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Rock in a hard place Part 1
Message was posted: 02:01 Jul 3rd, 2006

User: LetItRide Rank: Casino Gold: 2990CG Contributor rating: 7880 Status: Offline

Gambling news from http://www.boston.com/ 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.