NYRA Franchise: "Backwards, not forwards"

[parsixfarms]

Originally Posted by kenny p

Agreed. But where have all our other state senators been? That includes mine, Sen. Owen Johnson who I have not heard a peep from. Nor has he answered my letters to him about nyra. Are they all scared of Bruno or are they just waiting to see what their cut will be? Albany, what a joke.

It's the culture of Albany. They won't take him on, especially with the Republicans only holding a two-seat majority in the State Senate. Furthermore, they don't know much on the subject; anyone who heard Senator Larkin, the head of the Senate Racing Committee, on the "Down the Stretch" show on the OTB channel in late December can attest to their general lack of knowledge on racing matters.

Perhaps the scariest thing is that I attended a party this past summer at which a highly-ranked member of the Senate majority was present. When I started to talk to him about the franchise issue, his response was that I shouldn't worry because Saratoga is in Bruno's district. The other implication from the conversation was that, because Bruno's district includes Saratoga, the other senators will defer to his "expertise" on the subject.