Wonderland Greyhound Park is a closed greyhound racing track located in Revere, Massachusetts formerly 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 races 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 closed completely on August 19, 2010. The track laid off the remaining 75 to 80 workers and closed 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 allowed the option of the track being redeveloped for commercial or mixed uses.
History
Opening
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 park closed in 1911.
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 race nights, the money wagered topped $100,000, never dropping below the figure for the duration of the park's 100 night inaugural season.
The original entities granted the license for greyhound racing were the Harbor Kennel Club and the Bay State Greyhound Association. In 1940, the two groups merged to form the Revere Racing Association, which was led by former Boston City Council president Edward M. Gallagher. He was succeeded as track president by his son, Edward M. Gallagher Jr.
20th Century races
Racing was conducted over three distances: by far the most popular distance was ths of a mile. The Revere Course was slightly more than 3/8ths of a mile and the Wonderland Course was 7/16ths of a mile. The Huestis Course (seldom run) was 9/16's of a mile. For almost the entire racing life of the track the evening program was 10 races; Massachusetts law required the last race to be off by 11PM. As an attempt to stay in business, the number of daily races was increased, though the daily purse structure was not increased a great deal. The greyhound racing lure was affectionately known as "Swifty", spawning the repetition of the track announcer's call "There goes Swifty!" not only at the track but as an area reference in casual conversation.
The track traditionally raced in the evenings only, at first beginning about Memorial Day, and closing the week prior to the opening of the "Topsfield Fair", a large 10 day agricultural fair operated by the Essex County Agricultural Society, which featured greyhound racing at its track in Topsfield, Massachusetts. At the conclusion of the Wonderland meet, many owners would race at Topsfield, prior to transferring their kennels to several tracks in Florida. The original meet was permitted to be 80 days, expanded to 100 days in the early 1960s. After the purchase by Joseph Linsey, the track petitioned for additional dates, and was essentially permitted to run year-round, with several days per week offering matinee performances as well as evening racing. At the time, nearby Suffolk Downs, a thoroughbred (and later also a harness racing venue) track closed shortly after the beginning of the Wonderland meet, daytime thoroughbred racing in the area transferred about 30 miles away to Rockingham Park, in Salem, New Hampshire, Suffolk Downs generally resuming thoroughbred racing in early September. Suffolk Downs and Wonderland did not overlap racing times; Suffolk Downs' card would end at about 5PM, and Wonderland's first race would generally be 8PM, later changed to 7 and 7:30PM. The track had a large parking lot adjacent to the track (now used to store rental cars from nearby Logan Airport) and a second large parking lot across the VFW Parkway (now a strip shopping center anchored by A Staples and a 99 Restaurant). The termination of a rapid transit line (the "Blue Line") was directly across the VFW Parkway from the track. That station, named then as now "Wonderland Station" remains very active to this day.