Based in the Massachusetts town of East Boston, Suffolk Downs racecourse first opened on 10th July 1935 soon after the state relaxed its gambling laws. Its first President was Bayard Tuckerman but later that year he was replaced by Charles Adams. Most recently Richard Fields is at the helm. In 1935 an amazing building project was launched to develop and complete a racetrack in less than 9 weeks. To the surprise of everyone it was completed in 62 days. The 8 furlong oval dirt track, with 315 metre home straight, was run by the Eastern Racing Association and the course continued to operate throughout the World War period. Its principal race remains the Massachusetts Handicap, shortened to the 'Mass Cap', which was first contested over 9 furlongs on 16th October 1935. That first race was won by the George Woolf ridden Top Row. In 1944 and again in 1945 First Fiddle achieved back to back wins, as did Smart in 1964 and 1965. The brilliant Cigar, ridden by Jerry Bailey and trained by William Mott won the race in both 1995 and 1996. On 19th April 1968 a new 7 furlong inner turf course was added, and the course now also has additional 6 furlong and 10 furlong chutes. Two years later the management decided to switch to a thoroughbred only racecourse, leading to a final harness race on 27th November 1970. The course had its setbacks in the 1980s. Tragedy struck on 29th August 1980 when stable fires saw 14 horses perish, and two years later on 24th July 1982 a further devastating fire led to the death of 11 valuable thoroughbreds. There was a further unsettling period in the late 1980s after the track was sold to Belle Isle Ltd in 1986. They repeatedly threatened closure, and on 30th December 1989 it happened. Racing lapsed for just over 2 years until the track was relaunched on 1st January 1992. Racing has continued since, although there have been many occasions when it seemed the track was under threat. |
Massachusetts Handicap winners since its inception in 1935
1935 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Top Row trained by Albert Baroni and ridden by George Woolf
1936 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Time Supply trained by Carl Roles and ridden by Raymond Workman
1937 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Seabiscuit trained by Tom Smith and ridden by Red Rollard
1938 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Menow trained by Duval Headley and ridden by Nick Wall
1939 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Fighting Fox trained by James Fitzsimmons and ridden by James Stout
1940 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Eight Thirty trained by Bert Mulholland and ridden by Harry Richards
1941 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by War Relic trained by Walter Carter and ridden by Ted Atkinson
1942 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Whirlaway trained by Ben Jones and ridden by George Woolf
1943 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Market Wise trained by George Carroll and ridden by Vincenzo Nodarse
1944 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by First Fiddle trained by Eddie Mulrenan and ridden by Johnny Longden
1945 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by First Fiddle trained by Eddie Mulrenan and ridden by Johnny Longden
1946 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Pavot trained by Oscar White and ridden by Arnold Kirkland
1947 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Stymie trained by Hirsch Jacobs and ridden by Conn McCreary
1948 The Massachusetts Handicap over 10 furlongs was won by Beauchef trained by Robert Odom and ridden by Ruperto Donoso
1949 The Massachusetts Handicap over 10 furlongs was won by First Nighter trained by William Hirsch and ridden by Joseph Renick
1950 The Massachusetts Handicap over 10 furlongs was won by Cochise trained by Virgil Raines and ridden by Eddie Arcaro
1951 The Massachusetts Handicap over 10 furlongs was won by One Hitter trained by John Gaver and ridden by Ted Atkinson
1952 The Massachusetts Handicap over 10 furlongs was won by To Market trained by Max Hirsch and ridden by William Bolland
1953 The Massachusetts Handicap over 10 furlongs was won by Royal Vale trained by James Ryan and ridden by Jack Westrope
1954 The Massachusetts Handicap over 10 furlongs was won by Wise Margin trained by S N Edmundson and ridden by Keith Stuart
1955 The Massachusetts Handicap over 10 furlongs was won by Helioscope trained by Frank Caltrone and ridden by Sam Boulmetis
1956 The Massachusetts Handicap over 10 furlongs was won by Midafternoon trained by Thomas Waller and ridden by William Bolland
1957 The Massachusetts Handicap over 10 furlongs was won by Greek Spy trained by Sherrill Ward and ridden by Eric Guerin
1958 The Massachusetts Handicap over 10 furlongs was won by Promised Land trained by Hirsch Jacobs and ridden by Pete Anderson
1959 The Massachusetts Handicap over 10 furlongs was won by Air Pilot trained by Clyde Troutt and ridden by Jack Leonard
1960 The Massachusetts Handicap over 10 furlongs was won by Talent Show trained by Clyde Troutt and ridden by Ray Broussard
