After an intense years-long campaign to secure the future of thoroughbred racing in Massachusetts, the NEHBPA announced today that its efforts to pass sports betting legislation and a more robust breeding bill succeeded in the final moments of the legislative session.
“Our members have worked tirelessly during the legislative session to speak directly to legislators about how critical the racing industry is in Massachusetts,” said Anthony Spadea, President of the New England HBPA. “We are grateful to the leadership in the House and Senate for taking the time to understand and appreciate that the sport we love is also a means to protect our farms for haying and breeding and an important source of economic development and jobs in rural Massachusetts.”
Spadea said that the NEHBPA and its partners have now secured land in Massachusetts to site a thoroughbred racetrack. We are now on track to move forward with the future plans to build an equine facility
“We would have preferred passage of this legislation sooner in the session, but like championship racing, the Legislature took this right to the wire and crossed the finish line just in time.”