New York Franchise Award Recommendation May Come Nov. 21

[Indulto]

http://www.saratogian.com/articles/2009/12/24/sports/doc4b3199ff3abe9884571873.txt
Where do we go from here?
By MICHAEL VEITCH December 23, 2009

… It is sad to think the organization that once stood atop North American racing is now on the verge of coming to a halt because it does not have a VLT operation.

The years of political mishandling of the issue bring no comfort by way of explanation.

But we have now arrived at that place.

State leaders will either get this thing going — and soon — or “America’s Summer Place” could be in for a rough time.

… Saratoga has not escaped the downward trends.

… Last year’s total attendance of 854,400 was the lowest since 826,994 in 1997, and represents a drop of 18 percent since the 1,040,668 attendees in 2004.

The oldest track in the United States is way overdue for an infusion of capital improvements, all tied to revenue from VLT’s.

… And how ironic it is that in the worst case scenario, NYRA might not be able to conduct the only profitable meeting on its schedule. …

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=880820&category=REGION
NYRA chief: VLT delay imperils Spa
Hayward says failure to make Aqueduct deal could mean no spring or summer racing
By JAMES M. ODATO December 22, 2009

… The president of the New York Racing Association says the state's failure to make a deal on casino-like gambling at the state's winter horse track at Aqueduct in Queens could imperil the spring meet at Belmont, and even the highly profitable summer meet at Saratoga.

NYRA President Charles Hayward said Monday he told his staff and board that the private, nonprofit association may run out of cash before spring and can't guarantee a Belmont meet, which is supposed to start in April.

He said a decision to cancel the Belmont or Saratoga meets depends on whether the Paterson administration selects a bidder in the competition to build a giant racino at Aqueduct. That decision, he said, needs to be made in January to give the state time to negotiate a final contract that would include revenue for NYRA.

… The problem, he said, is that the association just can't wait much longer. Horse owners planning to race in the Belmont meet must plan soon to ship for April, Hayward said.

He said NYRA should have cash through June 1. "If we can make it to Saratoga -- obviously Saratoga is very cash-flow positive, which will take us to the fall," Hayward said. "There's a long time between now and June, but our cash flow problems ... are real."

A spokesman for Gov. David Paterson said that negotiations on a winning bidder for Aqueduct's VLT palace are ongoing, but added that NYRA has yet to provide the state with its 2010 budget. "This is a critical decision for the state and requires careful consideration," said Morgan Hook. "We will ... work closely with NYRA to navigate any potential fiscal difficulties." …

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/54504/nyra-to-hold-belmont-but-money-will-run-out?source=rss
NYRA to Hold Belmont, But Money Will Run Out
By Tom Precious December 21, 2009

… Charles Hayward, NYRA’s president, would like it to be known that the racing entity risks running out of money by next June — and that the Belmont Stakes is set for June 5.

“There’s not a threat there," Hayward said Dec. 21. Still, if his ratcheting up of talk about NYRA having to shut down forces state leaders to end the stalemate over a VLT operator at Aqueduct, Hayward is not objecting.

“Sometimes you need to be a little more direct to help people understand what the circumstances are," Hayward said in an interview.

… Hayward said NYRA planned on ending the year with $15 million on hand, but — with NYCOTB holding back $4 million in payments — will finish out 2009 with about $11 million. But that black ink will turn red by next June at the latest, Hayward estimated — all of which would have been avoided had the state selected a VLT operator.

“It’s not our fault there’s no VLT operator," Hayward said.

The NYRA boss chose not to blame any current state leaders, but said much blame can be pointed to former Gov. George Pataki. Hayward said the Pataki administration’s dislike for NYRA scuttled a deal NYRA had with MGM Mirage that would have, in the end, brought far more money to NYRA and the state than any deal the state might end up with from the current bids on the table.

Hayward said the “day has passed" when NYRA would jump back in and ask the state to let NYRA handle the VLT process. “It seems to me that the political leaders understand that this has to get done," Hayward said.

… Hayward said NYRA has no favorite among the bidders. “We have some significant reservation about Aqueduct Entertainment Group, but we won’t comment further on that," Hayward said of the entity whose major partners include Navegante Group of Las Vegas.