1961 The Massachusetts Handicap over 10 furlongs was won by Polylad trained by Thomas Miles and ridden by Eddie Arcaro
1962 The Massachusetts Handicap over 10 furlongs was won by Air Pilot trained by Robert Holthus and ridden by Leroy Moyers
1963 The Massachusetts Handicap over 10 furlongs was won by Crimson Satan trained by Gordon Potter and ridden by Herberto Hinojosa
1964 The Massachusetts Handicap over 10 furlongs was won by Smart trained by Henry Clark and ridden by Eldon Nelson
1965 The Massachusetts Handicap over 10 furlongs was won by Smart trained by Henry Clark and ridden by Eldon Nelson
1966 The Massachusetts Handicap over 10 furlongs was won by Fast Count trained by Ivor Balding and ridden by Mike Venezia
1967 The Massachusetts Handicap over 10 furlongs was won by Good Knight trained by Arnold Scruton and ridden by Karl Korte
1968 The Massachusetts Handicap over 10 furlongs was won by Out of the Way trained by Max Hirsch and ridden by John Rotz
1969 The Massachusetts Handicap over 10 furlongs was won by Beau Marker trained by Lucien Laurin and ridden by Leroy Moyers
1970 The Massachusetts Handicap over 12 furlongs was won by Semillant trained by Angel Penna and ridden by Jean Cruguet
1971 The Massachusetts Handicap over 12 furlongs was won by Chompion trained by Ivor Balding and ridden by Jorge Velasquez
1972 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Droll Role trained by Thomas Kelly and ridden by Eddie Maple
1973 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Riva Ridge trained by Lucien Laurin and ridden by Ron Turcotte
1974 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Billy Come Lately trained by John Tammaro and ridden by Don MacBeth
1975 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Stonewalk trained by Daniel Lopez and ridden by Ron Turcotte
1976 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Dancing Champ trained by Bud Delp and ridden by Chris McCarron
1977 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs resulted in a dead heat between Swinging Hal, trained by James Woods and ridden by Steve Pagano, and Blue Times trained by Laz Barrera and ridden by Angel Cordero jnr
1978 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Big John Taylor trained by Doug Peterson and ridden by Jacinto Vasquez
1979 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Island Sultan trained by David Hofmans and ridden by John Ruane
1980 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Ring of Light trained by Pancho Martin and ridden by Frank Lovato jnr
1981 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Soldier Boy trained by Dominique Imprescia and ridden by Roger Danjean
1982 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Silver Supreme trained by Richard DeStasio and ridden by Eric Beitia
1983 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Let Burn trained by William Perry and ridden by Jack Penney
1984 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Dixieland Band trained by Charles Peoples and ridden by Declan Murphy
1985 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Bounding Basque trained by Woody Sedlacek and ridden by Antonio Graell
1986 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Skip Trial trained by Sonny Hine and ridden by Jean-Luc Samyn
1987 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Waquoit trained by Guido Federico and ridden by Chris McCarron
1988 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Lost Code trained by L William Donovan and ridden by Craig Perret
1989 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Private Terms trained by Charles Hadry and ridden by Kent Desormeaux
1990-94 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was not contested
1995 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Cigar trained by William Mott and ridden by Jerry Bailey
1996 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Cigar trained by William Mott and ridden by Jerry Bailey
1997 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Skip Away trained by Sonny Hine and ridden by Shane Sellers
1998 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Skip Away trained by Sonny Hine and ridden by Jerry Bailey
1999 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Behrens trained by H James Bond and ridden by Jorge Chavez
2000 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Running Stag trained by Philip Mitchell and ridden by John Velazquez
2001 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Include trained by Bud Delp and ridden by Jerry Bailey
2002 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Macho Uno trained by Joe Orseno and ridden by Gary Stevens
2003 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was not contested
2004 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Offlee Wild trained by Richard Dutrow and ridden by Edgar Prado
2005-6 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was not contested
2007 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Brass Hat trained by William Bradley and ridden by Willie Martinez
2008 The Massachusetts Handicap over 9 furlongs was won by Commentator trained by Nick Zito and ridden by John Velazquez |
