This was posted today on the NYRA site:
NYRA to Host First Ever Public Hearing at Belmont Park
On Saturday June 15th, The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA), will host its first ever Public Hearing in the west wing of the Belmont Room (2nd floor of the Clubhouse) at Belmont Park from 9:30-11:00 a.m. Members of NYRA Senior Management will be among those in attendance.
The session will provide the public an opportunity to discuss topics of interest in an "open forum" setting. Based on responses to fan surveys, the primary areas of focus during the event will be racing, wagering and marketing. The town hall-style meeting will start with a brief introduction and continue with a recap of recent NYRA events, followed by a moderated, question-and-answer discussion with the panel.
Fans wishing to attend must RSVP here as space is limited. An agenda will be presented and posted at nyra.com in advance of the session.
"It's essential that we listen to the thoughts and concerns of our fans, and the best way to do that is to give them a chance to weigh in directly on topics of broad interest and importance," said Eric Wing, Director of Communications & Media Relations for NYRA. "June 15th will be the first of many such opportunities going forward. We look forward to an open and frank discussion next week."
http://www.nyra.com/belmont/nyra-to-host-first-ever-public-hearing-at-belmont-park/
Lord knows this site has seen its share of complaints directed at NYRA management. I\'m interested to know if any of our local kvethchers plan on attending. Myself, I would love to, and I\'m not ruling it out, but that\'s a pretty early wakeup call for a Saturday. I guess I could always play the English races over my phone if it gets too bad. Anyone else interested in meeting the clueless clowns and empty suits?
If Andy is one of those answering questions I hope someone tapes it, and I\'m not kidding.
Have already RSVPd, thanks for posting this.
I hope my friend Joe (not a TGenerate) attends. He went on a nearly 30 minute rant
at Belmont on Sunday on how the first thing he would do if left in charge of NYRA
would be to eliminate all pre and between race commentary (including Maggie) at
NYRA tracks. His feeling is that this commentary does nothing to increase handle or
bring new people to the game.
He\'s dead wrong. Anything that educates people increases handle.
Kenny Noe and Steven Crist used to host public hearings back in the mid 1990s. Kenny\'s answer as to why they could not use color-coordinated saddle cloths because of the black and white photo finish camera was priceless.
TGJB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> He\'s dead wrong. Anything that educates people
> increases handle.
JB:
Hate to continue this during a good discussion of what is turning into an
interesting Belmont, but I do not think there are any statistics that can be
produced that would convince me that the offerings of Andy, Maggie, Steve
Crist (at Saratoga) et al have any effect on handle.
To look at it another way, if the commentators went to Maui for a month long
vacation, and there was no pre race commentary by Andy and Jason, no paddock
commentary by Maggie,and they were not replaced, do you think handle/attendance
would really be affected? I do not. Do you think there would be a hue and cry to
send an airplane, immediately, to bring them back? I do not.
Are the people who prattle really sharing any knowledge? What, by citing stats
from Formulator? Are they confronting the real hot button issue in Racing other
than in a (apologies to Mr Zimmerman) \"something is going on here, but our
employers really don\'t want us to discuss what it is\" manner? I think not.
As to \"anything that educates people increases handle\", I thought the TDN \"Painful
Truth\" articles were outstanding, but Page 3 of Part II, which reproduced the
veterinary record of the Pletcher trainee Coronado Heights, who broke down in a
race and was euthanized, was repulsive. As the article points out, the animal\'s
vet concluded that the horse showed \"no signs of lameness prior to injury\" yet, to
quote the report \"during the last 25 days of his life, [Coronado Heights] received
24 separate intravenous, intra - muscular or intra - articular injections.\" I
guess the comment here would be that education, albeit in limited doses (no pun
intended), can be a good thing.
What increases handle? Penn National ran two top quality races last Saturday night
which drew top horses and top jockeys. (One of the races was even honored with TG
ROTW treatment) The handle (on track and overall) far surpassed all existing
records. It didn\'t have anything to do with gimmicks, giveaways, or talking heads.
I\'d much rather see someone like Brad Thomas in NY than an egomaniac , (or even the Mountaineer guy who would have a field day) but as far as Maggie goes, you\'re really missing the boat if you aren\'t incorporating her opinion.
No one is always right, but if you appreciate the nuance of condition and aptitude for surface, her read is quite good.
Boscar:
I was not knocking Maggie, and I know that JB has a very positive opinion of her
observations.
I was questioning whether her presence boosts handle or attendance. Would you bet
less or not at all on NYRA races if Maggie moved on to greener pastures? You value
Brad Thomas\' opinions...would you wager more at NYRA if Thomas replaced Andy
Serling?
