Empty barns and buildings line the back lot of Suffolk Downs. Birds and Bees have made their nest and plants grow where horses once trained. Some buildings look like they should be condemned, some might be, but not today. Today there is life where there hasn’t been any for a while.
It’s rainy and cold. The barns are damp and workers like Moises Sanchez are hard at work getting ready for tomorrow’s race. Racing has returned to Suffolk Downs for a second time this year. The barns that were only home to the birds and bees are now full of hay and thoroughbreds that are waiting to run. Owners have brought their horses from up and down the East Coast to return to racing at the historic Suffolk Downs.
“I am always excited to be home,” said Jay Bernardini as he pets Navy Nurse, a celebrated thoroughbred. A horse owner and trainer, Bernardini brought nine horses to Suffolk from his stalls at Laurel Park Racetrack in Maryland. “I am a Lynn resident. My wife and son actually stay behind and I kinda co-habitat in Maryland and fly back and forth.”
“I have been racing here my whole career. When they are not racing here I go somewhere else. I am a full time trainer, so I have no option but to leave my family and go somewhere else. Where there’s racing is where I'll be,” said Bernardini.
Hellen Honsdottir and Moises Sanchez were on site at six am to prep the horses for Saturday’s racing. Giving them fresh food, fresh hay, washing them down and making them look good. Some horses were having their shoes replaced and others were just going round and round the barns getting some exercise with the hot walkers.
Honsdottir was excited to be back here. She started doing this just over two years ago while the track was still open. When she got the chance to be back here for three days she said of course. Unlike many of the other groomers, trainers and hot walkers, Honsdottir has not migrated to another track and has taken work in Waltham at a stable, but she would rather be working with race horses.
The owners greet their horses, talk to them and embrace them. Like spoiled dogs these horses have it good.
The racing day has also brought back local employees that haven’t been out on the track since the last racing day in September. “I thought it was very encouraging. It was like you can’t kill the place. Open the doors and people will come,” said Out Rider Cathy Chumbley in regards to the last racing day in September.
Most of the owners and crews know each other and share a camaraderie that is not seen in other workplaces. Everyone does everything, owners train and groom their own horses and then possibly for someone else. The lure of a day of racing even brought back Wayne Marcoux, a trainer and a owner with no current horses on site today. A Revere resident, he came down just to help. “My father was a trainer,” said Marcoux. “I took out my trainer's license and came down to help out.”
Not everyone can just walk on over thought for a day of racing. Owners like Bernardini who came from Maryland had to drive here. “We have known about these races for 30 days ago so all the prep work is down. We left at exactly 11:00pm (Thursday) and we got over the George Washington Bridge (NYC) at 3am.” Once they arrived at Suffolk they realised they left the bridles back in Maryland and had to get someone on a flight right way with them. Bernardini said that what his horses need now is “rest and relaxation.”
With the racing on Oct. 3 there will be one more day of racing on Oct. 31st. Many people want to get more racing at Suffolk, but it's an uphill battle.
“Suffolk Downs in not interested in opening up and losing money,” said Bernardini. “There are other people trying to force racing where there is none and I don’t think that’s a realistic thing. It has to be a two way street. The race track has to be able to be viable and feasible financially and offer a product that is feasible for me. I have to be able to make a living.”
Where racing in Massachusetts will end up is anyone’s gamble right now, but for today and tomorrow the horses and their teams are back at Suffolk.