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-   -   New York Franchise Award Recommendation May Come Nov. 21 (http://www.paceadvantage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=32592)

Ron 11-21-2006 01:07 PM

New York Franchise Award Recommendation May Come Nov. 21
 
Any word or speculation?

Suff 11-21-2006 01:15 PM

A state panel in New York is poised to recommend its choice for a new franchise holder to run racing at Aqueduct, Belmont, and Saratoga racetracks on Tuesday, Nov. 21.



The Ad Hoc Committee on the Future of Racing has completed its major review of the three remaining bids and is leaning to vote on a franchise award at its meeting in Saratoga Springs.

State officials declined comment, but sources close to the board said the meeting will be a crucial one that will likely include a public discussion of the specific proposals made by the bidders. Two sources said they expected the committee to vote on a franchise proposal at the meeting. Another state official cautioned Monday evening that he did not expect a final vote by the panel. An official with ties to the committee said while some details of the bids could be revealed there are indications that the panel's members will not be able to reach a concensus on a final recommendation.

In the running is the current franchise holder, the New York Racing Association. It is running what could be an uphill battle against two formidable opponents: Empire Racing Associates and Excelsior Racing Associates. Empire includes New York horsemen, as well as Magna Entertainment and Churchill Downs, among others. Excelsior includes New York Yankees partner Steve Swindal, casino developer Richard Fields and others.

The state committee, which includes representatives of Gov. George Pataki and legislative leaders from the Assembly and Senate, has been poring over the bids for months.

Its decision will be, however, non-binding on the Legislature and governor.

The timing has also left matters muddled. Pataki leaves office in little more than a month; he is being replaced by Eliot Spitzer, the state's current attorney general who has been a frequent critic over the years of NYRA. Legislators on the racing committee have said a decision on a new franchise holder will not come until next year to give the governor-elect an opportunity to decide the future of the racing industry. However, there have been various theories running rampant in recent weeks at the state Capitol how the racing franchise could still somehow appear in a last-minute session by lawmakers if they return to Albany before the end of the year. The ad hoc committee has been looking at dozens of factors in judging the bids, including fiscal health of the bidders, what types of changes needed to state law to make the thoroughbred racing model work in New York and on a plan to bring video lottery terminals to Belmont racetrack.

kenwoodallpromos 11-21-2006 02:30 PM

Speculation
 
Probably be the NYRA, but my personal choice is Empire; the 3rd is my longshot favorite! That covers me on all 3!!LOL!!

the little guy 11-21-2006 02:33 PM

NYRA can't win this " recomendation " and it is completely irrelevent as Spitzer is not going to take into account what comes out of Governor Pataki's Ad-Hoc committee.

Call it what it is....a monumental waste of time.

Ron 11-21-2006 03:04 PM

Good point!

LaughAndBeMerry 11-21-2006 03:13 PM

1. It's not likely to be NYRA.

2. It isn't binding on the governor, it's simply a recommendation.

3. Pataki has no interest in touching this anyway since it's Spitzer's problem now.

4. It's incredible that the entire process has gotten this f*****d up.

LaughAndBeMerry 11-21-2006 05:42 PM

We Have An Upset
 
Excelsior Racing Associates has been selected by a state government committee in New York to be the next holder of the franchise to run racing at Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga racetracks.The non-binding decision by the Ad Hoc Committee on the Future of Racing recommended to the governor and state lawmakers that Excelsior get the franchise over the New York Racing Association, which placed a distant third in the scoring system by the panel. Empire Racing Associates, whose partners include New York horsemen, Magna Entertainment and Churchill Downs, scored second behind Excelsior....

http://news.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=36474


My personal opinion is that Empire took on too many partners (adding an ex- NY governor this past weekend) and really overplayed their hand. I don't think this will end it, as NYRA has said they will litigate.

Suff 11-21-2006 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaughAndBeMerry

My personal opinion is that Empire took on too many partners (adding an ex- NY governor this past weekend) and really overplayed their hand. I don't think this will end it, as NYRA has said they will litigate.

Gary Contessa and Jerry Bailey are in this group. Basically its the Horsemens choice as Contessa is thier surrogate.

the little guy 11-21-2006 05:52 PM

Excelsior was like 1:1000 to win this recommendation. Of course they won.

It's actually kind of funny how much time they pretended to spend picking this winner.

LaughAndBeMerry 11-21-2006 05:55 PM

Contessa is NOT their advocate. The horsemen through their support to Empire. Contessa pissed them off big time when he decided ON HIS OWN to join the Excelsior board.

This will be interesting.

LaughAndBeMerry 11-21-2006 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the little guy
Excelsior was like 1:1000 to win this recommendation. Of course they won.

It's actually kind of funny how much time they pretended to spend picking this winner.

You make a very good point. I don't think they could give it to NYRA, and I don't think they could give it to Magna.

kenwoodallpromos 11-21-2006 07:01 PM

Yankees bought a winner!!
 
:jump:

Bruddah 11-21-2006 07:16 PM

I'm with the TLG
 
on this one. It was written in stone, the day they announced. Can you spell Cronieism (sp) Cronnism (sp) Cronyism...Yeah that's the Ticket !! :D

cj 11-22-2006 09:21 AM

Here is a link to the Sirius satellite show, starring the little guy, that talks about this issue:

http://stream.attheracesandbeyond.co...am/112106c.mp3

It does not stream, but will download to your machine.

aaron 11-24-2006 02:31 PM

I listened to the TLG on sirrus,the one good point he made was that no one was interested in the franchise till slots were included.From the interview,the only thing that seems to be certain is that no matter who gets the franchise the player will suffer.There seems to be a complete lack of interest in the customer.
TLG has shown blind allegiance to NYRA.I don't know why,this is the same organization that once fired him.I guess he has a good working relation with the new administration,which seems to be tied into the DRF.At this point it probably doesn't matter who wins the franchise.We have two bidders who are only interested in the slots and one bidder who has been incompetent,as far as making business decisions for over thirty years.


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