 Good morning everyone it's election day. Good morning. Good morning so today is November 3rd and we are here today for public meeting and hearing on Plain Ville Gaming and Redevelopment LLC's application for a license to hold or conduct the race meeting for 2021 it is November 3rd 10 a.m. and we are conducting this meeting virtually using remote technology to connect us off for this hearing under relief granted to us by Governor Baker's executive order giving us relief from certain provisions of the open meeting law so I'll call this hearing and meeting to order and turn it over to Dr. Lightbound who will be really emceeing our hearing today. Commissioners I think that today's effort is as Commissioner Cameron say is mostly a listening exercise but we are permitted to ask questions I know that we will be turning to this matter again on Thursday as we consider the application for vote so today is really a day for us to gain insights and input from the public and stakeholders so that we can make an informed decision on this application anything you want to add commissioners I see no no no okay then we'll get started Dr. Lightbound thank you. Good morning commissioners and Madam Chair. This year the only application we got for racing thoroughbred or harness racing is the application from Plain Ridge Park Casino that we're going to be discussing today and I'll turn it over to Steve O'Toole director of racing for Plain Ridge he also has with him Chris McElaine vice president of racing for Penn National and Lisa McKinney the compliance officer they're also on the line if there's a specific questions so with that I'll turn it over to Steve O'Toole. Thank You Alex. So the I'd like to thank the commissioners and also the attendees the chiefs and the people from the town Jen Thompson the administrator for joining us this morning as well as Chip if he gets on the line something about here. This is the properties 23rd season that we'll be applying for actually for me it's 21st application that I put together and submitted 2020 was the 7th season for Penn National Gaming as Plain as Plainville Gaming and Redevelopment the 2021 application is the 8th application for for this property. Before I get into the nuts and bolts of the application pending before you I'd just like the touch back on the on this season the 2020 which has been arduous to say the least we have we're scheduled to do about 68 days of the 110 days last year we have 11 days left and we have been fairly successful in carrying out the the 57 days so far with under the COVID protocols that we went over with the Commission back when we opened in July so we're scheduled to pay out about six and a half dollars in purses and overnight purses the breeder to the standard breeders have just finished their mass bread series and that series they awarded 1.3 million dollars in purses to the sire steaks and that's down from 1.8 million last year so not really a bad hit for considering that the that the that the revenue generators were shut down for three months I'd really like to commend my staff Dr. Lightbaum staff for really going above and beyond we did suffer and I'm not sure if Alex suffered any casualties to her staff but we did suffer some staff people that coming back to work so we had a we did have a bit of a chore filling a lot of spots a lot of people put on many different hats and I really want to commend my staff because it's not this is one person on my staff that is able to work from home and here really took that opportunity to to work from home my staff both the on the front side on the customer facing side as well as the horseman side they they really went above and beyond and they deal with the public each and every day and they've done a great job and they've taken on responsibilities that that initially weren't theirs but in order to you know to deal with the situations both in the simulcasting area as well as the horse racing areas they've done a fantastic job and with Alex's I had a conversation through text message with Alex last week but she was concerned that you know with the spike in numbers that we've seen that maybe it was time to reinforce some of the values that we've been able to operate under and I know she did that with her staff and I thought that was a great idea so we're looking forward to finishing the season on a positive note and not having any interruptions or any or any problems it's gone well so far we are moving into the cold of weather and things are moving inside so we need to be a little bit more diligent then then we have been just reinforcing everything as things tighten down people are you know cuddling together a little bit warmer in the month of November but we're optimistic that things are gonna go well so with that being said I'd like to thank you for allowing me to present the application for the 2021 I've submitted a completed application 125 thousand dollar bond continuation certificate the $2100 fee as well as 16 exhibits and I feel that those exhibits will you'll see with those exhibits that we will meet the seven criteria for a licensure to hold a racing meeting in Massachusetts and that is the final the financial ability to operate a race track the maximization of state revenues the suitability of the racing facility for operation at the time of year which the dates are granted the accommodation of large groups of spectators in a safe and convenient environment according the the public racing competition that