New York Franchise Award Recommendation May Come Nov. 21

[Indulto]

In following the debacle at SA, a singular similarity between the CHRB synthetic surface mandate and the NY racing franchise renewal plan became apparent, i.e., the attempt to impose a standard set of operating parameters on diverse geographic locations and communities. Perhaps it would be instructive to view the NY issues not as privatization vs. government control, but rather as to what works best where at what time of the year.

For the sake of argument, let’s assume that state and local politicians are as hungry as private, for-profit operators for uncapped slots revenue while the horsemen and NYRA are content with purse and operations subsidies.

Even without slots, SAR is a profitable operation whereas even with slots, AQU might not be. While people who attend SAR also fuel local businesses, the same is not true of BEL and AQU where it’s in and out regardless of transportation type.

NYRA’s appeal is not for what changes it will produce in the future, but for what traditions it will preserve from the past. Everyone wants SAR to remain what it is. People interested in racing want what BEL was, and can still be. Whatever grandeur AQU once had has been compromised by the inner track meet which NYRA insists is necessary for the well-being of NY racing the rest of the year.

We can’t ignore the impact of technology on racing any more than we can on the rest of our lives. The fact is that for most racing fans, a large-screen TV in convenient, comfortable surroundings is more conducive to an enjoyable (and profitable?) experience than overcoming the hassle of getting to the track only to get a less than optimal view and audio enhancement of the proceedings under repelling circumstances. Attendance is totally dependent on marquee events and supporting weather, so attendance figure benchmarks are now meaningless everywhere.

While I disagree with NYP that the duplicitous Capital Offense is the appropriate vehicle for change, I now agree with him and A2 that experimenting with a different model where NYRA has proven to be less effective, is worthy of consideration. It may also the type of change necessary to resolve NYRA's competitive conflicts with the OTBs.

I still endorse NYRA’s running all warmer-weather dates (including the main track meets at AQU) while getting that 30-year extension at SAR and BEL, but a for-profit operation willing and capable of providing a large cash infusion should be attempted at AQU on a carefully-monitored, renewable, short-term basis with guaranteed subsidies for purses and NYRA operations at AQU, BEL and SAR in exchange for NYRA’s ceding their land to the state.

Perhaps guaranteed subsidies from AQU VLTs as opposed to a percentage of the take would be more acceptable to the horsemen, the state, and NYRA as well as make optimal slot profits at AQU preferable to competition with any at BEL in the near future.

[trigger]

Originally Posted by Indulto

While I disagree with NYP that the duplicitous Capital Offense is the appropriate vehicle for change, I now agree with him and A2 that experimenting with a different model where NYRA has proven to be less effective, is worthy of consideration. It may also the type of change necessary to resolve NYRA's competitive conflicts with the OTBs.

.

NYRA gets ~17% of the NYOTB's handle on NYRA races. Whats wrong with that?

[the little guy]

Originally Posted by trigger

NYRA gets ~17% of the NYOTB's handle on NYRA races. Whats wrong with that?

I think you might want to check that.

[Indulto]

In yet another senior moment I failed to remember SJ's long-time advocacy in this thread of for-profit racetrack managment.

Trig,
I was under the impression that OTB is the least rewarding off-track source of NYRA's handle. I don't remember whether NYRA actually broke it down in their re-submitted proposal to the Spitzer-apponted panel.

tlg,
Is it my computer, or did you NOT appear on ATRAB in the segment labeled with your name this week?

[the little guy]

Originally Posted by Indulto

In yet another senior moment I failed to remember SJ's long-time advocacy in this thread of for-profit racetrack managment.

Trig,
I was under the impression that OTB is the least rewarding off-track source of NYRA's handle. I don't remember whether NYRA actually broke it down in their re-submitted proposal to the Spitzer-apponted panel.

tlg,
Is it my computer, or did you NOT appear on ATRAB in the segment labeled with your name this week?

I don't know the exact numbers but I believe that NYRA gets a high percentage from OTB.

As for ATR......I will almost never be on and have only been on a handful of times in the last five plus months.

[Indulto]

Originally Posted by the little guy

I don't know the exact numbers but I believe that NYRA gets a high percentage from OTB.

I'm sure NYRA gets a high percentage of its handle from OTB, but what about percentage of wagered dollar through OTB? GP's price last year while they were negotiating with (and shutting out) OTB was mentaioned as being extremely low for the industry and I think I remember a comment that AQU's was lower than GP's.

As for ATR......I will almost never be on and have only been on a handful of times in the last five plus months.

Sorry to hear that. I thought "New York State Of Mind" was a regular feature.

[the little guy]

They get a high rate from OTB. I knew what you were saying. I'm not that stupid.

[bigmack]

Originally Posted by the little guy

I'm not that stupid.

It pains me to remind you.

[the little guy]

He looks like a smart dog.

[bigmack]

Originally Posted by the little guy

He looks like a smart dog.

Let not his sanguine eyes fool any into believing that his hindsight is anything less than a honed 20/20. He's the mascot for your run-of-the-mill red boarder.

Forgive the deviation on the construct of your robust thread, Duelto.

