As I write Governor Coumo is having a news conference eliminating NYRA and he is personally taking over racing at the 3 NYRA tracks.
Stay tuned.
Who does he like in the Belmont?
HP
Frank D,
The article just posted in the Saratogian. The implications appear to be disasterous for current NYRA and possibly the horsemen.
A blip also suggest that NY racing may be privatized going forward.
Mike
I\'m sure Mike, slot money going elsewhere.
A few board members aligned with the Gov in an effort to save their free lunches.
A 17 member board will be appointed for a 3 year term. 11 by the Gov, 2 each by the senate & assembly and I guess the other 2 out of a hat.
Frank D,
Thinking of running for the board. My platform:
A chicken in every pot or
Tippecanoe and Miff too
...waddaya think?
Mike
Why stop at 17 members? That doesn\'t sound like a big enough board. How much does each board member get paid for all that work?
HP
HP,
Current board has 25 members; that\'s 8 less chickens for Mike\'s pot.
HP,
Board members,they\'re mostly multi millionaires,don\'t think the pay is relevant.NYRA top operating officers receive compensation in line with the street.
New NYRA Board may not have a horseman(presently Rick Violette) which may cause trouble.Some current NYRA Management/Board Members fuming and may sue in State Court to block Governors changes, could get real ugly.
Mike
Mike,
I\'ll be your campaign manager and official weatherman.
2 different news stories on the board make up, there replaying the press conference and it contradicts an earlier report.
11 members appointed by the Gov plus a chairmen and 5 at large appointed by the board itself.
A 3 yr public takeover that will most definitely lead to privatization of the racing industry after casino gaming is approved and there is a casino & convention center at Aqueduct.
None of this bodes well for the horsemen, bettors et all.... There talking medication and horse deaths. This is going to be a colossal cluster f#&*
Frank D.
Of course it would be impossible to have someone on the board to represent actual players. They have really taken that rap thing to an extreme.
Hate the game, not the player.
Or is it...
Hate the player, not the game.
I think these guys hate the players AND the game.
HP
Frank, No question, you got weather!
It\'s full circle back to the sale of NYC OTB.Without heavy subsidies and tax breaks there were no takers for NY racing as a stand alone business. Steve Wynn,Mr Las Vegas,imparted to one of the many consultants in that fiasco, that he could \"care less\" about racing. It was all about entre into gambling in NY.Most other interested parties had similar views.
Churchill Downs or Frank Stronach could be candidates for NY Racing privatization if a steal deal presents itself but doubt any Fortune 500\'s are coming forward to diversify by getting into thoroughbred horse racing.
Mike
The slot money may not be going anywhere just yet. If the Gov wants full casinos, that takes approval by two legislatures and a public referendum. Assuming that\'s the time-consuming way this thing goes, I\'ve gotta think the NYRA VLT cut stays the same for now. Barring some form of interim deal, I\'d think it takes a few years at least. Long term, no way significant taxpayer money goes to racing, and I bet that fits into the planning for this 3-year window. Anyway, something had to be done about \"headless horseman NYRA\". They had blown up whatever small bits of trust remained with that takeout fiasco and its brain-dead aftermath.
miff Wrote:
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> Churchill Downs or Frank Stronach could be
> candidates for NY Racing privatization if a steal
> deal presents itself but doubt any Fortune 500\'s
> are coming forward to diversify by getting into
> thoroughbred horse racing.
I read an interview in the last year in which a CD corporate officer said that CD
had no interest in expanding to acquire additional live racing facilities, though
Saratoga would be such a good fit for them schedule wise I do not see how they
could possibly resist if given the chance to purchase only that facility.
There are still probably shareholder derivative suits pending against Frank
Stronach, suits brought by shareholders who thought they were investing in a
large auto parts manufacturer and later found that their investment had somehow
been diverted to Magna Entertainment and its string of (mostly) leaky roof
racetracks. As I once said, Frank Stronach is Robert Brennan without the
helicopter.
NYRA hit rock bottom under Hayward and Co. Maybe with some new shooters in place
some of the issues which have been discussed here for years would be addressed.
Rumor I am starting right now: A high powered group of horsemen, lead by
Doodnauth Shivmangal, Naipaul Chatterpaul and Randi Persuad, will vie for control
of the former NYRA properties.
With allllll the money anticipated from slots/possible casino revenue, the politicians had to make a money grab. The motivation of the politicians is transparent, its all about control of the money under the guise of \"helping\"racing.
This is probably not good for NY Racing going forward as they are sure to redirect monies earmarked for racing to other pet areas that gain political capital for them.
Sad, it was looking good just a few months ago as far as the possibilty of NY Racing becoming something special.
The statute giving NYRA a cut of Genting\'s take is specifically limited to VLT\'s-video lottery terminals. If Cuomo gets his wish of full fledged casino all deals are off and a new negotiation by NYRA (however constituted) will have to take place. We will likely get a wiff of the future by the results of the search for a new CEO. Cuomo has a lot invested in obtaining passage of new legislation re full fledged casinos and the aregument can be made that how NYRA is run going forward is a proxy for that legislation and the State\'s managerial role. If I were betting on any issue I would bet a lot that Aqueduct is history in 3-5 years and Belmont will be winterized.
NYRA\'s implosion now creates the opportunity for it to cleanup it\'s act and to re-establish itself as a viable business financially and to regain the trust of it\'s fans and the public. The resultant changes we can expect will and should benefit it longterm. These changes should include; strict medication rules and oversight with a zero tolerance provision, closing Aqueduct (bye bye inside bias days, will miss that), Belmont renovated and built to world class status (politicians will love that)that will be seen as sign of commitment to the racing industry and New Yorker\'s. The key to this working is that everyone needs to realize that there is a new sheriff in town, Sheriff Andy. What we need now is for Opie and Barney to tell Sheriff Andy what\'s wrong with Mayberry and it will once again become a nice place to visit and do business with. Check the egos at the door when entering the Sheriff\'s office and everyone will get along. Don\'t \"F\" it up.