is honestly managed and good quality having the proper physical facilities for racing meetings and the necessity to accord fair treatment for the economic interest and investments of those from good faith that provided and maintained the facilities playing though gaming and redevelopment the parent company and national is a leader in the gaming and racing industry 13 racing facilities in the nine different jurisdictions and also kind of operates three off track way to during facilities in two different states as well as the national ADW account positive way during platform Hollywood races it's obvious that I have great support from the corporate racing team that's headed up by Chris McLean vice president of racing operations at Penn I just like to take some time to highlight some points in exhibit 25 as to why this application is beneficial to the public and to the Commonwealth and to the applicant and national takes pride in creating a racing atmosphere that the public enjoys that's safe for the horsemen and our our facility is definitely well maintained and provides a convenient safe atmosphere for customers and our horsemen even in this even in these most difficult times we also offer through international sound and some other technology we offer our racing officials the latest technology to carry out their duties to maintain and ensure that the racing is of high quality and is honestly managed under a normal year as I explained we would have conducted last year 110 racing days that is that pretty well fills the schedule that we can that we can do here safely between the months of April and November as I said this year we're scheduled to do the 68 because of the interruption and payout purses about six and a half million dollars the track is has been very good all year the sire steaks the mass bread races saw a lot of their records fall we had a world record set in the spirit of mass truck as well as as well as a lot of other records of this year and the track has been very good at me that absolutely it was one incident it was not a catastrophic breakdown we had one incident that was actually before the race started where a couple horses when they were turning bumped and one of the jockens fell off or the drivers fell off and broke a couple ribs but it was there hasn't been any accidents this year from start to finish of the race so with that being said with the hundred and ten days we we have applied for over 33 weeks schedule racing three days a week Monday Thursday Friday and some four-day weeks which include Sunday towards the end of the year we believe that the economic generator that we provide here at plane ridge benefits the Commonwealth as well as the horsemen the schedule is consistent with the past seasons that we've applied for and it's suited for the time of year that we've applied for so we believe that there's sufficient evidence provided in the application and in my short testimony I think I've kept it fairly short and some of the testimony that you'll hear from others that granted these dates benefit our horsemen the public and in return provide for the fair treatment and economic interest of playing ball gaming and redevelopment I thank you again the opportunity to present another application I don't know how many more I have left in me but I can answer any questions you might have as far as as far as the racing this year I anticipated next year I'm glad to answer anything that yeah questions at the stage or should we move on to the next speaker okay if the commissioners are okay with it I'll go ahead and take Chief James Alfred the chief of the Plainville police next so we can get back to his duties if he needs to chief Alfred good morning I'm chairman on the police perspective happy to report we maintain a very professional relationship with plane rich and national management they do a great job communications are always open crime-wise there's little to a well-run facility and we have very very few minor incidents there so I'm calling a model facility actually they do they do a great job there so from the police effect of we have little to report any type of current activity so if you have any questions for me I'd be more willing to I had a quick question for chief Alfred first of all good to see you chief and I just first of all I just wanted to thank you for for in a very trying year working so hard the men and women of your department along with you know our state police members who keep both the casino and the racetrack safe and the patrons safe every single day and I know this has been a trying year for the department and again my thanks and you have given us we've learned to have great faith over the years in the collaborative interaction at the casino and the racetrack and it's just much appreciated and you frankly made our jobs easier because of the good work of your department so I want to thank you in particular with this trying year well thank you commissioner and I should mention we do have a great working relationship with the state police or on site every day with us or us with them and we work all together as I mentioned in a previous hearing I think it's a model for success I think it has been and continue and and thank you by the way commissioner for your support as well through the years and guidance with the background that you have coming from you know the state police in New Jersey as well as the game down there so spent a great team effort was all involved thank