Suffolk Downs horsemen started down the first leg of their race to save the 79-year-old track, filing a racing application with the Gaming Commission in a bid that may require changes to state law, as top state and city officials vowed to help keep the track going if they can.

The New England Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association said its application for a single day of racing next year was a “placeholder” as they negotiate a lease arrangement with Suffolk Downs.

“We continue to explore all possible options for the survival of Thoroughbred racing in New England, which is critical for all of the dedicated horsemen and horsewomen, the breeders, and everyone else employed in our industry,” NEHBPA President Anthony Spadea said in a statement. “We remain optimistic that an agreement which is economically feasible can be reached with Suffolk Downs so that we can race our horses there next year.”

The horsemen have outlined their plans to Suffolk Downs management, who have said the track will close after its final race Saturday. The commission rejected a casino on the land in favor of Wynn Resorts’ Everett proposal, forcing a closure that threatens the livelihoods of roughly 1,100 people.

The horsemen are expected to propose changing elements of state law, including:

• How track wagers flow into winners’ purses. Currently, Suffolk Downs must distribute roughly half of its wager proceeds to horsemen, about $7 million this year, in the form of winners’ purses. Under the state’s 2011 casino law, millions of dollars from assessments on casinos — nearly $10 million next year and up to $20 million after casinos open — will flow into a new fund that can only be tapped to bolster purses. The horsemen are exploring ways Suffolk could keep more of the wager proceeds by funding purses through the state fund.

• Ways to borrow money off the development fund to pay expenses for hosting races.

• Reducing the number of racing days — currently 65 — a licensee must host in a year.

Suffolk Downs Chief Operating Officer Chip Tuttle said the track, which hasn’t been profitable for several years, “will keep an open mind while also reminding them that there are significant structural challenges that make operating a (racetrack) in Massachusetts profitably a very, very long shot.”

A spokesman for House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo — a Suffolk Downs booster and key architect of the casino law — said he will consider “all realistic and carefully vetted plans when they are proposed.”

“Speaker DeLeo has long supported the continuation of live racing in Suffolk Downs,” spokesman Seth Gitell said. “He is very aware of the economic impact of the closing of the facility.”

Mayor Martin J. Walsh said the city is “going to look at all the options” to keep racing alive at Suffolk Downs.

“I know there’s some probably legislative options to extend racing,” Walsh said. “Hopefully we can come up with some ways of keeping racing and keep the folks working there alive.”