As you were.

[Indulto]

Originally Posted by bigmack

... Forgive the deviation on the construct of your robust thread, Duelto.

As you were.

BgM,
Thanks for that ever-popular reminder of the lowlights that sometimes occur in the limelight.

Originally Posted by the little guy

They get a high rate from OTB. I knew what you were saying. I'm not that stupid.

tlg,
There’s plenty of confusion going around without you taking offense. In the first of the following links, NYRA claims it only retains 2.5% of each wager from OTB payments which average 15.5% of each wager according to the second link.

NYRA Franchise Bidder Proposal Addendum
ftp://ftp.racing.state.ny.us/april_bid_addendums/NYRA/
Addendum Submission:

…on-track handle, where NYRA retains 9.9 percent of each wager, accounts for only 12% of total wagering. The remaining 88 percent originates from OTBs and simulcast sites where NYRA retains only 2.5 percent of each wager. Therefore, throughout a period when total wagering was increasing, NYRA’s revenue declined. …

http://www.albanylaw.edu/media/user/glc/nyracingbythenumbers06.pdf.

…

New York bettors are placing more and more money on races in other states. In 2006, 56.4% of the bets placed in New York were on out-of-state races, as compared to 55% of the bets in 2005. At the OTB’s 63.2% of the bets were placed on out-of-state tracks as compared to 62.3% in 2005. Of all the bets placed in New York on out-of-state tracks, 88.9% were placed at OTB’s. The amount of bets placed on out-of-state tracks at OTB’s has increased each year over the past decade. In 1997, $688.6 million was wagered on out-of-state races at OTB. By 2006, that number had reached $1.3 billion

… Since legislation was passed in 2001 to decrease takeout at NYRA (and hopefully increase handle at NYRA), live handle on NYRA races is down by 22.7%. Taking into account cost of living increases, the “real” decrease in live NYRA handle since 2000 is 34%. Perhaps the decreased takeout reduced the losses of handle at NYRA; it certainly did not grow the handle.

… NYCOTB now pays 17.5% of its NYRA handle back to NYRA. On the other hand, NYCOTB pays 2.1% of its out-of-state thoroughbred handle to out-of-state thoroughbred tracks.

… Capital returned 11% of its NYRA handle back to NYRA.

… Catskill returned 16.9% of its NYRA handle back to NYRA.

.. Nassau returned 13.8% of its NYRA handle back to NYRA.

… Suffolk returned 13.8% of its NYRA handle back to NYRA.

… Western returned 13.8% of its NYRA handle back to NYRA.

… Total OTB payments to NYRA represented 15.5% of total handle of NYRA at the OTB’s. …

[Indulto]

http://www.drf.com/news/article/91540.html
NYRA talks focused on board, slots
By MATT HEGARTY

… Though negotiations were conducted in earnest over the weekend of Jan. 4-5, the participants have not discussed the extension since Sunday, officials involved in the negotiations said Thursday, because of preparations surrounding Spitzer's State of the State address on Wednesday and the death in Bruno's family.

… Reif said that Bruno wanted to resolve the Belmont issue before the state's budget is drafted this spring.

… Silver has said that disappointing returns from other racetrack casinos in the state indicate that the market for the machines is not as robust as many analysts believed.

… NYRA has now indicated that it is willing to accept a 25-year extension, as a concession to allow the association more leeway in determining the composition of its board.

Bruno is pushing for a board that would include several appointees of the legislature and government, which would give political parties an ongoing say in NYRA's operations.

… NYRA is operating under the protection of bankruptcy court, and the association is scheduled to appear in court Monday to ask for an extension to its "exclusive period," which expires Tuesday. During an exclusive period, only the entity that is in bankruptcy can submit a reorganization plan, and NYRA is hoping to get a short extension to allow the negotiations to continue without the potential distraction of creditors submitting their own reorganization plans. …

*** WARNING *** Anti-depressants may be required for some reading the following in its ironic entirety :

http://www.horseraceinsider.com/blog...olly/#comments
2005 Town Hall Meeting Forecasted New York Folly
By Vic Zast

It was a weekday morning in midsummer 2005 … That was when the folly with which we’re left was pre-ordained.

The Friends of New York Racing, founded by former National Thoroughbred Racing Association commissioner Tim Smith, called a town hall meeting …
... about to go public with its recommendations to the Legislature on how to fix racing. “The model is broken,” one panelist after another persisted. But everything that was wrong with the sport could be fixed by going private, they (excepting Hayward) believed.

… Now, nearly 1000 days after the lackluster town hall meeting, racing in New York doesn’t even have its operator.

… Bruno got his sound bites in shortly after the town meeting …

… The 78-year-old equivocator declared, “If you know something’s not working, why do you want to wait two or two-and-a-half years to fix it? Why do you wait one year to fix it? Fix it!” How silly these pronouncements sound today. How duplicitous the man who said them appears.

… Dressed in the mantle of the establishment, NYRA appears to be an unlikely catalyst for change. But it owns the land and the not-for-profit model it espouses is the only one that works. The sorry reality is that only a governmental agency in receipt of the largesse of taxpayer funding can compete in the current casino gambling environment. In this regard, socialism, for the fans at least, is a good thing.