you very much for your support thank you questions questions or comments for chief Alfred chief we just saw again I echo Commissioner Cameron's thanks and our gratitude we know that you have an important job to do today to protect the residents of Plainville's right to vote so it's a very busy day it's a busy day in the most critical day today every day your job is critical but we know that you're in need so unless there's particular questions we'll release you but we do know that you are a great partner for Dr. O'Toole and his team and for Dr. Leibhahn so we appreciate your report today and input good luck today thank you thank you very much Dr. Leibhahn okay so the next person we'll take is chief Justin Alexander the chief of the Plainville fire department hi Dr. Leibhahn it's Jennifer Thompson the town administrator and madam chair if you wouldn't mind as you know we're still a very small town and chief Alexander got called away for an emergency call so I'm happy to speak on his behalf or I can just do it all in my comments if you'd like thank you Jennifer Thompson was going to be our next speaker the town administrator for Plainville so I'll turn it over to her now thank you Jennifer thank you so for first of all you've all heard me thank you Dr. Leibhahn and thank you to the commissioners for having us you're probably sick of hearing from me the last month and a half about how wonderful our relationship is with with Plain Ridge and Penn National but so I'll try to keep it brief but you know we have that same positive wonderful relationship when it comes to racing and I think you all know the history of Plainville and how deeply the racing industry is in Plainville and how much it meant to us to keep racing alive and you know we just had a wonderful success with Penn National as you know our relationship with Plain Ridge and Penn has been incredibly positive since since they opened we have a wonderful public-private partnership they are our largest taxpayer in town but most importantly as you've heard me speak to the last few months is their response to the town especially in COVID and during a pandemic and how excellent they've been to work with and that definitely falls is true on the racing side as well so every precaution that we see they work very closely with our Board of Health and obviously very closely with our public safety professionals has been top-notch and they're in constant communication and as you heard Mr. O'Toole speak to during his presentation very little incidents they work very well with our fire and EMS to ensure the safety of the employees and the jockeys and the in the horses and the public and they've done a wonderful job so in terms of Chief Alexander's testimony today I think he would echo those comments he works very closely with everyone at Penn National and especially on the racing side when it comes to being prepared for any sort of an EMS emergency that might occur they are very easy to work with they're very responsive and very responsible so the town of course fully supports this application and we thank you for your time and certainly here to answer any questions that you might have. Questions? Again Madam Chair I do not have a question but I just again want to express my gratitude. Administrator Thompson you know what a wise decision I know you were part of the tail end of that to use that money so wisely for that beautiful town hall and public safety building and all the work you do behind the scenes to make this very successful endeavor here in the Commonwealth and please give our thanks to Chief Alexander too he has been an integral partner in how well and how safe this racing season in a year like this has been as well as the casino so please pass on our thanks. Thank you. Good luck to you today too we know it's busy busy day for every municipal leader so thank you. Thank you. Any further questions? Dr. Lopet, Light-Bellum. Our next speaker is Raymond Campbell he's the President of the Standard Bed Owners of Massachusetts as you know they're the designated representative of the Massachusetts harness breeders. Mr. Campbell. Hi good morning thank you Dr. Light-Bellum and thank you to the commissioners for the opportunity to speak regarding the Plain Merge Park application for 2021. The Standard Bread Owners group sure as you folks are well aware we go in front of you every year to be appointed the group to represent the breeders and also to provide for the sire steak races in Massachusetts. The breeding program provides for eligible horses to race in the Massachusetts sire steak races. The 2020 racing season was concluded a little over a week ago on 1026. It was another successful year with more participation, more competition and an increased talent level. The Plain Ridge Park staff was once again very important in the smooth running and continued success of the program. The things that they do behind the scenes very willingly and with great flexibility to make the program go off really quite efficiently is there to be commended. It's a terrific relationship. They've also offered this year restricted races for young mass bred horses in the overnight races which has increased opportunities for those horses and again will lead to and is leading to more interest and more value for the mass bred horses. The Plain Ridge Park staff has been a very willing partner in helping our organization which has continued to lead us into more growth and again interest in the program