Probe of NYRA execs may be launched - NYRA may lose slots subsidies

[PaceAdvantage]

Originally Posted by aaron

Note: Todd Pletcher has had positives,but he is ignored when we talk of trainers who are suspicious.

He is? Not from what I read around here and elsewhere.

Bob Baffert might be who you're thinking of...

I cite as evidence this New York Times article from 2010:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/04/sp...cing.html?_r=2

In the "Starts Per Med Violation" he ranked third...Todd Pletcher ranked 15th, with almost the same ranking as the venerable BILL MOTT...

[lamboguy]

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-raci...ays?source=rss

why would anyone want to change up with these results?

[aaron]

Originally Posted by PaceAdvantage

He is? Not from what I read around here and elsewhere.

Bob Baffert might be who you're thinking of...

I cite as evidence this New York Times article from 2010:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/04/sp...cing.html?_r=2

In the "Starts Per Med Violation" he ranked third...Todd Pletcher ranked 15th, with almost the same ranking as the venerable BILL MOTT...

That's one article from 2010. He is not written up in the DRf every other day or even really questions about it. The article mentions Mott who is never questioned on positives.
I never thought Mott's name would be up there.
Is there something wrong with a sport that can't police its players ? I was aware of Baffert having positives,but had completely forgotten about Mott,m
aybe because he has always been one of my favorite trainers,I looked the other way. The point being is horse racing is just like the steroid era in baseball. We must assume that all successful trainers are cheating,because there is no way to prove otherwise. It is so rare that a trainer is made an example of. They are trying to do this with Dutrow,but how many more are getting away with using performance enhancing drugs ? Even if they don't want to use them,they must use them to compete.

[Tom]

Anyone see the handle for the first 4 days at Toga~?
Why, those NYRA exec's out to be tarred and feathered for that performance~! And the idiot racing secretary, carding 5 turf races in the early races so that not one got hot by the rain later on! Who the hell dies he think he is, anyways~?
Here's the gory details....read it and weep.

http://www.drf.com/news/saratoga-bus...dly-first-week

Boy, I can't wait until Baby Mario takes over and fixes these continuing problems.

[Indulto]

http://thedailynewsonline.com/news/article_5a0a172e-d868-11e1-ba41-0019bb2963f4.html
WROTB wants Kane on NYRA board
By Tom RiversJuly 28, 2012

…

Michael Kane, the president and CEO of Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp., would offer valuable insight to the restructured board of the New York Racing Association ...

... The Batavia-based corporation is reaching out to state senators in the 15 counties and cities of Rochester and Buffalo that are served by WROTB. They want legislators to push for Kane to serve on the 17-member board for NYRA …

… Kane is the only one in the racing industry who leads an organization that not only runs live racing meets and hosts a video gaming business, but also has an array of OTB parlors and E-Z Bet locations.

“There’s no one more qualified than our own CEO to serve on that board,” said Richard Siebert, Genesee County’s OTB board representative.

… WROTB thinks Kane’s best bet would be securing a Senate nod. Republicans have a slight majority in the Senate, and several Republican senators represent WROTB communities, including George Maziarz, Michael Ranzenhofer, Patrick Gallivan and Cathy Young.

… Kane said he would be willing to serve on the board. If appointed, he said he would remain as WROTB’s leader. …

[Tom]

Stock the board with proven losers from the worse run bookmaker in world.....priceless.

Unless the plan is to bankrupt NYRA just so Joe the Drape can say I told ya so.

[Indulto]

http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Equine-death-examination-to-shed-light-on-rash-of-3745177.php
Equine death examination to shed light on rash of breakdowns
James M. Odato July 29, 2012

… on March 15, Gov. Andrew Cuomo's deputy for racing issues, Ben Liebman, wrote a missive to NYRA Trustee Michael Del Giudice. Liebman wrote that he was "extremely troubled by the NYRA response for an independent review and investigation of the breakdowns at Aqueduct."

He noted that then-NYRA President Charles Hayward had suggested that the matter be probed by the Safety and Integrity Alliance of the National Thoroughbred Racing Alliance. "This cannot remotely be considered an independent review," Liebman said.

The Safety Alliance had already certified and accredited Aqueduct, Liebman wrote, and NYRA is a member of the NTRA. "It really takes some audacity," Liebman said about Hayward's pitch.

Racing & Wagering Board Chairman John Sabini wrote an official letter to Hayward on March 16 rejecting Hayward's plan to have the NTRA handle the equine death examination.

