Should Horse Racing Come Back To The Berkshires?

The owners of the former Suffolk Downs racetrack in Boston are stepping up efforts to bring live horse racing to the Berkshires for the first time in more than two decades.

The Berkshire Eagle reports however that obstacles remain to the plan to host racing at the Great Barrington fairgrounds beginning next year.

The town's select board has scheduled a meeting for today to discuss the process. Racing hasn't been held at the fairgrounds since 1998, but Suffolk Downs officials believe the license granted that year by what was then known as the state Racing Commission remains valid.

Back in 1998, the former state Racing Commission issued "permanent licenses" to five horse racing tracks.

One of those "permanent licenses" was for Great Barrington fairgrounds., where horse racing had been held for more than a century.

Should horse racing come back to the Berkshires?