My original argument (and I concede that it would be hard to measure statistically)
was that none of these people draw additional people to bet the races, or cause the
people who are already betting the races to bet more, although it seems that many
will not begin their weekend wagering without listening to TGAB\'s radio spot (take
that, Jimbo).
Richie-- you are confusing \"increases handle\" with \"increases handle on the race they\'re talking about right now\".
People bet when they have opinions, more when they have strong opinions. The more people know (or even think they do) the stronger their opinions. There is no telling how much handle John Madden created by making people think they knew enough to coach in the NFL. (Hence the term Monday morning quarterback).
What are the chances someone will request publication of testing protocols?
Raz-- that would be good but I\'m not going so it wont happen. Bob? Richie?
If that gets done it will be because the Jockey Club has some influence with the new NYRA board, and I have a small amount. (No modesty, I know one guy).
I RSVP\'d, but I have not yet received the confirmation email yet. I\'m guessing they are a little busy and will send it sometime next week. Richie, have they sent you confirmation yet?
I\'d be willing to entertain possible questions, if people want to make suggestions.
Magicnight, if you get the opportunity, and aren\'t overwhelmed with requests, I would also suggest publishing vet names.
Magic:
No word from NYRA yet. They must have found out that I am what Norman Fell in \"The
Graduate\" called an \"outside agitator\".
Second that. Don\'t think it will happen but just getting the vet issue into public conversation will help.
razzle, I was able to make MY little speech (and I\'m really hoping Richiebee plans on giving the board his view on this morning\'s festivities, which were circus-like at times), which basically led into your question about listing the names for the attending vet somewhere.
The question was referred to PJ Campo, who, by all appearances, took it seriously. He wondered if, were to be the pp\'s whether some sort of coding would be necessary. He said they would take it under consideration and invited me to follow up with him at a later date.
Because this is one of those things that I would not expect to ever happen, I never put much thought into how it would be done. But one thing that did happen this morning was that NYRA seemed very eager to expand their online presence to help their customers, so an online listing of the attending vet for horses on NYRA\'s grounds does not seem too much to ask.
Great news! Thank you so much for not only asking the question but the follow-up here. Publishing the vet name where the owner/trainer names are given was what I envisioned, but anywhere would be fine.
$1,000,000 for a Mural; $4.50 for a Bottle of Water
I apologize for the delay in recapping the NYRA open forum which was held
Saturday morning. After a brief afternoon nap (your correspondent is not so
young as he once was) I engaged in battle on three separate fronts
(Belmont/Hollywood/Churchill night races), while watching a good deal of the US
Open coverage, which kept me entertained between 4PM and 10 PM.
The meeting was called to order at 9:30 am in the Belmont Room on tne second
floor of the Clubhouse. The room was nearly full with about 80 or so alleged
racing fans who would be given a chance to speak their minds about Racing and
Wagering issues, marketing issues and customer service issues. Four NYRA
representatives, including Director of Racing PJ Campo and a representative of
the NYRA marketing department were there to answer questions. The session
opened with comments from Andy Serling who was acting as moderator.
The first speaker from the floor was a woman who said she liked to attend big
events (Belmont Stakes day/Super Saturdays) and wanted to know why these
events were not more widely publicized in the mainstream media.
A gentleman asked if NYRA would consider using a split screen format for
televising the races, and comments from Andy Serling lead one to believe that
this is an issue that was being debated internally at NYRA. One of the NYRA
reps mentioned that Trakus would be incorporated into NYRA\'s TV coverage
beginning in Fall. (Correspondent\'s note: Watching the feed from CD last night,
noticed that they employ a 3 way split screen: conventional shot of the lead
horses, wide shot showing entire field, with Trakus at the bottom).
The next speaker commented that he lived in Nassau County and loved coming to
the races, but that his 3 adult children, all of whom love Las Vegas, had no
interest in spending an afternoon at Belmont.
Next up, Ken Sherman. The same Ken Sherman from the Shermazin message board, I
do not know. Mr. Sherman read from a prepared statement, prefacing said
statement with a rhetorical question (paraphrasing): \"Who polices the
stewards?\" I thought possibly the inconsistency of stewards\' decisions with
regards to objections and inquiries was going to be discussed, but instead Mr.
Sherman used this public forum to expose a personal grievance: from what I
could tell (and I must admit, once I realized that this was a very
personalized grievance, I began glancing at the Racing Form) Mr. Sherman was a
member of a racing partnership and somehow did not receive a partnership share
he believed he was entitled to, and that the stewards were not helpful to him
in his quest to recover that which he believed he was entitled to.
