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It has been eight years since anyone rode to the end of the Blue Line to catch a race at Wonderland Greyhound Park, where work began this week to demolish the shuttered track.
CBW Lending, the track’s owners, is looking to sell the 38-acre property in Revere near the Wonderland MBTA station. CBW, a consortium of Boston and New York investors, previously sold the nearby Suffolk Downs racetrack for $155M to HYM Investment Group, the Boston Globe reports. HYM’s initial plans for that site include retail and housing, but it is viewed as a strong contender for Amazon HQ2 in Boston’s bid to land the e-commerce giant's second headquarters.
Revere Mayor Brian Arrigo has prioritized Wonderland redevelopment, saying it is key to the city’s economic future. The track opened in 1935, and greyhound racing continued until 2009, a year after Massachusetts voted to ban the sport. Simulcast operations continued until 2010, when the park closed for good.
At its peak, Wonderland was viewed as the top greyhound racing venue in the Northeast. It employed hundreds and even grossed $1M in bets on single races on four different occasions. Business began to taper in the 1990s when full-service casinos were built in Connecticut and Rhode Island and interest in greyhound racing diminished nationwide.
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