Albany ups power play; State, Legislature, NYRA announce mgmt. deal

[goodcopy]

Originally Posted by GenuineRisk

Sure, let's do that. And the first thing that will happen is the tracks will get bought up by real estate developers and torn up.

Come on man,I said make it profitable!

[parsixfarms]

A whole lot of government CYA going on. Here's the section from the RWB's interim report (pp. 17-18), as it pertains to the oversight provided by the Franchise Oversight Board:

The FOB has five part-time members serving without compensation. The FOB has no fulltime staff but has a Division of Budget employee serving as its secretary. As a practical matter, the FOB operates as a global overseer with a limited budget that relies heavily on NYRA’s representations, supported by NYRA’s employees, consultants and auditors. Realistically, with its limited resources, the FOB was in no position to review or enforce compliance with thedetailed takeout provisions of Chapter 115.

[Antitrust32]

The Gov seems like a pathetic excuse for a human being.

[Powderfinger]

Aqueduct should have put a synthetic surface on that inner track years ago, to show that they were trying.

[MaTH716]

Originally Posted by Powderfinger

Aqueduct should have put a synthetic surface on that inner track years ago, to show that they were trying.

I want to believe that the majority of the horses that broke down, would have endured the same fate if they were running on bubble wrap.

[10 pnt move up]

I do think there is a bit if irony that the state of new york is upset that there was a "over taxing" of the people.

Of course it could have been that they did not rake the barn correctly, the reason belies the real motivation.

Another NY state agency that failed miserably in its "role" was the Department of Taxation and Finance, and I hope the IG looks into this as well. As a former pari-mutuel examiner for the Dept. at NYRA tracks, I was interviewed by the Albany Times-Union about this situation, and also by the state employee union in NY, PEF. Seems they decided they didn't need any examiners at the tracks any more - mistake!

Bottom line is that all the "watchdogs" were sleeping on the job, either to short-sightedly save money or, as some have suggested, to "entrap" NYRA into doing something like this in order to sweep them aside.

[Powderfinger]

Originally Posted by MaTH716

I want to believe that the majority of the horses that broke down, would have endured the same fate if they were running on bubble wrap.

You're probably right but you know the old saying "image is everything."

[pointman]

Originally Posted by Powderfinger

Aqueduct should have put a synthetic surface on that inner track years ago, to show that they were trying.

[hud8118]

"NYRA desperately needs a major overhaul," said state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, whose auditors uncovered the takeout overcharges. "Reorganizing the board is a step in the right direction."

I thought it was a horse player, not the auditors, who uncovered the failure to cut back the 1%. If so, just another example of the state pols trying to mislead and take credit for something they didn't do - or am I wrong on this?

Read more: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-raci...#ixzz1veoOoUSG

Semantics. The horseplayer who uncovered it did not have any way of taking corrective action. He thought "pointing it out" to NYRA would be enough. The NYS Dept. of Audit and Control was the REGULATORY governmental agency that actually brought the error to light, and caused the snowball to start rolling downhill.

I don't think the state deserves any "credit" for this at all. The NY State Racing and Wagering Board, the Franchise Oversight Board, and the NY State Dept. of Taxation and Finance all failed miserably in protecting the wagering public's interest in what went on here (not to mention NYRA's own auditors). Audit and Control at least saved their face somewhat.

[Calzone Lord]

I have no idea what any of this means.

The more people and politicians involved -- the worse off horse racing has to be.

It shouldn't take much to competently conduct horse racing.

You've got a whole bunch of people with fancy formal educations who dress up in suits and have to look important because they went to school for something else -- and that's not good enough? Now you need politicians and people appointed by politicians ... to conduct horse racing? It's freaking horse racing.