NYRA Reprivatization Part of Cuomo Proposal

Fifteen months after state-mandated oversight of the New York Racing Association (NYRA) was initially expected to revert to some form of private or public/private control, Governor Andrew Cuomo has proposed a framework for that change to finally happen in his New York State Executive Budget for fiscal year 2018, which begins Apr. 1, 2017.

The full proposal, which was released Jan. 17 and can be accessed here, outlines how the new 15-member board would be made up (a mixture of political and NYRA-nominated appointees), and also includes expanded powers for the Franchise Oversight Board to foster a more stringent system of checks and balances pertaining to NYRA's operation of Saratoga Race Course, Belmont Park, and Aqueduct Racetrack.

Two other provisions of note would shift funding responsibilities for equine drug testing off the state and onto horsemen and the tracks, and a decades-long restriction on racing under lights at night would be rescinded for Belmont Park.

“We appreciate the governor's support for legislation this session that would return NYRA to private control,” NYRA chief executive officer and president Christopher Kay said in a prepared statement that was presented as testimony at a Tuesday state senate committee hearing on the future of the franchise. “NYRA supports the governor's proposed legislation, which is the result of productive dialogue with the governor's office over the last several months. We look forward to working with the legislature and all stakeholders in efforts to pass the executive's proposal.”

Passing a state budget on time or just after the Mar. 31 deadline has been an annual point of pride for Cuomo during his tenure, so it's realistic that the part of the budget proposal pertaining to the NYRA reprivatization could take effect as early as Apr. 1, pending the appointment of board members.

“We agree with the NYRA reprivatization. It's a long time coming, and hopefully that will be a positive thing for everybody in the industry,” New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association president Rick Violette, Jr., told TDN in a Wednesday phone interview. “There is some other language in there that is up for discussion. That's what this period is for. The budget gets pushed out there, and everybody gets to push back and seek adjustments, a little clarification, and that's the period we're in now.”

In 2012, Cuomo seized control of the inconsistently profitable NYRA when it was $25 million in debt, had a high rate of catastrophic equine injuries, and had no systematic plan for investing in its facilities and improving customer-facing amenities. That “reorganization” board had originally been slated to serve through October 2015, but just as that term was about to expire, the governor extended it by one year.

In June 2016, after being unable to agree to a legislative deal that would end NYRA's state-mandated oversight, Cuomo again extended state control for an additional year.

Asked if he felt there were any omissions in the governor's racing-related plans, Violette, who also serves as an ex-officio member of the current NYRA re-org board, said, “potentially yes–potentially stuff that we will still see. But it's not ready for prime time yet. Some of it is just language correction, and you don't need to turn what might be simple corrections into political issues. We have yet to have those discussions. So I think it's premature to draw battle lines here yet. It's certainly a good start.”

Asked what stood out to him in the proposal, Violette said, “we particularly like [a provision] that brings the breeders and horsemen together in discussing winter racing dates, [with] both the breeders' and the horsemen's approval necessary [if there were to be some] reducing of those dates.”

A separate section of the proposed budget would shift all costs and expenses for equine drug testing and research from “an appropriation from the state treasury” to “an assessment the commission may make on horsemen entering horses in races, an assessment the commission may make on racetracks, or both.”

Violette said that part of Cuomo's proposal “needs to be crystal clear, because the Standardbred industry, they run three times as many starters as the Thoroughbred industry does…[Standardbreds] represent 75% of the starters in the state, and they represent 64% of the actual tests made in the state. [New York does] more testing in Thoroughbred racing than they do in the Standardbreds, so you would think there should be some equity as far as our real costs to the drug testing program, and that needs to be clarified.”

Cuomo's proposal to allow NYRA to install lights at Belmont, if the franchise desired to incur the expense of doing so, seems like a bit of a surprise inclusion in the budget because it has not been an agenda item at recent NYRA board meetings. But it would give the franchise license to experiment with new revenue-generating ideas that might include hosting major races during prime-time television broadcast hours.

“I'm personally not in love with night racing, but I think it's a real factor in racing that there are a lot of people who can't attend races because they have to work during the day,” Violette said. “It's been floated out there and then withdrawn for the past two years. The Breeders' Cup brings in that issue. They have Friday night racing and Saturday racing [that has finished under the lights at Churchill Downs], so that is part of the thought, I believe.

“But they're not going to put up lights [just] for one night of racing every 10 years,” Violette continued. “I'm not sure what nights or how many nights, but I think they also have an uphill battle with the neighborhood. Floral Park and Elmont might have significant opinions about night racing in their neighborhoods, so that will be the next challenge. Again, it's out there for everybody's review and comment, and I think that's welcome in our industry.”