How serious is NYRA about no Belmont Stakes next year? Hayward said there have been no contingency plans to deal with possibly canceling the race. Asked if any ideas have been floated to hold the event at another location if it had to be scuttled, Hayward said: “I don’t think we’d undertake that. I don’t know how we’d do that to be honest. …

[aaron]

When you have "The Blind Leading The Blind",this is to be expected.
After all is said and done,how many years old is this thread ?

[Indulto]

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/...poena_boo.html
New York Racing Association will receive subpoena to turn over books to auditors in Belmont crisis
by Barbara Ross December 28th 2009

… State Controller Thomas DiNapoli plans to hand out subpoenas Monday to force the New York Racing Association to turn over its books, sources say.

… Last week, NYRA boss Charles Hayward said the agency was running out of cash and may be forced to cancel the storied Belmont Stakes set for June 5.

DiNapoli is skeptical and wants to know what happened to the millions of taxpayer dollars the financially ailing group got while waiting to open video lottery terminals at Aqueduct.

… NYRA gave the state ownership of $1 billion worth of land under the tracks, and agreed to stricter oversight, including controller audits.

… The state's highest court decided to classify charter schools as exempt from audits because they are not political subdivisions of the state. NYRA insists that as a private nonprofit group, it, too, is exempt.

… For years, state controllers have charged that NYRA has shortchanged New York on franchise fees based on its profits by improperly using federal tax rules to reduce its "profit" on paper.

Two years ago, DiNapoli said NYRA had used this maneuver to dodge $54 million in franchise fees between 2000 and 2005. In some of those years, NYRA paid the state nothing.

NYRA hoped to balance its budget next year from revenue from video lottery machines. The governor and legislative leaders have been unable to agree on one of the five companies that have bid to run the racino.

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/54567/ny-official-issues-subpoena-for-nyra-records
NY Official Issues Subpoena for NYRA Records
By Tom Precious December 28, 2009

…

"Less than six months ago, NYRA said it was financially stable,’’ the Democratic comptroller said in a written statement Dec. 28. "Now, NYRA says without VLT money it may not be able to stay in operation until the Belmont Stakes. In the meantime, it’s been trying to hide its books from my auditors.’’

… DiNapoli said the 2008 law that gave NYRA a new 25-year exclusive franchise to operate Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga racetracks also included provisions to permit its operations to be examined by state auditors. DiNapoli said he wants to get a look at what has happened to the millions of dollars the state has provided NYRA in previous bailouts, while also looking at NYRA’s claims about other entities owing it money.

… "NYRA operates for the benefit of New York. Taxpayers have a right to know what’s going on, and we’re going to audit NYRA and find out,’’ DiNapoli said.

In a statement later in the day, NYRA said it is willing to go to court to keep the comptroller from looking at its books. NYRA said that at the time of its 2008 franchise extension, it made it clear to the Legislature that the renewal law "prohibits'' the state comptroller from auditing the not-for-profit association. It cited a court ruling by the Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, as ammunition.

"The law is clear. If NYRA and the comptroller cannot agree amicably on the clear meaning of the Court of Appeals decision, we should agree to immediately seek a declaratory judgment from the judiciary to quickly resolve this matter,'' the NYRA statement said.

NYRA also bristled at suggestions that the state bailed out its finances. It said money it obtained from Albany in 2008 was in return for NYRA giving up its land claims to the three tracks -- real estate, it said, that is worth more than $1 billion.

"NYRA operates without a single penny of taxpayer subsidy,'' the statement said. It also said the state has failed to live up to an agreement to get the Aqueduct casino up and running by last April -- which would have supplied a steady stream of funds to NYRA in the form of VLT revenue sharing proceeds.

… NYRA added that it is already one of the most "pervasively'' regulated private companies in New York, with its operations under the eye of agencies from the state racing board to the attorney general. And NYRA said it already cooperates on oversight matters with government agencies "that have actual legal authority to regulate and audit its operations.'' It added that the state already appoints 11 of NYRA's 25 board members, and that a state entity has budget oversight authority over NYRA.

