Thoroughbred racing may be on life support in Massachusetts, but it’s not dead yet.

Suffolk Downs’s parent company will lease the Great Barrington Fairgrounds in Western Massachusetts with a goal of reviving horse racing at that site as early as 2019.

Suffolk Downs, which lost its bid to be a site for one of the state’s casinos, has conducted racing on a limited basis in recent years. This summer, there will be racing on three different weekends at the East Boston track (June 9-10, July 7-8, and Aug. 4-5) with the possibility of fourth in the fall.

The sprawling Suffolk Downs property has been sold to a development company that has a plan for a massive complex there. Track operator Sterling Suffolk Racecourse LLC said it intends to maintain a Boston-area site for simulcast racing, where customers can bet on races in other parts of the United States.

The leasing of Great Barrington means the sport could continue in the state. Purses are enhanced by revenue from operating casinos, so there will be enough money to sustain a longer season. But the relocation comes with a big caveat. In order to pull off the deal, Sterling Suffolk said it needs help from the state Legislature.

Chip Tuttle, chief operating officer of Sterling Suffolk, said the arrangement will hinge on the passage of a measure, already before the state legislature, that would expand the ways casino revenues can be used for horse racing. Tuttle said such a change is necessary to defray some of the about $10 million it would cost to move racing to Great Barrington and renovate the facilities there.

The Fairground was extensively damaged by the tornado that struck Western Massachusetts in 1995.

Once part of the fair circuit in Massachusetts, Great Barrington hasn’t conducted racing since 1998. Its surface is only a half-mile oval—as opposed to the one-mile oval at Suffolk — and is considered narrow for thoroughbreds. Many considered it dangerous, and jockey Miguel Figueroa died in a fall at the track in 1997. The track would have to be updated and enlarged.

This year, Suffolk Downs asked the state for $3.5 million to support purses for the six days of racing scheduled in East Boston, Tuttle said. But it can’t request money for other purposes unless lawmakers approve a bill now under consideration.

Regardless of the outcome, Tuttle said there’s a good chance that this will be the last year of racing in Boston — though that depends on the plans of developer HYM Investment Group for the site, which is being pitched as a location for Amazon’s second headquarters.

“It’s a sign of the times. We’ve seen race tracks in large urban settings meet similar fates,’’ Tuttle said. “We’re really focused on keeping our employees working and providing an opportunity for the men and women who work with the horses to continue to make a living.’’

Joe Sullivan can be reached at jtsullivan@globe.com. Andy Rosen can be reached at andrew.rosen@globe.com.