[Kasept]

Originally Posted by Magnanimous

First you should disclose that you have a deal with NYRA if you do, like a concession that you could lose if NYRA is ousted.

As for corruption, the audit by Hevisi in 2004 showed extravagant amounts of money spent by NYRA, like $42,000 on country club memberships for friends, had over $900,000 in entertainment expenses with absolutely no receipts.

Here is some more

The New York Racing Association gave a no-bid contract worth $797,913 to its ex-CEO's daughter and son-in-law, issued another no-bid contract that paid a public relations firm $1.6 million, and "squandered" at least $400,000 a year on trophies, according to an audit released Wednesday by state Comptroller Alan Hevesi.

The organization issued a no-bid $1.6 million contact to the public relations company Ed Lewi Associates, a well-known company based near Albany. A contract has since been drawn at hundreds of thousands of dollars less, Hevesi's auditors said. Lewi said the spending covered three years and included promotion, publicity, advertising, media relations and public relations goods and services, as well as reimbursements for promotions. The company has worked for NYRA since the 1970s, but didn't handle "crisis" public relations over recent years as state and federal investigations were undertaken, Lewi said.

Paid two horse transporters $384,244 to move horses between the Belmont, Aqueduct and Saratoga tracks operated by NYRA. Some of the free transportation was for horses owned by NYRA board members.

State police officers posing as drug dealers laundered more than $300,000 through betting windows, according to the state Office of the Attorney General.

The investigation also uncovered evidence of loan-sharking, illegal betting with house money, and the ripping off of patrons through a variety of schemes among mutuel tellers.

"For nearly 20 years, NYRA and members of its senior management conspired to permit mutuel employees to use NYRA's funds as if they belonged to the employees. This went undetected for so long because the corruption pervaded the culture of the organization,'' said Acting U.S. Attorney Andrew C. Hruska.

Do You Want More? I can pull it from any of the articles that appeared in the USA Today, Washington Post, Bloodhorse, etc., all day long.

Next you will tell me NYRA has been reformed. Great, why don't we let all the bank robbers that get out of prison have teller jobs at the local Bank of America. A 30 year job too, regardless of whether or not they rob the bank again.

1. I don't.

2. If country club memberships and entertainmenmt expenses are corrupt, then every corporatation in America is corrupt.

3. The advertising campaigns for Saratoga produced by Schwartz' son-in-law's firm won awards and were widely hailed by state tourism officials as responsible for large increases in visitor figures. Squandering money on trophies? Maybe owners running in the 50+ Grade I's in NY should get ribbons like at swim meets...

4. Don't see where the corruption issue is here.

5. This is one of my favorites from the disgraced Hevasi. The shuttle runs between Saratoga, Belmont and Aqueduct FOR ALL HORSESMEN/OWNERS... ALL HORSEMEN AND OWNERS... THEY ALL MOVE THE HORSES UP AND DOWN ON THE SHUTTLE WHEN THEY ARE STABLED UP OR DOWNSTATE AND ARE SCHEDULED TO RUN UP OR DOWN STATE. It's done as a service to horsemen and owners. A perfect example of people who knew NOTHING making statements about what they didn't understand.

5. This is the single issue that is a legitmate complaint and which has been aggressively answered since the Getnick & Getnick supervision. The mutuels department has been re-worked with new rules and strict supervision.

6. Do whatever you want. You're operating from a base of information that is largely innacurate amplifications that were politically motivated. But you aren't interested in any facts or the truths.