"Any suggestion that the taxpayers are placed at risk by the constitutional prohibition on comptroller's audits of NYRA is misleading,'' NYRA said.

[tzipi]

If it was in the writing that NYRA had to show its books,then just open them. Why is NYRA hiding books,when they are just asking what happened to the millions they got??

[PaceAdvantage]

Originally Posted by tzipi

If it was in the writing that NYRA had to show its books,then just open them. Why is NYRA hiding books,when they are just asking what happened to the millions they got??

You heard them, didn't you?

It said money it obtained from Albany in 2008 was in return for NYRA giving up its land claims to the three tracks -- real estate, it said, that is worth more than $1 billion.

Note to self: this ought to bring slewis out of hiding...

[tzipi]

Originally Posted by PaceAdvantage

You heard them, didn't you?

What's your point there Pace?? I heard them?

[tzipi]

I wish I heard their answers to alot of things over the years Pace

[PaceAdvantage]

Originally Posted by tzipi

What's your point there Pace?? I heard them?

My point was the NYRA already addressed why they don't feel the need to share their books with the state:

It said money it obtained from Albany in 2008 was in return for NYRA giving up its land claims to the three tracks -- real estate, it said, that is worth more than $1 billion.

Not saying NYRA is right or wrong, just pointing out why they think the way they do.

You asked:

Why is NYRA hiding books,when they are just asking what happened to the millions they got??

Well, you heard them...there is your answer...NYRA doesn't feel they "got" millions...they feel they "traded" their land rights for the money...sort of even steven...thus they feel they aren't beholden to the state and won't simply roll over when asked.

Note to self: If this doesn't bring slewis out of the shadows, nothing will...

[tzipi]

Originally Posted by PaceAdvantage

My point was the NYRA already addressed why they don't feel the need to share their books with the state:

Not saying NYRA is right or wrong, just pointing out why they think the way they do.

You asked:

Well, you heard them...there is your answer...NYRA doesn't feel they "got" millions...they feel they "traded" their land rights for the money...sort of even steven...thus they feel they aren't beholden to the state and won't simply roll over when asked.

Note to self: If this doesn't bring slewis out of the shadows, nothing will...

Ok,I understand but I just feel like if there's no problem and they see no problem where the moneys from or where money went,etc,then just open the books for them? Why piss eachother off now? I could be totally wrong though Pace.
Ok,well onto todays cards. It's good Aqueduct isn't running today. 40+ MPH winds out there. I almost blew over getting the form

[Indulto]

http://www.paulickreport.com/blog/nyras-financial-records-subpoenaed-by-ny-comptroller/
Responses to “NYRA’S FINANCIAL RECORDS SUBPOENAED BY NY COMPTROLLER”
Steve Zorn Says:
December 28th, 2009 at 7:25 pm

The arrogance of NYRA’s leadership and trustees is astonishing, ...

... If you take the King’s (or the state’s) shilling (or $200 million), then you’re obliged to serve the King. NYRA has never cooperated in making its books available to anyone, including the NY Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association. Today’s claim that they don’t have to open the books to the state is of a piece with that general “my way or the highway” attitude.

And before we start blaming the money shortage on purses, which have already been reduced for the forthcoming 2010 Aqueduct meet, it might be worth casting an eye on how much NYRA spends on administration. Perhaps that was part of what Comptroller DiNapoli had in mind.

http://businessofracing.blogspot.com/2009/12/there-they-go-again-nyra-takes-on-ny.html
Monday, December 28, 2009
There They Go Again - NYRA Takes on NY State
Posted by Steve Zorn 8:25 PM

…

As NYRA points out in its press release, hurried onto its website late this afternoon, the Comptroller's apparent surprise that NYRA is now running out of money is a little disingenuous. The original bankruptcy rescue plan anticipated that slot machines -- approved by the NY Legislature back sometime in the Jurassic (well, actually, it was 2001) -- would be up and running at Aqueduct by April of 2009. …

… NYRA CEO Charlie Hayward may well be correct when he says that NYRA will run out of money sometime this Spring; the Belmont spring meet always loses money, because of the expensive stakes schedule that makes the meet such an artistic success. Over the years, NYRA's big money-making meets have been Saratoga and, somewhat surprisingly, the Aqueduct winter meet, the latter probably because purses are low, and the meet has an excellent off-track following, at OTBs and across the country at other tracks and ADWs. …

… But if that's so, then why can't Charlie Hayward and Steve Duncker (NYRA Chairman), just open up the books to the state comptroller and show the reality? The state has been a very good friend to NYRA, and it seems, to say the least, a bit ungrateful not to cooperate with a perfectly reasonable request to take a look at the books and see what happened to the state's money since NYRA emerged from bankruptcy.