Thus began a long segment of the forum concerned with what I will characterize
as \"Pet Peeves and Personal Agendas\":
Agendas (large): The Million Dollar Mural; A gentleman standing directly in
front of me stood up to ask how NYRA could commission the creation of a
$1,000,000 Belmont mural when some of the union members who clean the NYRA
facilities were living at the poverty level. At this point the meeting turned
into a shouting match and it became quite obvious that the house was \"packed\":
of the 80 or so alleged Racing fans in the room, maybe 50 or so were union
members/sympathizers, intent on disrupting the meeting. Mission accomplished
for about 30 minutes, despite the commendable efforts of Andy Serling to
control the room. I found myself engaged in some back and forth with some of
the union rank and file, bringing back memories of my college
days 1.
One of the NYRA reps not surprisingly failed to placate the union rank and
file by stating that the alleged Million Dollar Mural actually only cost
$250,000.
Agendas(large): Two and maybe three groups of representatives from
towns/villages/cities neighboring Belmont Park, Floral Park and Elmont, maybe,
talking about the siting of a clean energy facility at Belmont, an apparently
hot community issue which your correspondent promises to research. A
rhetorical statement was offered by one of the town\'s representatives as to
the fact that both Aqueduct and Saratoga are continuing to be upgraded,
renovated and improved, whereas the Belmont facility has not undergone major
renovation in 50 years. Another suggestion from one of the towns that NYRA
make more of an effort to host the Breeders Cup regularly, if not permanently.
(BC just announced 2014 BC at SA)(correspondent\'s comment: BC serves racing
better when rotating among different sites).
Agendas (small): A gentleman from the company responsible for \"Jockeycam\"
technology tried to convince NYRA and its fans that use of said technology
would enhance the experience of watching the races.
Agendas (small): A reporter from a Queens community newspaper lamented that
NYRA did not work with local journalists to promote Belmont. I think the core
of this gentleman\'s complaint was that he was not given press credentials,
because he was later heard to comment that the outdoor seat he had secured for
himself in the traditional NYRA way (leaving a piece of newspaper on the seat)
was taken by other racing fans. The \"heist\" was captured on youtube and was
apparently escalated to NYRA security.
Agendas (small): A gentleman from the NYRA \"Players\" club, who wanted to know
why serious horseplayers, many of whom wager in excess of $250,000 per year,
are asked to pay $4.50 for a bottle of water.
Agendas (small): A gentleman who wanted to know why the mutuel pool totals
were not updated more frequently on the NYRA wagering site.
Agendas (small): A gentleman asked why NYRA had no Pick 5. NYRA is in the
process of getting the necessary approval for said wager.
Magicnight: Speaking near the end of the program, Robert mentioned
the \"Elephant in the Room\", the use of performance enhancing materials and the
effect of PEMs on racing. UNBELIEVABLY the first mention of this issue in a
room which included when all was said an done maybe 15 racing fans. He asked
the question about the public gaining access to information as to which
veterinarians were responsible for the treatment of which horses on a daily
basis.
PJ Campo responded to the PEM inquiry by suggesting that racing fans had seen
some new developments in that area, a reference I would imagine to the recent
surveillance of trainers Rodriquez and Jacobson. The NYRA folks seemed unaware
as to why the release of veterinary information would be something racing fans
would find \"educational\".
An interesting development after the meeting regarding the release of
veterinary information; I will leave it to Bob to disclose.
Your Correspondent: About 15 minutes into the Union skirmish, I lost faith in
the democratic process and thought that the Union folks would succeed in
disrupting the meeting. I wanted to make my points about Racing quality to PJ
Campo, so I approached him at the podium and engaged him in conversation in
the midst of all the ruckus. Those points are: (1) Winter racing at NYRA is an
opportunity, not something to be discarded and (2) New York Bred racing as
currently conducted at NYRA will prevent NYRA Racing to return to past glory.
I may or may not expand on my participation in the near future, but as for now,
your Correspondent (some might say mercifully) stands silent.
---------
1. Richiebee v Teamsters, St.Louis County, 1975. Teamsters 1,
Richiebee 0.
Richie
As always love your take, speaking for racing fans; alleged or otherwise, everywhere!