In the end, the New York Task Force on Racehorse Health and Safety was appointed with retired jockey Jerry Bailey, Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association Chairman Alan Foreman and veterinarians Scott Palmer and Mary Scollay. Their report will look into track conditions and health of horses and will likely come with recommendations on things such as appropriate drugs, racing rules and ways NYRA can improve. …

[Indulto]

http://espn.go.com/horse-racing/story/_/id/8215130/burning-question
The burning question
By Paul MoranJuly 30, 2012

… … His [Cuomo’s] minions in Albany will appoint the majority of board members, though it is difficult to envision any political animal being anxious to take a job for which there is no remuneration and little opportunity for larceny. This was originally an organization by and for owners and breeders of racehorses and service on the board of trustees was a labor of love, something generally absent in the halls of government.

The product of this process will be a board composed of people who know everything about patronage and nothing about racing or the operation of racetracks. They will be led by one of their own and all unpaid. This is something other than a formula for success.

… It needs a CEO and a general manager as well as a new head legal counsel. The state headhunters will find that the talent pool is shallow and highly paid. Anyone qualified will demand a salary significantly greater than Cuomo's. Expect a bad decision.

… NYRA is running on fumes. A few department heads with specific expertise and long experience are keeping things together, but no one is in charge and swarms of devils emerge almost daily from the details. Clueless interim leadership of the year's most important race meeting is not a good idea.

… This is in the main NYRA's fault. Permitting the shortchanging of bettors to the tune of some $8.5 million is, in effect, grand larceny for which no one has been held accountable. The firing of former president Charles Hayward and chief legal counsel Patrick Keogh fall short of holding them accountable. That, though the oddity is that this was grand larceny without personal benefit, would take the form of indictment. All this took place with a board in place that included several political appointees, none of which appears to have been paying attention to their unpaid jobs, and an oversight board -- all political appointees -- charged with nothing except overseeing NYRA. Clearly, an incompetent State Racing and Wagering Board was asleep at the switch. The state was clearly as much at fault as NYRA, but no one has been held responsible. …

… This should be a time of boundless promise in New York. Alternative wagering has put racing on firm financial footing some would even call prosperity. If anything has exceeded expectations at Saratoga, it is the racing resulting from casino-fueled purses. Fields have been large and competitive. But there is the lingering sense of dread in the racing community -- a not far-fetched concern that Cuomo will soon reach into the pockets of horsemen and breeders, that this long-awaited prosperity will be temporary. …

During the NY racing franchise renewal process, Mr. Moran advocated private ownership of the franchise. The problem then was that the private bidders were all perceived to be primarily motivated by the slots franchise revenue. If he’s calling for private ownership again today, who would want to own the franchise without that revenue?”

Those “laboring for love” on the board at the time were ultimately responsible for their own demise. They appeared neither motivated nor savvy enough to fight as hard as necessary to keep the property they legally owned by playing their pat hand to the end. It would be interesting to know what Mr. Kehoe’s advice was at the time.

Claims of reluctance to shut down racing operations subsequently fell by the wayside when State funding promised them in the absence of slots revenue wasn't forthcoming.

Would someone please speculate as to how patronage would differ from networking by “Good Old Boys,” anyway?

[Indulto]

http://saratogian.com/articles/2012/08/14/news/doc502a888e8e032413280963.txt
Assemblyman: NYRA's Ellen McClain getting 'bad deal' from Cuomo's shake-up plans
By PAUL POST August 14, 2012

… Assembly Racing Committee Chairman J. Gary Pretlow, D-Yonkers, said that he and Speaker Sheldon Silver will meet Wednesday to discuss Assembly picks for the new NYRA Reorganization Board that Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to announce by Oct. 1.

… Pretlow said he believes Cuomo is in the process of selecting his choices for the 17-member NYRA board. The Senate and Assembly will have two picks each and NYRA will have five, a major reduction from the 14 people it currently has on the board.

Pretlow said he does not believe NYRA board members have to come from the racing industry.

“Look at most corporate boards,” he said. “Look at Ford Motor Company’s board. How many people on Ford’s board ever built a car?”

However, he said, it’s critical that a skilled manager is brought in who hires experts in the field.

“It’s not brain surgery here,” Pretlow said. “It’s just being able to manage. I don’t know that much about the racing industry. But I could run NYRA with a good racing secretary and front side managers in place, people to deal with fans and wagering.”

[Al Gobbi]

http://www.timesunion.com/local/arti...st-3788655.php

Audit says attendance and handle are not rebounding at NY racinos
By James M. Odato

ALBANY — The use of video slots to reverse horse racing's declining popularity does not appear to be helping the tracks, a new audit suggests.

The audit findings by Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, and an accompanying evaluation from outgoing Division of the Lottery Director Gordon Medenica, said that despite the advent of video lottery terminals, handle and attendance at horse races are not rebounding at racino facilities.

