Suffolk Downs prepares workers for closing, layoffs

Suffolk Downs is sending out notifications to employees that it will not seek a racing license for 2015 after the current season ends on Sept. 29, meaning layoffs for hundreds of direct employees and vendor workers, as well as loss of income for hundreds more horsemen who derive their income from closing track.

Suffolk Downs chief operating officer Chip Tuttle said he met with track workers this morning to discuss the decision not to seek a racing license, and plans more formal meetings soon, after the track lost its bid for a casino yesterday.

“It’s a very difficult day,” Tuttle said. “Lots of people who were very uncertain about what they’re going to do and don’t quite understand what happened. I told them it was unfortunate that we tried so hard, why their jobs mattered, and our regulators have clearly decided they don’t. It’s a fairly painful message.”

The state Gaming Commission’s decision yesterday to license a Wynn casino in Everett over a Mohegan Sun casino at Suffolk Downs. Suffolk Downs has maintained it is not financially viable without a casino. Tuttle said the track hasn’t turned a profit since 2006.

Tuttle says he expects seasonal workers to wind down their employment as they always do for a week or two after the racing season. Year-round employees were notified layoffs could being as soon as Nov. 20, the 60-day notice window.

There are 176 full- and part-time employees directly on Suffolk Downs’ payroll. Track vendors number about 150 — for concessions, cleaning, television production, and security. An estimated 400 to 500 people work breeding and racing horses at the track and derive income from purses for their placement in races.

Tuttle said the future of the 160-acre property remains uncertain.

“It’s very early in the process and right now we’re focused on our workforce and not the development opportunities,” Tuttle said. “But it’s safe to say that the highest and best of this property is no longer as a racetrack.”