Wednesday 8/9 Talking Horses with NYRA President Dave O’Rourke

[the little guy]

Dave O’Rourke is going to join me to start Talking Horses today, 8/9, at 12:05 ET to discuss events from last weekend. Hopefully you’ll get a chance to tune in.

[Robert Fischer]

Looking forward to it.

[Sheffwed]

Originally Posted by the little guy

Dave O’Rourke is going to join me to start Talking Horses today, 8/9, at 12:05 ET to discuss events from last weekend. Hopefully you’ll get a chance to tune in.

appreciate the candor, hopefully this past weekend is something that can inspire improvements across the board

here's hoping anyway

[Andy Asaro]

Good job Andy

I'd like to see them seed the Sunday pick 5 pool. Would be smart PR

[$w1fT]

Well done, Andy.

[Moreno]

will he take questions from the public?

[cj]

Would be nice if didn't take at so long to get it posted on Youtube for those of us that couldn't catch it live. It still isn't there.

[Publius]

A great response by Dave O'Rourke.

YouTube (Short URL)

[king kong]

NYRA pickpockets should get arrested like common criminals

[classhandicapper]

Now that we've heard from NYRA, IMO, horizontal players should be less concerned about what happened and more concerned about what changes are going to implemented so horseplayers can be confident they aren't trying to overcome disadvantages that exceed just the track take.

Going forward

Are they going to have the technical ability to cancel the wager entirely, refund the money, and the power to do so?

Are they going to modify the rules so they can deal with situations like this adequately and then follow them?

Are they going to have permission to delay the race and give players more time to cancel and adjust their bets?

Other?

They did a good job explaining what happened and taking responsibility, but what happens next has to be communicated and implemented.

[ScottJ]

Originally Posted by classhandicapper

Now that we've heard from NYRA, IMO, horizontal players should be less concerned about what happened and more concerned about what changes are going to implemented so horseplayers can be confident they aren't trying to overcome disadvantages that exceed just the track take.

Going forward

Are they going to have the technical ability to cancel the wager entirely, refund the money, and the power to do so?

Are they going to modify the rules so they can deal with situations like this adequately and then follow them?

Are they going to have permission to delay the race and give players more time to cancel and adjust their bets?

Other?

They did a good job explaining what happened and taking responsibility, but what happens next has to be communicated and implemented.

Excellent questions and excellent points.

David O'Rourke demonstrated what leadership looks like during his Talking Horses preview show with Andy. Rather than passing the buck, pointing the finger, or chastising individuals, David concluded that it was not worth going through the minute-by-minute timeline and decision making as it would allow others to question the jockeys, the stewards, the NYRA staff, the wagering infrastructure and who knows what else.

Instead, he sat in the limelight, took the arrows, and said the key words : "The buck stops with me." Period. I, for one, sincerely believe him and believe that he has heard the community's concerns.

One also must acknowledge how well Andy handled what must have been a very difficult interview under immense pressure. He collegially handled the discussion, used terms that conveyed the temperature in the room (people are "pissed off"), and gave David the chance to honestly state the case. Not bad for a trained mathematician/statistician.

[aaron]

Originally Posted by ScottJ

Excellent questions and excellent points.

David O'Rourke demonstrated what leadership looks like during his Talking Horses preview show with Andy. Rather than passing the buck, pointing the finger, or chastising individuals, David concluded that it was not worth going through the minute-by-minute timeline and decision making as it would allow others to question the jockeys, the stewards, the NYRA staff, the wagering infrastructure and who knows what else.

Instead, he sat in the limelight, took the arrows, and said the key words : "The buck stops with me." Period. I, for one, sincerely believe him and believe that he has heard the community's concerns.

One also must acknowledge how well Andy handled what must have been a very difficult interview under immense pressure. He collegially handled the discussion, used terms that conveyed the temperature in the room (people are "pissed off"), and gave David the chance to honestly state the case. Not bad for a trained mathematician/statistician.

In my opinion Andy did a very good interview.What I don't agree with is that David O'Rourke showed leadership. It is easy to take blame after the incident. A real leader would have been pro active and prevented the incident.What does he get paid for ? To apologize for incompetence. To me he sounded more like a political patronage person than a CEO.If in a case like this he can't overrule stewards, then what exactly can he do ? I would never say that he should overrule stewards for what happens in a race, but he should be able to protect the bettor in unusual circumstances.

[PhantomOnTour]

Originally Posted by aaron

In my opinion Andy did a very good interview.What I don't agree with is that David O'Rourke showed leadership. It is easy to take blame after the incident. A real leader would have been pro active and prevented the incident.What does he get paid for ? To apologize for incompetence. To me he sounded more like a political patronage person than a CEO.If in a case like this he can't overrule stewards, then what exactly can he do ? I would never say that he should overrule stewards for what happens in a race, but he should be able to protect the bettor in unusual circumstances.

This ^^^

It's all well and good that he apologized, but what about the money??? (which is what it's all about really)

Agree that Andy handled the interview very well

[cj]

The CEO wanted to give the money back and that was 100% the right call. Let's hope that he will work to get the rules changed before this occurs again.

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by aaron

In my opinion Andy did a very good interview.What I don't agree with is that David O'Rourke showed leadership. It is easy to take blame after the incident. A real leader would have been pro active and prevented the incident.What does he get paid for ? To apologize for incompetence. To me he sounded more like a political patronage person than a CEO.If in a case like this he can't overrule stewards, then what exactly can he do ? I would never say that he should overrule stewards for what happens in a race, but he should be able to protect the bettor in unusual circumstances.

At which tracks can executives “overrule” stewards? I’ll give you a hint…none.