The Daily Tell

Richard Fields, owner of the Suffolk Downs in East Boston, Massachusetts, instituted a policy for his track banning trainers whose horses end up being sold or transported to slaughter plants. According to the Paulick Report and Liberation Farm, Richard Fields, a longtime supporters of the American Quarter Horse Foundation, is also a generous supporter of the horse retirement and retraining programs, including the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation.

Richard Fields appreciates the facts that horses are the “heart of the game” of horseracing. His humane policies have been cited by horse owners Tracy and Carol Farmer and trainer Nick Zito, who were impressed by Fields’s anti-slaughter stances when they raced the retired Commentator in the MassCap.

Suffolk Downs, the legendary site of Seabiscuit, War Admiral, Whirlaway, and Stymie’s victories, had been in decline until Richard Fields took over. The site has seen a recent revival after Richard Field’s company, Coastal Development, took over with the goal of bringing Suffolk Downs back to its glory days.

Under Richard Fields’s tenure, Suffolk Downs also has become a site for philanthropy. In 2007, more than 16,000 walkers circled the track for the Greater Boston Walk Now For Autism. The following year, 20,000 walkers raised money for the Autism Speaks charity. In addition to this worthy cause, Suffolk Downs supports almost 90 other charities. Fields also has launched the Community Winner’s Circle, which recognizes groups who have helped the surrounding community. In 2009, the Community Winner’s Circle recognized the efforts of Saugus Youth and Recreation Commission, the Saugus Council on Aging, and the Corporal Scott J. Procopio Memorial Scholarship Fund, among other honorees.

Richard Fields has been recently cited by The Daily Tell for his generous donation of $7 million to University of Rochester for muscular dystrophy research. Richard Fields also serves as the Treasurer for the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children. Here at The Daily Tell, we like to salute members of the business community like Richard Fields who know there’s more to life than profit margins and shareholder reports.