Thanks, Richie. You nailed it. For comparison, I would suggest reading the DRF\'s version of the story - http://www.drf.com/news/nyra-hearing-turned-ear-union-members - which has all the depth of those two \"world news\" stories that they run on page 2 of the print edition, AND, the Blood-Horse\'s version - http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/78907/unions-patrons-mix-at-nyra-public-hearing - which, while more comprehensive than the DRF\'s, is still curious as to what it omits.
Having found out over the course of 85 minutes what life would be like without the LIRR\'s Belmont Special, I arrived at the crack of 930 shocked and amazed at a meeting room crammed with with eighty to one hundred people. The shock and amazement wore off once the union folks did their walk off (taking 60% of the audience), and another 20% revealed themselves to be the shills identified by Richie.
In regard to the Shermanator, as he began to read from his prepared remarks and Richiebee returned to his Form, I could see from my vantage point in the back that it was quite a lengthy screed. I put him on the clock, and, after four full minutes of terms like \"fraud\", \"scam\", and \"corrupt racing partnership\", PJ Campo wisely punted to the state\'s gaming commission as the proper recipient of Ken\'s objections.
I did try to inject some positive feedback by commending NYRA for their efforts in drug enforcement and transparency, but noted that there was much more work to be done. Campo rightly trumpeted NYRA\'s changes in withdrawal times and surveillance and, even though their names were never mentioned, if this had been a smoke-filled room from 40 years ago, the cigar and cigarette smoke would have spelled out \"Rudy Rod\" and \"Jacobsen\".
The \"interesting development\" noted by our faithful correspondent came in the form of a young (25?), earnest fellow with a notepad, who stopped by to chat with Bee and me after the meeting ended. Though we did not get his name, I believe the both of us were shocked when he told us that he was employed by NYRA in their department of \"Integrity\". Yeah, who knew? Bee and I did not really discuss this brief meeting afterwards, but I viewed it with a mixture of hope and dismay.
The Integrity guy was sincerely interested in what handicappers would do with information on veterinarians. We pointed out that often times trainers go from being 10% \"bums\" to 35% \"geniuses\" seemingly overnight, and (both of us being quite familiar with the subject) that this was not our understanding of how genius worked. We pointed out that trainers and vets getting good results were not necessarily cheating, but, given the state of testing and enforcement, it certainly couldn\'t be ruled out. And, we noted that handicappers would most certainly be interested in who the attending vet was if a 10% bum came to employ the services of the vet from the barn of a 35% genius.
We dropped the names of a few usual suspects and, given the fellow\'s youth, I suggested he might be interested in the Twitterings of one \"fourlegsdoc\".
I will say that - the shilling and the union\'s protests aside - NYRA seemed sincerely interested in hearing and, where possible, acting upon the complaints of its customers. NYRA stated plainly that one of their main objectives is to ultimately be \"re-privatized\" by state. Given their current number of friends in high places, it\'s understandable that they would like to regain some trust from their long-suffering clientele. They will be holding another one of these up at the Spa, and I would urge anyone with any lingering hope for New York racing to attend. I honestly believe that we are better off with \"the devil we know\".
Richie and Magic,
Thanks much for attempting to give voice to the big concerns of many on this board. Also, Richie, as per usual, fantastic write up...loved that footnote.
Think I do concur with Magic that it does sound like NYRA actually does want to make positive change. A bit surprised that with someone like Serling moderating and PJ talking, that NYRA would be \"unaware
as to why the release of veterinary information would be something racing fans
would find \"educational\" - Surely Andy and PJ understand the importance of vetting the vets (as it were).
Anyways, again guys, thanks for fighting the good fight.
\"Agendas (small): A gentleman from the NYRA \"Players\" club, who wanted to know
why serious horseplayers, many of whom wager in excess of $250,000 per year,
are asked to pay $4.50 for a bottle of water. \"
That\'s easy, because over the course of a year, the take on the water is probably more than the take on the betting.
Phil, I have no doubt that Andy and PJ know why some handicappers would want that info (it was the young guy who was wondering about that in a private conversation following the session, not the other two). I don\'t want to rip on the kid because his heart seemed to be in the right place, but he may have had a preconceived notion or two about horseplayers that needed to be nipped in the bud. Enough said.
I heartily second this!!!
Thank you for stepping up and speaking up!
Hopefully by the next time they hold a public forum, some progress will be made on these important questions/requests.
I am still scratching my head over the need for a quarter of a million dollar mural, though. Is it going to be done in gold leaf?
Thank you for the summary. Sorry about the union stuff-they were probably concerned about under-age handicappers working too many hours... If you and magicknight believe they are seriously listening, it might be a good time for me and others to reinforce the issues raised through e-mails to their site?