In an attempt to revive thoroughbred horse racing in Massachusetts, the owners of Suffolk Downs plan to hold three single days of racing at the East Boston track, each with high-stakes purses valued at about $500,000 per day.
“We’re on for the plan for three days of racing — it’s just a matter of when to run them,” Chip Tuttle, chief operating officer at the track, said on Wednesday.
The idea of holding three one-day “festivals of racing” originated with the union that represents about 900 horse owners and trainers, which has been negotiating with the track owners since September, when the owners said they would close the money-losing track.
The New England Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association wants to lease the track and hold races, but lacks the money to cover the cost of more than a few dates, according to Lou Raffetto, a consultant to the horsemen.
“This is the only plan that makes any sense, because the horsemen don’t have the money for anything else,” he said. “But I think it would be a big hit with the public and bettors.”
One proposal is to have one race day each in June, July, and August. Another would group the three days together. Either arrangement would be much more limited than the 65 days of racing at the track from May to September 2014. But it would at least mark a return to New England of a sport that looked as if it had seen its final days after the last race at Suffolk Downs was run on Oct. 4.
Whatever the final plan, it would have to be approved by the state Gaming Commission. In an interview, commission member Enrique Zuniga said the agency is open to such a proposal.
Suffolk Downs’ owners and their partner, Mohegan Sun, had competed for the Greater Boston casino license. The state Gaming Commission passed over that group in favor of Wynn Resorts, which plans a $1.7 billion casino in Everett.
The track owners are now contemplating other development options for the 160-acre property, which straddles the line between East Boston and Revere. But they are also listening to the horsemen.
Raffetto said the plans call for 12 races per day, with purses that are about five times as large as the average purses last year for horse owners, trainers, and jockeys. Larger purses generally attract better-quality horses, which attracts more fans and more wagering.
Suffolk Downs and the horsemen want to tap into some of the state’s casino profits to fund the purses. The 2011 state law allowing as many as three resort casinos and one slot parlor in the state earmarks millions of dollars in slot revenues for purses for thoroughbred and harness horse racing.
Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville is set to open on June 24, offering slot machines.
Harness racing opened on the casino site on Wednesday.
Also on Thursday, the state Gaming Commission agreed to hire a private law firm to represent it in lawsuits filed by the cities of Boston, Somerville, and Revere. The suits challenge the validity of the commission’s award of the Greater Boston casino license to Wynn Resorts.
The commission is usually represented by the state attorney general’s office, but it decided to hire the Anderson & Kreiger law firm because the attorney general’s office is already prosecuting a criminal case involving the sale of the land where the Wynn casino is planned.
Sean P. Murphy can be reached at smurphy@globe.com.