which is key at this point. The interest continues to expand way beyond Massachusetts. By them allowing for other horses to or for mass bred horses to have more opportunities they're really setting the groundwork for a very strong future without the cooperation of Plain Ridge Park and least of all a place to race. We wouldn't be afforded that opportunity. The breeding program wouldn't go and all the things that you've we've spoken of in the past that are positive for the state of Massachusetts with the breeding program. So it's very important just to touch on that it's a team effort. We work very closely with management. We're very appreciative of that and I think the the members and and people in all people involved would would agree with that and thank you for the opportunity again to to speak today on in favor of Plain Ridge Park. Thank you. Questions commissioners? Comments? Okay thank you Mr. Campbell. Thank you very much for coming in. Dr. Leipow? Surely. That concludes the people who have signed up to speak. I don't know if you want to make further comments or go from there but that completes the people that signed up. And you've raised a good point. We did invite folks if they didn't sign up if they wanted to offer public input today it's a little tricky for us to navigate who might wish to speak if they are joining. Sharra I don't know if we can look to see if there's any waving of hands I don't see anything or anyone. We have a couple of phone call-ups who would have to unmute by pressing star six if they chose to make a comment. I don't think we're hearing anyone. Sharra do you see anyone that I might be missing? But you're on mute sorry. Sorry my spacebar didn't work. Nope you haven't missed anybody. Okay then there's no further input. Alex how would you like to proceed? Are we set to conclude today or do we need to do any other wrap-up business? I believe that's all we have for today so as long as it's okay to end the meeting at this point we could. Before we close we'll go through for each commissioner to see if they have any comments or questions. Commissioner Zuniga. Thank you Madam Chair. I actually had a comment and a question perhaps we can speak a little bit more about the economics of this coming year but let me start by saying that I think he has many racing seasons ahead of him. Don't don't let you know the white hair fool you into and the experience into suggesting that that he's close to the finish line there but but see did you look back a little bit at the recent year since the award of the casino license there was a clear trend up in terms of field size in terms of racing days we all know about that and of course purses as well as the breeding programs and perhaps if you could kind of level us to you know the next year of course with a caveat with a very large caveat of what these you know pandemic might might do we already know it did a little bit of diminished purses because the casinos were closed for at least you know the period that they were closed you know from March meet March to early July so that has a direct effect in the funding of purses not entirely but just partially so if you could speak a little bit about in that trend if you will are we holding steady in terms of economics will we see a dip that could be perhaps you know corrected you spoke about the number of days but what about other things like field size reading you know purse wagering etc. So it's a multi-pronged question with a lot of different answers and a lot of different variables but it's for me it's easy to explain I'm not sure if the ears that are hearing me are easy to decipher what I'm saying but the field size the question on field size is that has not been an issue this year and what and the reason that it hasn't been an issue this year is because our purses have been very well they've been very good we're averaging 90 awarding $95,000 on average a racing day and so there's a lot of interest a lot of shippers a lot of new new people trying to race with us so we have as Chip Campbell has said we restricted some races to Massachusetts bred horses we've also restricted some races to Massachusetts owned horses and we have also given Massachusetts owned horses and Massachusetts trained horses preference to get in before we take any other horses that come in from the outside trainers that haven't been here before horses that haven't been here before so the field size has flushed out very well because when we get down to that preference level then we just fill in with outsiders if you will to fill out the cards so the so the field size has been very good the competition has been very good as Chip pointed out in the sire steak races it's been excellent and in our overnight it's been excellent as well the pandemic has you know hit racing just like it's hit every other business I think it's hit racing a little bit more than it was hit the casino industry our numbers and our numbers at least here at Plain Ridge are down a little bit more than would like to see them they're not the same they haven't taken the same hit as the casino has taken a little bit more of a hit simulcasting as well as our live racing the export which is our signal going out to other venues has been okay it hasn't been over the top we were hoping that that would be something that would increase more than it has so pandemic definitely has had an effect on on on racing and the racing customers our customers you know we're not seeing the