… First, the land. In the bankruptcy proceedings, NYRA always claimed that it owned the land. The state, through its lawyers, originally took the position that, thanks to prior bailouts, NYRA was already, in effect, a state agency, so that the land already belonged to the state. That issue was never decided by any court. In the end, NYRA agreed to turn over the real estate deeds to the state, and the state agreed to pump lots of money into NYRA. That's all. How each side characterized the transaction doesn't mean that's the legal reality of it. At best, NYRA's claim here is unproven.

Next, what about the claim that NYRA is already regulated enough? The simple answer is, so what? In its press release, NYRA notes that it's subject to oversight and regulation by the NY State Department of Taxation and Finance, by the State Racing and Wagering Board, and by a mostly comatose organization called the State Franchise Oversight Board. …

… Presumably NYRA does have financial records, and presumably they show that it's been conducting its business in a reasonable fashion. If not, then the $125,000 a month that NYRA has reportedly been paying its "integrity monitors." the law firm of Getnick and Getnick, would represent a colossal waste of money. Saying no to the Comptroller just makes you look guilty; if NYRA has nothing to hide, why not just open the books?

Third, NYRA relies on a recent decision by the NY Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, that said the Comptroller did not have the authority to audit the operations of not-for-profit charter schools, even though those schools were receiving public money. That may well be correct, as a matter of law. As a matter of politics, it's among the stupidest positions NYRA has ever taken, perhaps rivaled only by the decision in the 1970s not to operate off-track betting. …

… Cooperating with the Comptroller will, if I'm right about NYRA's finances, show conclusively that NYRA does need more money -- a situation attributable entirely to the state's own delay in getting the slot machines started. I can't imagine why NYRA would not want to do that. Unless, of course, there's something to hide. …

… Charlie and Steve: you guys have got to stop listening to the lawyers. Just do the right thing.

http://leftatthegate.blogspot.com/2009/12/nyra-vs-comptroller.html
Monday, December 28, 2009
NYRA Vs. The Comptroller
Posted by alan at 9:31 PM

…

Regardless of what NYRA may or may not have said, you and I know of course that the state has been well aware that NYRA's solvency was on a timeline, and that it would not be financially stable until slots were up and running. Why else would the state have promised to provide funding to NYRA for its operational needs if a casino at Aqueduct was not up and running by the end March 2009. [DRF] In March, following the collapse of the Delaware North deal, Hayward said that NYRA would be fine though the third quarter of 2010. The latest warning comes a little earlier than that, but so has business continued to lag, not to mention the $14 million owed to it by NYCOTB.

To me, this reeks of an effort by the state to take the focus off of its pathetically shameful failure to name an operator at the Big A. And while Steve Zorn thinks that NYRA is mistaken to take on DiNapoli in his fine analysis of the situation, I don't blame the association for telling the Comptrller to take a hike. DiNapoli, remember, is just a politician who was strongarmed into the position over far more qualified candidates by an Assembly flexing its muscle against a crassly domineering new governor. And when a politician starts spewing recycled meaningless crap like "It's the same old NYRA in new sheep's clothing," then he or she is probably up to something. Financial records can be subject to misinterpretation by politicians who know nothing about the industry or how it operates, especially one with an agenda, which certainly seems to be the case here.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/pol_to_nyra_cut_manure_0fQ9fVdhyXyLoI25FEab2H
Pol to NYRA: Cut 'manure'
By BRENDAN SCOTT
December 29, 2009

… The head of the Assembly's gaming committee dismissed as "horse manure" yesterday the New York Racing Association's claims of poverty and called on the group to immediately open its books.