This town long ago buried racetracks nicer than Aqueduct, so if it needs to die so that Saratoga and Belmont might thrive, I\'ll go to the funeral with dry eyes. But I would hate to see Belmont butchered for the sake of winter racing. If NY racing is going to have to eventually stand on its own (once the casino deal is done, say by \'14), it should not have to have the NY Breeders and the weaker local outfits dragging it down by law. Close up shop a week before Christmas and open up after St Patricks Day. A nine month season should be long enough. Phase out winter racing over the next two years if you must, so that those who won\'t be able to play under the new rules can get their affairs in order. Don\'t waste a perfectly good crisis.
I\'ll agree with the elimination of Aqueduct, but a lot of folks are tying this in
with building a world class convention center in Ozone Park, which I do not think is
ever going to happen. Just not close enough to Manhattan in my opinion
I would cut down on the number of racing days in New York. In addition to the winter
closure which many have mentioned (and many who mention this have forgotten that as
recently as 8 or 10 years ago, winter racing was competitive and bettable), I would
suggest closing Belmont a week after the Belmont Stakes (and I can not believe I am
saying this) and open Saratoga on July 4th weekend. This would require that the turf
course be used sparingly, but dirt racing has become a novelty at NYRA lately with
Campo and crew relying on turf racing, especially turf sprints, to get full cards.
NY Bred racing has to be reconfigured and can not dominate the racing cards the way it
does now and has in the recent past.
BB Wrote:
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> This town long ago buried racetracks nicer than
> Aqueduct, so if it needs to die so that Saratoga
> and Belmont might thrive, I\'ll go to the funeral
> with dry eyes. But I would hate to see Belmont
> butchered for the sake of winter racing. If NY
> racing is going to have to eventually stand on its
> own (once the casino deal is done, say by \'14), it
> should not have to have the NY Breeders and the
> weaker local outfits dragging it down by law.
> Close up shop a week before Christmas and open up
> after St Patricks Day. A nine month season should
> be long enough. Phase out winter racing over the
> next two years if you must, so that those who
> won\'t be able to play under the new rules can get
> their affairs in order. Don\'t waste a perfectly
> good crisis.
Can\'t imagine the $-hungry state would tolerate for a moment any sustained interruption in the 12-month carousel. Don\'t hold your breath.
Richie,
That 4th of July to Labor day drum has been beating louder the past couple of years and is inevitable. It would not be a surprise with new political regime in place for sure.
The six weeks of racing now pumps 200 million into the upstate economy and that\'s not counting an extra trip by you and your beer purchases! I doubt they would sustain racing 6 days a week in such a scenario but whats wrong with adding 3 weeks of 4 days a week?
There is no way Campo has his job for long. The political finger pointers have to blame someone for carding all the cheap races which resulted in breakdowns.
I can see Shelly Silver wagging his finger to the PETA folks telling them how they are cleaning up racing and making it safer.
Frank D.
Top-- they could cut out winter racing if they set up an OTB system which they own, take bets on other tracks over the winter, and save on expenses and purse money.
TGJB Wrote:
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> Top-- they could cut out winter racing if they set
> up an OTB system which they own, take bets on
> other tracks over the winter, and save on expenses
> and purse money.
Not much would surprise me, now . . . though given the level of the winter product, the handle generated by same seems more than respectable, to me.
My initial response to this is that \"it makes too much sense...they wouldn\'t do it\"...However...IMO, the landscape has markedly changed...in the past the NY politicians didn\'t give a rats @#& about NY racing...now they see the $$$ from the slots (I\'m sorry..VLT\'s!)...now they ALL expect/demand a piece...I can\'t believe that Haywood and his crew was so stupid...his actions actually gave Albany a legitimate opening to take over NYRA!
My guess: Cuomo has future presidential aspirations ...he will do anything to close his budget gap and present himself as THE business leader...Casino gambling will become common-place in NYS within 12 months with the Aqueduct/Genting site as the initial \'jewel\'. The Big \'A\' will close, Belmont will be winterized, and the Saratoga meet will be expanded from July 4th thru Labor Day. The current Aqueduct property will be converted into a huge casino/convention center...NYC needs a legitimate convention center to compete with Chicago, Las Vegas, etc...it won\'t matter that it is not in Manhattan, it is next door to JFK...(The McCormick Center in Chicago is on Lake Michigan, miles away from Michigan Ave, this hasn\'t stopped it from being one of the most profitable convention centers in the U.S.)...
AND, once Albany realizes how much \'vig\' they have lost from the closing of NYCOTB they will reconstitute it (and also take over the rest of the regional NY OTB\'s) under the new NYRA \'flag\'...
Albany was not in a position to do this under the prior NYRA setting...By controlling NYRA\'s board, Cuomo has positioned himself perfectly to control and benefit from the casino dollars, using racing as the perfect \'foil\'...
Comments?? Thanks..John
Good.
NYRA brought this on themselves. The governor had few other options. Without the scandal, Albany wouldn\'t have seized control.
My point exactly...it will be an interesting ride going forward...but...my concern is that Albany couldn\'t care less about racing....they care about the casino $$$...they are using the opportunity in controlling NYRA to control that revenue...I\'ll be curious what they will do to racing if we enter another recession and the casino revenues drop!