambardella, the winningest jockey in Rockingham history with more than 6,000 wins and $29 million in earnings (and who will be inducted into the New England Turf Writers Hall of Fame next month), hopes that the flats come back to the Rock. ``It's sad to see the way things have turned out," said Gambardella, 67. ``At one time, it was a nice circuit. You had Suffolk, Lincoln Downs, the Rock, and [Narragansett Park]. It was a family-type atmosphere. Even if Suffolk closes, I would like to see racing come back here, even if it's cheap racing."
Callahan said the ownership of Rockingham Park wants to make a go of the racing season.
``They would love to see a top thoroughbred meet," said Callahan. ``They have been approached by 100 different developers who know there is an asset here. We know what can be done, what it will cost, and how much money can be made. But they love racing. That's what it all comes down to. They would love to see it work in a grand fashion. That's the ultimate design. Whether we can be there or not, we'll see."
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