Racing and Wagering Chairman J. Gary Pretlow (D-Westchester) said he believed NYRA President Charlie Hayward was bluffing when he said a cash crisis would force the group to cancel the Belmont Stakes.

"I think that's just BS," Pretlow said. "That's just talk. That's horse manure. They would do anything humanly possible to save the Belmont Stakes."

Pretlow said Hayward was likely trying to force a resolution on Aqueduct with his threat to cancel the track's biggest race of the year.

"I know what he's trying to do is get somebody off of the ball to make a decision to get this thing moving, and he's using whatever is in his power to . . . get it moving," Pretlow said. …

[Spendabuck85]

The New York Racing Association has reversed its initial refusal to cooperate with Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and will provide financial data to auditors, according to two officials familiar with NYRA's change of heart.

Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories...#ixzz0bCgudUEp





Also today, state Sen. John Bonacic (R,I,C-Mt. Hope), the ranking GOP member of the Committee on Racing, Wagering & Gaming, said in a news release that he wants the committee to discuss placing NYRA into receivership, an action that he believes could result in the association being managed by a state agent -- such as DiNapoli. "When an entity holds a public license as NYRA does, they also hold a public trust," Bonacic said. " ... NYRA's arrogant refusal to be transparent, when combined with their threat to cancel the Belmont, makes clear that they are disregarding their public trust."



Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories...#ixzz0bCgudUEp

[Indulto]

Thanks, S5. I wonder how much longer Hayward will be around. The following is not about him, but is written by perhaps his most outspoken critic:

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/hor...aul&id=4781698
2009 not so good for business
By Paul Moran December 30, 2009

… In the waning days of 2009, betting handle is on pace to drop 10 percent year over year to about $12.3 billion, the second straight year in which handle has declined by more than $1 billion. Purses are on pace to decline about 5.8 percent to $1.09 billion, a figure comparable with 2005.

… The New York Racing Association, having once emerged from bankruptcy, is again at the verge of insolvency. Why? After eight years of astounding incompetence by what is arguably the nation's most corrupt and dysfunctional state government, the Empire State's solons remain incapable of or unwilling to choose one from among several applicants, organizations that would finance and operate a video lottery terminal casino at Aqueduct that has the potential for enormous profit.

Governor David Paterson, whose approval ratings are behind Swine Flu's, and state legislative leaders, a term employed here in the most obtuse sense, remain at unexplained gridlock over which of five bidding groups will operate the 4,500-maching Aqueduct VLT casino, first approved in 2001. …

… But racing's economic suffering at the hands of dysfunctional government is certainly not unique to New York. Pick a state.

… Optimists suggest that the market for horses may be improving with a revival of the general economy. For realists: Not so much.

The market is in contraction. Projected foal numbers for 2010 are the lowest since 1979 and the commodity least in demand during the second half of 2009 was the less-than-proven-stakes producing broodmare, especially those owned by small-scale breeders forced out of a bearish bloodstock market. The equine victims are countless.

… No progress was made during 2009 in the areas that have become festering issues plaguing a hopelessly fragmented industry: Uniform medication rules, standards and penalties; absence of central leadership, accountability and transparency. Public perception that all in racing is not entirely above board persists. …

… The sport's once-robust profile in the mainstream media has never been lower and shows no sign of regained life.

… Fewer thoroughbreds will be born in 2010. Quite likely, when old enough they will race for less money at fewer racetracks. The year just past may well be the beginning or the steepening of a downward spiral the end of which we cannot yet see and hesitate to imagine. This is not entirely the fault of those involved even at the thing and crumbling upper crust of what passes as leadership. The larger global economy is a factor but so is the arrogant abdication of responsibility on the part of those who occupy elected office.

Unlike other sports and businesses, racing -- because of an unhealthy dependence upon state regulation and the self-interested political local influences at work in almost every jurisdiction -- there is no guarantee that the industry will follow the larger economy out of recession into a more robust business cycle. While horses provided one of those years that has been nothing short of memorable, these are far from the best of times in the racing game.

