Night Racing at Belmont Hits a Snag in N.Y. Budget

A plan to allow night-time racing at Belmont Park was scrapped after falling through during the latest New York State budget discussions, according to numerous reports. As first reported by BloodHorse, attempts to secure a deal to allow for Thoroughbred racing at night were strongly opposed by Standardbred horsemen, who are currently the sole occupiers of the evening racing time slot.

A budget bill was introduced by New York state governor Andrew Cuomo Jan. 16 that included proposed legislation that would have allowed the New York Racing Association to conduct night racing up to three nights a week. While current law allows for racing to be conducted between sunrise and sunset, the proposed legislation would have permitted racing at night from Thursday through Saturday, provided the cards concluded by 10:30 p.m.

“As the cornerstone of an industry responsible for 17,000 jobs and more than $2 billion in annual economic impact, NYRA believes that night racing is an important component in recruiting and maintaining new generations of fans to secure the long-term future of horse racing in New York,” read a statement issued Thursday afternoon from NYRA spokesman Patrick McKenna. “The public has a right to choose the sporting events that they wish to watch, and legislation that would allow NYRA to conduct Thoroughbred racing at night provides them with that choice–the same choice that the public currently enjoys with respect to every other athletic league able to offer their product at night.”

The issue during discussions, according to the BloodHorse report, was that Standardbred owners were unhappy with a proposal that infringes on their control over the nighttime racing market and consequently sought a hold harmless provision to account for potential damages. NYRA, conversely, was reportedly unwilling to consent to such an agreement.

While no Thoroughbred tracks in the state are currently allowed to conduct racing after sunset, Standardbred tracks are often allowed to hold cards during daytime hours, including Yonkers Raceway's International Trot card, which was scheduled on a Saturday afternoon in 2017.

“The limited scope of night racing at Belmont Park means that the overlap with Standardbred racing would be minimal,” McKenna said. “In addition, NYRA believes that the addition of Thoroughbred racing at night would contribute to Standardbred handle by increasing the potential audience wagering at night. That's why we have been willing to collaborate with the Standardbred owners to stagger post times to benefit both parties.”

With the Belmont Park property chosen as the site for a new arena for the NHL's New York Islanders in late December, NYRA CEO Chris Kay has continually asserted that nighttime racing is an important way to expose a new audience to the game.

“We would like to see night racing at Belmont, primarily because the sport of horse racing needs to generate new generations of fans, like millennials,” Kay told the TDN's T.D. Thornton in December. “And those folks are working on a Thursday or a Friday afternoon. They like to go out and have a good time–we want to provide them with that opportunity. We want to offer our sport the way baseball offers their sport, at night when people can go.”

Although nighttime racing is almost certain to not be included in the current budget, the door remains open for further discussions in the future.

“We will continue to work on advancing night racing in order to reach new audiences, drive tourism and expand our economic impact in New York,” McKenna said.