The New York Racing Association continued to be criticized on Tuesday about the falling on-track handle and attendance at the three state tracks it runs — including Aqueduct, which has nearly 5,000 VLTs — in a meeting of the state Franchise Oversight Board.

"The racing experience is getting more and more boring," said FOB member Richard Aurelio. "It's confusing, it's slow-paced, it's seedy. ... The trends are clear: We're losing 4 or 5 percent of fans each year."

[cj]

Originally Posted by Al Gobbi

http://www.timesunion.com/local/arti...st-3788655.php

Audit says attendance and handle are not rebounding at NY racinos
By James M. Odato

Well, there is shocking news. Who in hell ever said the racino would spark interest in racing? If somebody actually did say that, that person may be the dumbest human being on the planet.

I find it amazing they needed an audit, and to waste all the money conducting it, to discover this information.

[aaron]

I guess the only one who thought slots would increase handle on horse racing is the politicians. Hard to believe an audit was done to confirm this.

[PaceAdvantage]

All sources handle is up almost 7% for Saratoga thus far...and they don't have a racino...

http://blog.timesunion.com/horseraci...ter-mark/9120/

[Indulto]

http://saratogian.com/articles/2012/08/15/news/doc502c29bff3116211012218.txt?viewmode=fullstory
VLT money: Use it or lose it, official says
By PAUL POST August 15, 2012

… “Racing has to do a better job of taking the VLT money and showing a positive result on the racing side from it,” said Dick Powell, of West Milton, a long-time racing consultant and former NYRA executive. “I never thought it was a serious threat until what happened in Pennsylvania. That was more of an adjustment. In Canada they’re talking about taking it away completely. That’s on the table. It’s already happened at Fort Erie. It could happen at Woodbine. Once it starts happening, they can’t keep saying that’s never going to happen.”

Powell was a panelist who discussed “A New NYRA with a New Regulatory Framework” at the Saratoga Institute on Racing and Gaming Law that concluded Wednesday at the Gideon Putnam Hotel. More than 200 industry leaders took part in the two-day event.

However, no NYRA officials showed up. ...

NYRA officials were attracted to a more magnetic meeting with Megna the Magnificent reported below getting down and “dirty”.

http://saratogian.com/articles/2012/08/14/news/doc502af98e20b75505106272.txt?viewmode=fullstory
NYRA seeks ways to build up fan base
By PAUL POST August 14, 2012

… NYRA outlined marketing strategies at the state capitol in Albany with members of a state Franchise Oversight Board that monitors NYRA’s activities.

Nationwide, racetrack attendance is declining, and some board members say NYRA isn’t doing enough to counteract such trends.

… NYRA’s three tracks — Saratoga, Belmont Park and Aqueduct — attracted about 1.8 million fans last year. Saratoga averaged more than 22,000 per day, while Belmont and Aqueduct drew 5,000 and 4,300, respectively.

This year, Saratoga’s attendance is down 2 percent, but all-sources wagering has increased 6.5 percent, an indication of the growth in online betting.

Serious handicappers use the 20 minutes between races to study their programs. To casual fans, these down times are “boring” and “slow-paced,” Aurelio said. He also described some racetrack experiences as “seedy.”

… However, NYRA Vice President and Marketing Director Rodnell Workman said such tactics have to be introduced cautiously, so long-time fans don’t get turned off.

“Fans that exist in this sport are very fervent, very passionate,” he said

... NYRA is developing a different marketing strategy for each of its three tracks, because each one has a unique target demographic. Saratoga is by far the most family-oriented of NYRA’s three venues.

McClain said a “grittier” crowd goes to Aqueduct.

“It’s a gritty place,” she said. “There are a lot of people in New York and the suburbs who like gritty.”

Workman added, “Rather than declining, I think the sport is evolving.”

Franchise Oversight Board Chairman Robert Megna said, “We remain focused on this as an issue. I don’t think that’s going to change. As we push you, we push you because we realize how important the sport is.

Seedy?

Grittier? What demographic "likes gritty?"

Evolving into what -- COOTIES? (Chief Operating Officer Terminally Illustrating Executive Shortcomings)

It sounds like the VP of Marketing will become an out-of-work-man.

[JustRalph]

I went grocery shopping tonight. I decided to shop at the most expensive place in town, even though there were more than a few other options. Most with a better sense of customer service, a much better product or service and a willingness to cultivate my future business. The facilities at the other stores are nicer, the staff is very enjoyable to deal with and always make sure I am happy.

The place I ended up at charged me to park, admission fees and made me walk a half mile to get in the store. But I always go there because I really used to love the place, the product was much better ten years ago and the prices were much better too. It's a little gritty.

I often wonder how much longer I will be shopping there?

Apparently my bank account is "evolving too"