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=880165
Bruno jurors slam state
Those who served on panel speak out about how the experience shaped view of how our government works
By JAMES M. ODATO December 20, 2009

… If they could, the jurors who convicted Joseph L. Bruno of fraud charges also would indict the state Legislature for negligence. Lawmakers, they said, should be ashamed of themselves for allowing such porous disclosure and ethics laws to remain on the books.

In interviews in recent days, eight members of the jury that heard the case against the former state Senate majority leader said they learned a lot about New York's political and governmental structure. And they came away not liking what they heard during three weeks of testimony from ethics lawyers, Senate staffers, senators and assorted business partners of Bruno. The jurors also offered clues about how they arrived at their verdicts.

"Something's got to change,' said Hugo David Renz of Altamont, a retired chief financial officer for a private company. "This is crazy; there's no financial disclosure, there's no ethics law at all."

… Some jurors said the Legislative Ethics Commission should be taking a much greater role in examining financial disclosure forms from the Legislature and that lawmakers should get opinions from the commission of all outside business.

… Like other jurors, Renz described the trial testimony as a real education.

"What I saw was absolutely pathetic. There's not disclosure there; it's concealment and deception. I never saw anything like it," he said. "Those disclosure forms don't tell you anything."

… Some of the jurors discussed their deliberations. Several credited Judge Gary L. Sharpe for "excellent" officiating and said a key witness was Gluchowski, whose testimony helped them arrive at guilty verdicts on two counts. They remarked upon his disclosure that he kept, what he called "a CYA file," a file containing a memo to himself explaining the advice he offered Bruno.

Jurors also noted Bruno business associate Jared Abbruzzese's testimony strengthened the prosecution case; both counts on which they found Bruno guilty involved Abbruzzese. And they credited Senate lawyer Ed Bartholomew for not cooperating when he was asked to support Bruno's private work soliciting union pension business.

Jurors said the evidence wasn't strong enough for convictions on all eight counts. They acquitted Bruno on five counts and couldn't reach a verdict on one, in addition to the two guilty verdicts. The charges that particularly didn't stick, they noted, involved instances in which ethics lawyers advised Bruno on his activities.

As for the conviction on count No. 4, that Bruno failed to disclose his $20,000-per-month payments from Abbruzzese as a consultant, the jurors had an easier time, partly because Gluchowski had advised Bruno to document what he was doing for such a large sum of money, which Bruno failed to do.

"If he had checked with the lawyers on count No. 8, I think we would have gone with not guilty," Gardner said.

On that charge, Bruno was found guilty of not disclosing his horse business arrangements, including accepting $80,000 from Abbruzzese for a filly whose value was a fraction of that figure. Bruno should have disclosed the payment as a gift, she said.

… She said witnesses, particularly former Senate lawyers, who answered with "I don't recall" hurt their credibility.

Walker said the verdict could easily have been "four guilties and four not guilties" because four of the charges were related to consulting fees from Abbruzzese. He said he had to point out that the burden of proof was on the prosecution. …

Some here are not enthralled by NYRA, but the Abbruzzese-Bruno shenanigans really make you wonder what the FONYR/Empire folks would be doing at this point.

[Indulto]

http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/nat...-by-state.aspx
N.Y. lawmaker calls for NYRA to be managed by state
by Paul Post December 30, 2009

… “When an entity holds a public license, as NYRA does, they also hold a public trust,” said John Bonacic (R-Mt. Hope), the ranking Republican on the Senate Racing, Wagering and Gaming Committee. “NYRA’s arrogant refusal to be transparent, when combined with their threat to cancel the Belmont [Stakes (G1)], makes clear that they are disregarding their public trust.”

Last week, NYRA said it might be forced to shut down before the Belmont Stakes unless the state moves quickly to name an Aqueduct gaming operator, giving NYRA a fresh supply of cash. In September 2008, the state gave NYRA $30-million to keep operating until Aqueduct’s racino opens. NYRA has said that money is almost gone. State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli wants to know where it went, but NYRA has refused to comply with his request for an audit.

