"... the Amesbury native knows first-hand that life can become derailed when least expected. Having established herself as a solid journeyman rider in a talented jockey colony that included Carl Gambardella and Rudy Baez in the late ’80s while riding under her maiden name as Tammi Campbell, she seemed destined to become a star. However, a recurring case of viral meningitis interrupted that rise to stardom on several occasions while triggering a decade of more debilitating problems that nearly took her life.

“I’ve been blessed this year. This is the best decade of my life.”

"Piermarini, 44, originally from Salisbury, began her racing career at Suffolk in 1985 as an apprentice jockey. Over the course of 26 years, three pregnancies, repeated bouts of debilitating spinal meningitis, and upward of $17 million in purse winnings, she diligently has carved out one of the sport’s more impressive careers for a woman. Not that she really considers 'for a woman' to be a necessary qualifier in the overall discussion of her time in the saddle, because she now has exactly 14,206 races and, oh, the odd dustup in the jocks room with some of her brothers is ample evidence that she considers her sport a level playing field."

"Although his business has yet to take off at Suffolk, Rocco has made has a positive impression, both personally and professionally. In the second race June 27, he got every inch of run out of Lily's Goldmine, a 7-year-old Massachusetts-bred making her first start in eight months, against open company in an $11,000 starter allowance. Lily's Goldmine went off at 45-1, but with Rocco aboard, she finished fourth ..."

"On Jan. 29, the New England horsemen withdrew their consent for races from the New York Racing Association to be simulcast in Massachusetts and now races from Beulah Park are no longer available. As of tomorrow (Sunday, Feb. 6), races from Tampa Bay Downs will not be available and Gulfstream Park must stop sending its signal on Monday. Under Massachusetts statute, Advance Deposit Wagering account holders in the state are also prohibited from betting those tracks through TVG, Twin Spires, ExpressBet and other concerns."

"Suffolk and Wonderland, which are essentially a single entity, and which have pumped a combined $3 million into gambling lobbying since 2005, are especially troublesome. They’re basically the speaker’s tracks. They’ve long been the odds-on favorites to win a casino license. If they’d won one last year, the deal would have looked wired and unseemly, but also not all that unexpected. Things are different now."

“The unfortunate fact of the matter is that absent expanded gaming, the business model for 100 days of racing here is not sustainable,” said Chip Tuttle, Suffolk Downs chief operating officer. “The horsemen are having a very difficult time coming to grips with that.”

"The top spender was Sterling Suffolk Racecourse, which runs the Suffolk Downs racetrack. The racetrack spent more than $850,000 trying to persuade lawmakers to approve an expanded gambling bill."

"This is when the most need is, this time of the year," Montfort says. "We expect to have 80 to 90 horses for sale at the Showcase." This year's Showcase will be held on the Suffolk Downs backstretch October 24.

Paulick Report interview with Chip Tuttle. "We’re certainly not throwing in the towel and there are scenarios under which the legislature would return to formal session before the end of the year to take up other issues. If that’s the case, it would be natural for them to address gaming, too. There may still be room for compromise between the parties."

"The cuts risk further hurting racing at Suffolk Downs. Bruce Patten, acting executive director of the New England Horsemen’s Benevolence & Protective Association, said the cost-cutting 'creates a dilemma for the horse owners. They have to decide whether to take their horses and go somewhere else, or stick it out for the rest of the season.' The current season ends on Nov. 13."

"Yes, to an 'outsider' it may look positively dysfunctional. And, yes, we all know that if Suffolk Downs doesn’t survive life will go on. But to a significant group of people it will go on with a big piece missing."

"I remember a time when the starting gate in a route race on the turf course was in front of the grandstand. The driver of the tractor, which would pull the gate away when the horses exited for the start, left the keys in the ignition. All of a sudden, a fan ran across the track and tried to steal the starting gate. But he didn't understand the gears and put the tractor in reverse. He went through part of the hedge on the front side. I remember running into the crowd trying to find the guy. But he disappeared real quick."

"The Rev. Richard McGowan, a Boston College professor ... is betting that each side will get a little of what they want -- three casinos and slots at two racetracks ... McGowan is convinced that the conference committee will approve slots at Suffolk Downs, where the owners have a joint venture to build a casino with the operators of nearby Wonderland Greyhound Park."

"There are key differences with the plan that passed the House. The House bill calls for two casinos, and puts no restrictions on location. Most significantly, the House measure, with the strong backing of House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, also allows up to 750 slot machines at the state’s two horse-racing facilities and two former dog tracks. Negotiators do not have much time to work out the differences, with the legislative session scheduled to end July 31." They have only 10 days, if they're going to make that deadline.

"We’ve been waiting for revenue from gaming for eight or nine years now.... You can’t presume anything, but we are light years ahead of where we were two years ago. It’s been a very pleasant surprise how much institutional support there has been for Suffolk Downs." Conditions for expanded gaming in Massachusetts have never been better.

1974 Sports Illustrated profile of Denise Boudrot. "As soon as the mutuels open there is a quick drop in odds -- the housewife money coming in -- then a leveling off till the very end, and another drop, the smart money. But if the fans are creating false favorites for her, and if the four-letter gutter word for woman ricochets about the grandstand when she loses, Denise remains a most popular rider. 'Go home and have a baby' is about the most pointed remark she ever hears."

Remembering Denise Boudrot. "But more than once she did ride to beat the boys. In 1974, in what was billed as the 'Contest of the Sexes' -- an echo of the Bobby Riggs-Billie Jean King tennis match of 1973 -- she raced and beat jockey Mike Lapensee at Lincoln Downs in Rhode Island. A week later, the jockeys swapped horses and she beat him again."

A pioneer passes. "She won more than 1,000 races, including the breakthrough 94 victories in 92 days at Suffolk Downs in East Boston in 1974, earning praise as the Longshot Lady and Johnny Longden in Skirts from one handicapper."

Mario and Mr. Vain and a very good year ...

Congratulations to TD Thornton on winning the Castleton Lyons-TT award

"If God walked in right now and told us casinos would be beneficial, he would be accused of being on the payroll of Suffolk Downs."