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

[pba1817]

At what point do you stop getting in bed with the state and run your business privately?

Once you accept the handout, or reimbursements, or whatever you like to call them, you are now dealing with the devil.

Was NYRA and their tracks a privately owned business at any point? With no state involvement or funding? If so, why is the state involved now?

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by pba1817

At what point do you stop getting in bed with the state and run your business privately?

Once you accept the handout, or reimbursements, or whatever you like to call them, you are now dealing with the devil.

Was NYRA and their tracks a privately owned business at any point? With no state involvement or funding? If so, why is the state involved now?

State always had their hand in the various Associations pockets even pre-GNYRA (Greater New York Racing Association) when there were 4 separate entities. Albany has milked racing in this state endlessly and then added layers of patronage when afforded the opportunity in 1970 with the creation of the OTB system. At that point, by all rights, Albany began competing with NYRA and therein lies the source of all the problems the past 40 years.

[Gaelic Storm]

Left at the Gate blog has a good post about this topic.

http://leftatthegate.blogspot.com/20...r-on-nyra.html

[pointman]

Originally Posted by Gaelic Storm

Left at the Gate blog has a good post about this topic.

http://leftatthegate.blogspot.com/20...r-on-nyra.html

Excellent link. I personally think that NYRA should march into Court with an Order to Show Cause to obtain an Injunction against the State from withholding the payments. I really find it hard to believe that the State can revoke NYRA's contract on something like this.

This is clearly people CYAing and trying to use the media to shift the blame on NYRA and attempt to convince the public that it is the same old NYRA despite the reality that it is now run by a different set of people. As we have seen such nonsense works and even convinces some people who are supposedly fans of the game.

[fpsoxfan]

Cuomo is nothing more than a crook in a suit. As a teacher I continue to laugh at my Union (NYSUT) who supported this jackass. After elected, he stuck it to the teachers union. It's bad enough I pay dues to these idiots, but I laugh when they send out the VOTE COPE campaign contributions form.

The man is no good!

[pba1817]

Originally Posted by Kasept

State always had their hand in the various Associations pockets even pre-GNYRA (Greater New York Racing Association) when there were 4 separate entities. Albany has milked racing in this state endlessly and then added layers of patronage when afforded the opportunity in 1970 with the creation of the OTB system. At that point, by all rights, Albany began competing with NYRA and therein lies the source of all the problems the past 40 years.

Thank you for the informative post, and thus the true crux of the matter comes, it is always a money grab by one source or the other isn't it? It is too bad that the actually horseman, the fans, the and racing product itself will be the only who suffer in the situation. I remember back to my early days following racing and New York was the place.. now well unfortunately its just kinda like everywhere else.

It sure seems that there is just WAY too much politics withing racing, and that goes for just about every state who allows racing. California is a mess, Kentucky seems to becoming a mess, NY is a mess.. sad.

[pointman]

Originally Posted by pba1817

Thank you for the informative post, and thus the true crux of the matter comes, it is always a money grab by one source or the other isn't it? It is too bad that the actually horseman, the fans, the and racing product itself will be the only who suffer in the situation. I remember back to my early days following racing and New York was the place.. now well unfortunately its just kinda like everywhere else.

It sure seems that there is just WAY too much politics withing racing, and that goes for just about every state who allows racing. California is a mess, Kentucky seems to becoming a mess, NY is a mess.. sad.

I'm holding my breath in wait for you to enlighten the rest of us as to where the racing is better than New York?

[pba1817]

Keep holding you breath, maybe you will drop dead. While you are at it, try to improve your comprehension skills. I never said anything was better(regardless of my personal opinion), I said it has simply become the same as everywhere else.

When I say the same, I mean short fields, tough to fill races, a lot of scratches, and political issues that are hard to overcome.

[pointman]

Originally Posted by pba1817

Keep holding you breath, maybe you will drop dead. While you are at it, try to improve your comprehension skills. I never said anything was better(regardless of my personal opinion), I said it has simply become the same as everywhere else.

When I say the same, I mean short fields, tough to fill races, a lot of scratches, and political issues that are hard to overcome.

Genius! At least you got one of four things right.

[alphanumeric1]

A non-binding deal between the state and Genting, letter says Posted on January 6, 2012 at 12:46 pm by James M. Odato, Albany Times Union
Cuomo administration officials say they are privately negotiating details under a non-binding agreement that would allow Genting Group to build a extremely large convention center at New York’s Aqueduct Race Track. The state has not indicated any plans to allow other companies to bid for the rights to develop the Queens track site, despite racing law that requires an open process.
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From the PETA blog: Horses and people who care about them can rest a little easier tonight. HBO has announced that it is canceling Luck and ceasing all production on the series! March 14, 2012
http://www.peta.org/b/thepetafiles/a...uck-horse.aspx
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Breakdown Death And Disarray At America's Racetracks, Mangled Horses, Maimed Jockeys
By WALT BOGDANICH, JOE DRAPE, DARA L. MILES and GRIFFIN PALMER
Published: March 24, 2012, New York Times
The new economics of horse racing are making an always-dangerous game even more so, as lax oversight puts animal and rider at risk.
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Officials are pessimistic about the future of racing Posted on April 17, 2012 at 7:15 pm by James M. Odato, Albany Times Union
New York State Franchise Oversight Board member John Crotty said he doesn’t think enough people are interested in horse racing to sustain the sport and other members said NYRA isn’t taking enough bold moves to rev up its operation.
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Report says NYRA president misled the public on overcharges Posted on April 30, 2012 at 9:48 am by James M. Odato, Albany Times Union
The Racing and Wagering Board investigators lay out a timeline that suggests Hayward and his former associate, Steve Crist, were in correspondence about the problem and in agreement in keeping it quiet.
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Big Purses, Sore Horses, and Death By JOE DRAPE, WALT BOGDANICH, REBECCA R. RUIZ and GRIFFIN PALMER Published: April 30, 2012, New York Times
Large payouts to owners make it profitable for owners to field thoroughbreds that are past their prime, sometimes with fatal results.
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PETA files new complaints against HBO’s ‘Luck’
By JERRY BOSSERT, NY Daily News Thursday, May 03, 2012
LOUISVILLE - The animal rights group PETA has filed new complaints with the Los Angeles district attorney's office and with the California Veterinary Medical Board alleging severe mistreatment of horses on the set of HBO's race track series Luck, which was canceled in March following the death of a third horse.
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NYRA scolded for filling executive slots Posted on May 15, 2012 at 5:07 pm by James M. Odato, Albany Times Union
State watchdogs blasted the New York Racing Association on Tuesday…As punishment, the Division of Lottery is instructing Genting, the operators of the racino at Aqueduct, to withhold NYRA’s share of video lottery terminal betting and instead send those payments to a dedicated Lottery account.

[Kasept]

Bossert, Drape, Odato.. No biased reportage out of that trifecta.

[joeydb]

Originally Posted by pba1817

Thank you for the informative post, and thus the true crux of the matter comes, it is always a money grab by one source or the other isn't it? It is too bad that the actually horseman, the fans, the and racing product itself will be the only who suffer in the situation.

Sure, it will always be that way as long as takeout is collected first, at an arbitrary percentage. The respective states get paid first, at a constant percentage, and need not have any concern about the day to day operations. The state governments are not forward thinking enough to grow the business or help it to thrive. They don't care - and they never will. The only performance oriented people are the others you allude to - the horsemen, the jockeys, the track operations people.

It's another classic leech situation, just like high taxes. When the government gets paid first - like the witholding in your weekly paycheck - they are insulated from the other worries that other earners - like you who earned the check - may have.