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Wonderland Greyhound Park was a greyhound racing track located in Revere, Massachusetts owned by the Westwood Group. It was constructed on the site of the former Wonderland Amusement Park. Wonderland opened on June 12, 1935 and formerly offered 361 performances during its 100-day, April to September racing period. As a result of a statewide ban on dog racing which took effect on January 1, 2010, the track offered only simulcast wagering, but completely closed its doors on August 19, 2010. The track laid off the remaining 75-80 workers and closed its doors after Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick vetoed a gaming bill that could have allowed the park to add slot machines. With the end of its greyhound racing, Wonderland formed a partnership with nearby Suffolk Downs horse track to build a casino on the site, but this plan also allows the option of the track being redeveloped for commercial or mixed uses. ==History== With the legalization of Parimutuel betting by the Massachusetts Legislature in 1934, the idea of Wonderland Greyhound Park was made a possibility. The track was constructed on the site of the former Wonderland Amusement Park in Revere, which had been converted from an amusement park to a bicycle track after the parks close in 1911.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Wonderland History ) 〕 The opening night of Wonderland Greyhound Park took place on June 12, 1935 and was attended by an estimated 5,000 people. Pansy Walker won the first-ever greyhound race in the park while $58,462 was wagered for the first evening. By July 21, after 17 races, the money wagered topped $100,000, never dropping below the figure for the duration of the park's 100 night inaugural season.〔 The Westwood Group, headed by restaurateur Charles Sarkis and insurer James Kelley purchased the track in 1977 from Boston businessman Joe Linsey; new management along with the 1978 omnibus racing bill were economically beneficial as Wonderland's offerings began to expand. Under the leadership of the Westwood Group, the park made a total of four handles of over 1 million dollars; they occurred on August 29, 1981 ($1,004,826), May 5, 1983 ($1,004,740), August 11, 1984 ($1,086,554) and April 30, 1988 ($1,025,928).〔 The best year for the track according to Sarkis was in 1991, but he claims that business started to taper off as full service casinos were built in Connecticut and Rhode Island, along with the lottery which started "nibbling at gamblers' available dollars". Wonderland experienced legal issues when the City of Revere attempted to collect overdue taxes and utility bills. The track owed over two years' worth of back taxes and utility bills to the city, which threatened Wonderland with foreclosure if it failed to pay. A lien had been placed on the property in June 2007, and revocation hearings for its annual liquor and parking licenses were planned. The bill, totaling $752,301, was finally paid in a lump sum in October 2008. A similar situation also occurred in 1994, when Wonderland's owners owed over $1.5 million in back taxes. Before the end of live greyhound racing, Wonderland Greyhound Park offered 361 performances during its 100-day, April to September racing season.〔 Races on cold days were made possible through the use of over of underground piping that heated the racetrack.〔 In addition, the park featured year round simulcast which allowed patrons to bet on races at other tracks.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Wonderland Greyhound Park」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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