… Bonacic has asked committee Chairman Eric Adams (D-Brooklyn) to invite legal scholars to testify about putting NYRA into a receivership. The practice is commonplace, he said. For example, if a hospital is deemed incapable of operating, the state Health Department might take over its management.

… Both the New York Daily News and New York Post ran strong editorials condemning NYRA’s position on Wednesday.

“Gov. [David] Paterson and the legislature cannot succumb to such extortion tactics,” the Daily News editorial said. “They should tell NYRA to get lost. If that means the end of the Belmont Stakes, a 105-year tradition, so be it.”

Bonacic also questioned why NYRA is accepting money for season tickets for Saratoga when at the same time saying the 2010 summer meet is in jeopardy.

“I hope to hear from NYRA that they are escrowing those funds to be repaid if NYRA either goes bankrupt or does not run this year,” he said.

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2009/12/30/2009-12-30_nyras_horse_hockey.html
NYRA's horse hockey: Racing association must not extort new bailout from taxpayers
Editorial December 30th 2009)

…

Claiming to be broke, the New York Racing Association wants to shake down taxpayers for a second huge bailout in two years.

Either the state forks over $30 million by June, President Charles Hayward recently told the Daily News, or NYRA will cancel the Belmont Stakes, third leg of the Triple Crown.

Meanwhile, these same arm-twisters are brazenly stonewalling an audit by Controller Tom DiNapoli - who's understandably curious about what happened to the $105 million NYRA glommed from the state Treasury last year.

… NYRA's claim to be immune from state scrutiny under some court decision is pure horse manure. Chairman Steven Duncker signed a contract just last year clearly stating that the controller and other state officials "shall have access" to NYRA's financial records. Evidently, Duncker is not a man of his word.

Legalities aside, though, NYRA is morally bound to open its books - having long since morphed from a private outfit to a ward of the state and leech on the public fisc.

Until NYRA cooperates with DiNapoli - and fully accounts for every dime of government money already received - it should forfeit all rights under last year's deal, including its cut of future revenues from video slots to be installed at Aqueduct. …

http://www.paulickreport.com/blog/re...h-comptroller/
Responses to “REVERSAL FOR NYRA? SEEKS TRUCE WITH COMPTROLLER”
Steve Zorn Says:
December 30th, 2009 at 3:51 pm

Too little, too late. You’d think these folks would have learned something about being sensitive to public and political opinion.

An aside: the Times-Union story quotes an attorney named John Henry. The only one I can find who fits the description is a partner in an Albany law firm. Why, exactly, does NYRA feel the need to spend taxpayer money on outside counsel to defend an indefensible position? Perhaps that’s what NYRA is worried about: an audit that shows how much they’re paying for lawyers and consultants, instead of for parking lot attendants, ushers and mutuel clerks.

[PaceAdvantage]

Why is the NY Daily News not running scathing editorials concerning the $14 million or so that NYCOTB owes NYRA? That $14M would go a long way to alleviating whatever real or perceived money woes exist.

And technically, NYRA was not bailed out...they sold their land rights to the state uncontested in exchange for cash and a 25 year commitment. Not really a bailout, is it?

And as someone so rightly wrote me in a recent private message (which I've tidied up a bit for prime time): Who are these people that believe the State in this latest battle with NYRA? Like, suddenly, politicians are credible?

Exactly.

[Indulto]

PA,
The Post has always been anti-NYRA and the News is an equal opportunity basher of anything it can. The press generally has a field day with politicos and wannabes whenever they do something foolish.

It looks to me like Hayward tried to play politics with the big boys and got burned. Going up against the governor (even one less imposing than Spitzer or Pataki) and the (Bruno-less) legislature isn't like going up against the head of one of the OTBs (and that radio show appearance hardly prepared him for prime-time).

Hayward’s and Handel's back-to-back belittling of Del Mar at a Saratoga press conference hardly seemed appropriate for either high-level racing executives or track operators wanting to host a Breeders' Cup. Have I missed something positive that either of these gentlemen has done for horseplayers or New Yorkers since assuming their current roles at NYRA?

Maybe its time for Nader's triumphant return from Honk Kong with a fresh perspective and an image upgrade for his previous employer who didn't think he was ready for prime time on their dime.