Tag: Sterling Suffolk Racecourse

Rep. William "Smitty" Pignatelli, D-Lenox, said he is "personally very optimistic" about the chances of the petition passing in one form or another.

It is not clear precisely when the home-rule petition hearing will begin. There are 10 hearings starting at 1 p.m. and the Great Barrington hearing is seventh on the list for that afternoon.

At a special town meeting Dec. 11 almost 300 residents overwhelmingly passed a warrant item on a home-rule petition.

In the spirit of reflection and self-examination, herein lies The Edge's second annual Great Barrington year in review. It includes some select stories from other South County towns as well, along with embedded links to Edge stories for more information.

"I do not not anticipate any issues whatsoever to get the home-rule bill through. We're a home-rule state. Whatever the town wants, I am for." -Rep. William "Smitty Pignatelli, D-Lenox

"Whatever revenues come from it ... will be blood money. It's disrespectful to our town and it has to be stopped." -- Matt Rubiner

Presently, the real revenues from commercial horse racing would be from off-track-betting run out of a simulcast location across the State.

But there is a workaround for local control. The project would require as many as three special permits from the town.

In a letter to the editor, Beryl Birch writes, "... the list of horse racing woes keeps growing and public interest in horse racing is waning, primarily due to the list of more and more horse deaths in tracks around the country..

In a letter to the editor, Bob Meyers writes, "According to the EPA, the types of animal waste pollutants discharged by Sterling Suffolk Racecourse threaten human health and the environment."

"Over the past few weeks I have met, spoken with, and received testimony from many in my District who are concerned with this proposal: either because they do not support horse racing as an industry, or because they are concerned with the legislation as it is currently drafted." --Sen. Adam Hinds, D-Pittsfield

In a letter to the editor, Scott Plantier writes, "Sterling Suffolk Racecourse successfully lobbied our legislature for loophole-laden legislation (S.101 and H.13) specifically aimed at sleepy, small-town Massachusetts."

Town officials have said Sterling Suffolk Racecourse would need at least two special permits: One for commercial amusement and another for floodplain protection, and possibly a third for work in the town’s water quality protection overlay district.

Suffolk needs a change in state law to permit it to hold races in Great Barrington while at the same time allowing it to maintain its simulcasting and betting operations back in East Boston. Racing at the fairgrounds would also require permits from the town.