people come to the track like they used to we are seeing a lot of people coming and watching from the grass area and you know not being not coming into the building so that means that they're probably not wager so it's very difficult you know the interest level is still there but the wagering is definitely on that being said I think we've done you know a pretty good job at getting the you know for sick for for the days that we've raced getting a lot of purse money out into the out into the hands of the horsemen and the shippers that come in as well as the local people that come in in order to spend their money locally and do things there's not as many opportunities with restaurants and things like that but there still is all the ancillary benefits that comes along with the racing and the activity that goes on here I think you know last year I think I reported that my purse account was right around 10 million for 110 days so for 68 days I think it's very that's on a very level keel as far as the amount of racing that we've done that the six six and a half million dollars with the 68 days is right in line with what we've what we've done over the past we went into this season with a little bit of a carryover in the purse account which was a good thing and you know we're in flux now you know with new restrictions of hours of operation and things like that so the racing revenues have dropped the resource development fund monies have dropped the live handle has it has dropped so all those things go into the overall purse account and so for us so for us to maintain what we've maintained and award what we've awarded I think that that's pretty even in you know considering where we were last year now going forward I'm not really sure you know obviously I'm not really sure where we're going to be but with those adjustments even if we take a hit in in the purses we have been awarding a very nice purse for the caliber of horses and the caliber of investments that the owners and trainers have put into these animals I think it's well rewarding and even if it if we have to take a little bit of a hit in 2021 I still think that the economic generator will be sufficient and will be comparable to what we have and we do a very good job I like to say we do but my race secretary does a very good job at keeping that flow very even with very subtle changes to classes very subtle changes to purses the purse structure I think that if you saw our racing last year and the purses and races you saw our racing this year not knowing that there was a pandemic going on it was less days or whatever you would see very little sway in the purses awarded and what the trainers are hurting her race not so much overall for the season but per their efforts into each each race I think I covered I think I covered all the facets of your question I think so very well by the way and thank you much other questions for Steve I think that I'll just highlight we were we were all together for with the playing bill and playing rich park casino community for the public hearing on the real licensure of PPC and I think that my fellow commissioners and I would all agree that we were struck by the number of folks who who spoke in general on behalf of PPC but many who commented on horse racing and the impact of the horse racing community and the breeding community we had extensive testimony that day and that wasn't that long ago so the fact that today we haven't heard as much from the the actual community members and that community is perhaps a reflection that we did just hear extensively from them and it was a love fest wasn't it it was very very positive input and it was for me a little bit of an awakening around about the breeding community and the fact that the plainville community is surrounded by breeders I had mistakenly thought most of that was further west in the state so I'm just going to be reminded of that positive input as well as today's positive input as we reflect on the application for this this Thursday's discussion and vote Dr. Lightman will Steve will you be available on Thursday as well should the commissioners have any additional questions I will okay excellent so the good news is that we have had considerable input through this meeting today consistent that would be input we got gosh it was just a month ago or so right so any further comments commissioner Stevens are you all set okay great commissioner Brian I'll set thank you thank you push your Cameron all set thank you okay Christian Zinica thank you very much everybody good all right well done Dr. I got as always come on Steve I have one question for commissioner Stevens is 362 the longest home run that you hit is that with that 362 stands for uh no it's it's it's it's a piece of an outfill why if there was 3.62 feet maybe but thanks for noticing Steve we'll get that backstory another time apparently well we'll leave with that on Thursday how about that right okay all right well thank you to everybody who contributed today and again good luck to our our leaders in the municipal public safety and municipal offices today on this very big day in the week ahead thank you Jennifer so much all right I guess and I'll need a motion to adjourn so move thank you second thank you okay commissioner Cameron hi mr. Brian hi commissioner Zinica hi mr. Stevens hi and I vote yes and thank you Sharra and dr. I found for organizing this meeting everybody have a good day thank you so much go vote thank you thank you