It’ll take the passing of an election year to right the mess that’s been created. These chickens won’t stick their necks out to remedy the game with a new gambling initiative. Once the sloppy business of extending NYRA’s franchise gets done, the inherent problems of the broken model won’t change. It’ll be business as usual – the role-playing, doublespeak and kickbacks. …

[Indulto]

http://horseracing.sportsline.com/cb...rticleId=24716
NYRA'S exclusivity extended
By MATT HEGARTY

A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Monday approved a one-month extension to the period in which the New York Racing Association is the only entity allowed to submit a reorganization plan to the court, an attorney for NYRA said.

Judge James Peck of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved the extension at the request of NYRA, which is hoping that legislators in New York will soon work out a long-term extension to its franchise. …

[Indulto]

Regrettably, I’m a latecomer to Mr. Zast’s work, but the following excerpts from his November 19 column are still applicable:

http://www.horseraceinsider.com/blog...w-is/#comments
No Operator Not the Problem No Law Is
By Vic Zast

It’s not that several groups instead of one couldn’t run New York racing.

… Why, even in the Empire State, Finger Lakes has a license to operate outside of the purview of NYRA

… given Bruno’s apparent inclination to think of himself first before the electorate, how can anyone be sure that he hasn’t placed fundraising to the fore and governing to the aft in his scheming?

… Mind you, the snafu that’s coming with Bruno’s announcement of how he plans to fix racing by dividing the sport among the highest bidders has little to do with how he partitions the spoils. NYRA isn’t the only operator that can piss people off, so don’t worry if the current regime isn’t left with all the racetracks. A mere three years ago, when then Gov. George Pataki, another knight in shining stupor, began the bidding process, it was “off with their heads,” remember?

No, the real cause for concern is what happens when Bruno’s multiple entities begin clamoring for dates. Sooner or later, some numb-nuts will point out that New York City is three hours from Saratoga Springs, so why can’t the upstate and downstate tracks run currently, he’ll ask.

… Decades later, the people of New York will recall what used to be and say that the times, not the careless behavior of greedy men, caused the changes that led to the decline. Just like people now say that Hialeah was swept under because Spanish became the first tongue in its neighborhood.

There’s no doubt that hyperbole weakens most arguments, and, redundancy aside, you will find here an over abundance of the dastardly figure of speech. But are these dire conclusions more ridiculous than the farce that the fans of New York are enduring?

… Bruno is betting that the judge in NYRA’s bankruptcy hearing will determine that the racetrack land in Saratoga and Queens belongs to the state, isn’t he? He’s convinced that the board of NYRA won’t stop racing come January, right? The organizers of Empire, Capital Play and whoever else is out there lurking are most likely assuring him that they can step in on a moment’s notice. ….

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/14/senator-brunos-wife-is-eulogized/
Senator Bruno’s Wife Is Eulogized
By Danny Hakim

Several hundred people — including … a who’s who of state politicians — turned out today for a memorial service for Barbara Bruno, the wife of the State Senate majority leader, Joseph L. Bruno. Mrs. Bruno died on Jan. 8 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

Lining the first row: Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, Gov. Eliot Spitzer, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg ... Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

… After his speech, Mr. Bruno hugged several of the politicians in the first row, including the governor, who has his been a bitter political rival. …

Hopefully, now that Mrs. Bruno’s suffering is over, the Senator will be able to contribute to ending the delay in resolving ALL the states outstanding issues. The negative aspects of his prior political rhetoric certainly seem at odds with his reported devotion to his wife and the glimpses of their relationship that he shared in his eulogy.

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/hor...aul&id=3198129
The state of racing
By Paul Moran

… The future of racing in New York is in the hands of politicians and a bankruptcy court, dangerous places. While lawmakers, incapable arriving at some point of agreement on issues they see as important because they can be controlled from the halls of power, have left the New York Racing Association in a state of suspended animation, operating under piecemeal extensions of a franchise that expired on New Year's Eve while helpless to fill important if long-vacant positions, repair long-neglected facilities at Belmont and Aqueduct and move forward with the long-delayed development of a racino at the latter. Only when discussing racing in New York is it possible to use the terms long-vacant, long-neglected and long-delayed in the same sentence. So goes the state of the game.

Though for better or worse order in some form will prevail in New York, the political fraternity, presented with the opportunity to correct a 35-year-old mistake commonly known as OTB when New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg made known his desire to rid the city of the public benefit corporation it owns, has declined. …

[classhandicapper]

>>No, the real cause for concern is what happens when Bruno’s multiple entities begin clamoring for dates. Sooner or later, some numb-nuts will point out that New York City is three hours from Saratoga Springs, so why can’t the upstate and downstate tracks run currently, he’ll ask.<<<

As retarded as that sounds, someone at OTB told me that idea is being floated around. When I heard it, I almost passed out at the level of ignorance. Now I'm sure someone among all those incompetent, brain dead, corrupt, scumbags working this out will point out why it won't work, but the level of ignorance leaves no doubt why putting anything in government's hands is a huge mistake.