An old working-class pastime fades away at the storied Revere track: “Not with a bang but a whimper,” as the poet T.S. Eliot once wrote
Revere, Mass. – The green and white striped awning above the Clubhouse welcomes customers for simulcast Thoroughbred race betting at the Suffolk Downs horse track.
Behind the large doors, there are rows of tellers and betting machines along each wall—with chairs and tables throughout the center of the room. The main attraction lies in the middle of the big room: the wall of TVs all programmed to a different race.
“And they’re off,” said one patron as the horses on screen left the gate.
A minute later, the horse crossed the finish line and another patron said, “Winner, winner, chicken dinner,” excited to see their horse win.
On Saturday afternoons, locals gather in their usual spots by a TV screen, clutching their program books and putting their betting strategy into play.
“A lot of people come to hang out. It’s almost like a shelter in a way,” said Valerie Ritvo Cabezas, the Clubhouse bartender and Suffolk Downs employee since 1992.
The far wall is entirely made up of windows, overlooking the disused horse track. Beginning in 1935, Suffolk Downs hosted races year round, making the track a true destination for locals and tourists alike.
Suffolk Downs survived the woes of the racing industry for decades, but faced its final challenge in 2013. To save the track, the stakeholders arranged a deal to build a casino on the property, but East Boston residents voted it down. After the approval of a Wynn Resorts casino in the neighboring city of Everett, Suffolk Downs announced its closure in 2014.
The last live race at Suffolk Downs was in 2019. The track’s closure “was almost like a funeral,” said Fred Gass, a resident of Winthrop.
Gass cleaned stalls at Suffolk Downs as a teenager and “has been going there ever since.” Growing up, he went to the track every Saturday with his father, but now only visits for about 15 minutes to place his bets before driving back home.
“[It was] so much better to see it live,” said Raymond Baptiste, an employee of Suffolk Downs for over 40 years, from a teller booth, wearing a white Suffolk Downs Polo shirt. “The customers got an opportunity to see the horse and the jockey.”
On race day, the customers made the Clubhouse feel electric, he said. Bets were being placed left and right. Old-timers caught up with their friends. Families packed the stands for a chance to watch the race.
Ritvo Cabezas grew up in the nearby Beachmont neighborhood of Revere. “My father had horses here. My brother and my nephew raced here,” she said, adjusting her short blonde hair. “Horse racing is huge in my family history.”
“The old Beachmont people,” said someone sitting by the bar. “There aren’t many of us left.”
With only simulcast betting at the Clubhouse, Ritvo Cabezas said, “Thank God for all those good years because the last 10 have been crazy.”
In 2017, HYM Investments bought Suffolk Downs for $155 million to create a residential and commercial village, similar to the developments of Assembly Row in Somerville and Boston Landing in Brighton. Since then, Baptiste and Ritvo Cabezas said they have worked less hours and made less money.
Of the 161 acres of land, 52 acres will be redeveloped in two phases spanning over 20 years. With the first phase underway, over 800 housing units will be built, a wetland landscape called Horseshoe Pond, and the Belle Isle Square shopping plaza will be completed at the end of the phase, according to Boston Agent Magazine.
As the development process progresses, “a whole trickle down effect will happen,” said Ritvo Cabezas, while she put on her thick black glasses. “Kids will fill up the schools and the city [of Revere] can’t handle that.”
The Suffolk Downs development presents “opportunities to build the right type of housing in the right locations to grow our tax base, create jobs, contribute to climate resiliency and ultimately improve quality of life for our residents,” said Revere Chief of Planning and Community Development Tom Skwierawski.
In September, the first residential building of the development opened. The 475-unit building sits on the opposite corner from the Clubhouse and the track in the new community of Beachmont Square.
While the Clubhouse remains operational, HYM Investments plans to close the it and use the land as part of its development.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen here,” said Fred Gass.
“Sooner or later” the Clubhouse will move to a new location and the regulars will leave the current venue forever, said Ritvo Cabezas.
The Clubhouse workers are a part of a union, IBEW Local 103, that may secure them jobs at the new Clubhouse location. However, the union members are not guaranteed jobs if the Clubhouse employs a food and beverage vendor with a staff, said Ritvo Cabezas.
Ritvo Cabezas thinks the new Clubhouse will highlight sports betting more than horse racing, as sport betting increases in popularity. No matter the new focus, she said “it won’t be like this.”
This article was produced for HorizonMass, the independent, student-driven, news outlet of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism, and is syndicated by BINJ’s MassWire news service.
