shoot and Andy's comments werent even directed toward a dt member.. they were about the person quoted in the news story!! and he was absolutely correct!

unbelievable! lovely laurel, if you open your mind a little and look through the occasional sarcasm, you will actually learn a LOT from blackthroat.

Maybe that poster is close to the Deputy Mayor. Thank God someone was here to defend him.

The problem is that now that we get the franchise issue resolved with the State, with long-promised dollars finally going to NYRA, horsemen and breeders, here comes another government agency trying to take that money away. If the short-term consequences of shuttering NYC OTB weren't so significant, I'd love to see the State call Bloomberg's bluff, with someone else (preferably NYRA) taking over NYC OTB.

I completely respect the knowledge of BTW. This is his profession and his opinions add value to this group. Couldn't he respond with more tact? The tone of his replies screams out, "You know nothing, I know most everything, so shut up." Again it's not about the content, it's the delivery!!

Do you know him? that is him, that is his personality, and trust me, he isn't demeaning anyone, he is just being a sarcastic smart ass, I can see how someone maybe misunderstands it being it is a message board, but ole boy doesn't have time to harm anyone, he is watching replays all day :)

His alleged (read: interpreted) 'lack of tact' is one of his most endearing qualities...

What happens to him after a few martinis?

That explains why you haven't gotten sick of me yet..

great line.

How many strikes does Denis of Cork have?


I love baseball!!!

Who am I going to believe,the mayor who just sent out pink slips or a poster on the internet? Tough choice. Bloomberg is an honest guy. Very good mayor.

It is hard to defend operations like NYC OTB and NYRA. They do things like file for bankruptcy. If they can't break even they need to make changes. If that means cutting purses or staff that is their problem. The government isn't here to bail out poorly run organizations. How hard is it to make money with a gambling operation? I don't support gambling if it means teachers and police officers are going to have to pay for it with their salaries.

“What is the defensible position?’’ Lieber said at the Capitol June 3. “What is the public policy that is served by taking taxpayer dollars and supporting a public bookie and taking it away from police officers, teachers, and others? I don’t think there’s a defensible position to do this, and the mayor won’t do it. This is not a bluff.”

This is idiotic on many levels......you are probably correct, a politician would never slant his opinion or stretch the truth to help a negotiation. You can't possibly be this naive.

Not exactly.

Wow, am I reading that correctly? Tough to follow that logic. While Bloomberg is a tremendous businessman, he is also a master manipulator and self promoter. What does OTB have to do with schools and cops? Nothing, but it gives him the opportunity to advance his point of view that gets swallowed whole by the media and an equally gullible public. NYCOTB made is own bed by ignoring customer service and amenities, being a whore house of political patronage and corruption and the ill advised deal for night time signals. OTB is the single worst thing to happen to NY racing (IMO) and if gets tossed in the scrap heap I will not shed any tears.
To be fair, NYRA bears some blame for refusing to get involved at OTBs inception, but certainly NYRA, bettors and the thoroughbred breeders are not the cause of OTB's situation as it stands now.