So NYRA told the State in advance that there plan for operating in 08-10 would fail to be cash flow positive and as such the state said don't worry about it you keep losing money and will fund it because you told us so..Is that the way it happened if so the idiots polictians that said that they would bankroll a flawed business should be arrested.

Come on first NYRA is getting money and the horrendous publicity they continue to spew is madding.. HI fans and gamblers we are going out of business after are biggest purse day of the year and if you want to deposit money in your NYRA account please dail 1800 BIG AVLT. How the heck do you run a business promoting its life and joy in one breathe and telling your fans and customers its dying on the other. Why are the publizing all this negative stuff with such vigor? I really hope NYRA gets to operate and be successful!! This stuff just is foolish

Do you really think it is in the best interests of NYRA for its board to fund it in leiu of money owed to them from the state and OTB? That seems like political suicide.

Phipp's has a regally bred(arent they all per DRF) MDN going Sunday at MP I guess Shug thought it was a better spot then Belmont..lol

I think that you have a misunderstanding as to the Board of Directors role on a not for profit corporation in NY. I am a member on not for profit board in NY and it is not the role of the Board of Directors to financially support the corporation. Rather, the role is to deal with the State in negotiating and obtaining the necessary funds to operate and then to ensure that the funds are being used in a proper fashion. I am pretty sure that if NYRA were running with excess currency they would add the same to purses as they did at Saratoga the last couple of years. Whether the board members are wealthy or not is irrelevant, it is not their role to fund NYRA and it would likely be a conflict on a not for profit board for a member to have a finacial stake in the corporation.

NYRA is doing nothing more than asking the State to live up to the obligations that the State took on when NYRA deeded more than $1 billion of real estate to NY State. As Steve pointed out, the notices are required by NY State law in advance of any layoffs. NYRA is only fulfilling its requirements by reserving action it will be forced to take if the State continues to fail to fulfill it obligations to NYRA.

It's a better alternative to shutting down. Admittedly, neither is very attractive, but if they shut down, I'm guessing some genius in state government will be looking at some of those performance metrics that Bruno had placed in the franchise extension, and then try to take the franchise from NYRA. And the litigation that will follow would last forever.

I wonder if PJ Campo told him not to bring the horse back to Belmont.

Freddy the flaw is the states control over NYRA's ability to proceed with its VLT plans for 9 years and its harrassment and politically motivated campaign against it over the last 7 years. The other flaw is the state run entity NYCOTB failing to pay NYRA the money it legally owes them. If NYRA could simply sue NYCOTB and/or shut off the signal to them that problem would have been solved years ago. The state made the deal with its eyes wide open. What exactly is NYRA supposed to do? Say things are peachy?

I also sit on the Board of a non-profit, and there are a whole host of tasks fulfilled by Board members. There is nothing legally prohibiting the Board members from financially propping up such an entity. That's why such boards often have so-called "money seats" on them, albeit as it related to the task of fund-raising for the organization. If there were some concerns about how to structure a loan to the organization (that's not the same as having a financial stake in the organization) without running afoul of potential conflict of interest rules, I'm sure that NYRA could run it past Getnick & Getnick, their high-priced "integrity counsel" (if they are looking at places to cut expenses, there'd be a good place to start).

I completely understand that the WARN notices had to go out just in case they do shut down.

The thought that NYRA is any different than other sadly underfunded and ignored State obligations is flawed.. I want NYRA to succeed I dont want them to fail. I want great racing in NY but that isnt the point. I understand your points and agree NYRA is in a bad place. You still need to be able to run a product on its on merits and not on the possiblity of VLT's.
BTW I find it interesting that 2 of the most successful african american businessmen in the world are 2 of the 5 potential bidders. You think it is going to be easy for any of these potential bidders to get 400 mil to the State in a snap. What happens if the ecnomy takes another shiit in 9 months and the process continues to be delayed.. NYRA just keeps on coming to the State?

You think Dinny could spot them 17 mil till the VLT's come? I bet even 53rd st bank would float tem 20 mil if Phipps co signed..lol

That isnt true. NYRA has provided tremendous revenue streams to the state and deeded them 1 billion dollars worth of land. That makes them a whole lot different.

Despite the evidence to the contrary you and many others refuse to see that VLT's ARE are a piece of it's "merits". The state passed a law in 2001 allowing specific business to have these things. NYRA is one of those businesses. It's competition (both in state and out of state) has VLT's. That makes it a valid issue. And you cant just ignore the fact that NYCOTB refuses to pay. That is a significant amount of money to lose.

If NYRA was being paid by OTB they would not be asking for this money, they are only asking for the amount of money owed to them by OTB which indicates to me that NYRA can be self sufficient. As Chuck pointed out, NYRA would ordinarily just cut off the signal to NYC OTB, but they can't under NY State law

As for your other point, I haven't heard Yonkers or Saratoga harness asking for any money from the State and they make a fraction of what NYRA does off of betting pools. I seriously doubt that NYRA will need anything from the State once the casino is running, it is hard to believe that a casino will fail in Ozone Park, New York.

Why should board members put up their own money when the State is financially obligated to float NYRA until the casino is up and running? And if the State is not living up to their obligation to NYRA, what would lead any board member to believe that their loan is secure?

So you repping that NYRA's business model without VLT's is viable? You are right Ozone Park will support people getting wied out very well. Again I would love NYRA to do well. I wished they ripped out 75 dates and concentrated the purse money but they were beaten to the punch. Sunday's card is unbettable even if MP wasnt running a terrific card.

2001 is forever ago. You have to let this go quoting 2001 laws that have not been implemented is crazy. The world has changed so much since what was passed in 2001. What good is saying abortion is legal if nobody got one for 10 years because of one thing or another?

BTW NYRA didnt give the government a PENNY gamblers did all NYRA did was oversee the transfer from pocket A to pocket B... Giving them a bunch of credit for there horrible operations 9 years ago is invalid.. The current guys have been ok but lets not forget just how sorted NYRA PAST is!

NYRA is no different from any business with cash-flow problems. In this regard, it really isn't relevant who's not paying them. It's really a simple question: either NYRA and its board can be completely dependent upon the State to solve their short-term cash problem, or they can try to address their cash issues through other means. Having fought as hard as they did for the franchise, I can't believe that the only answer to their current situation is to shut it down if the State doesn't come through with the cash.

You right but you make it sound like the State is holding up there obligation in every other arena. They aren't! schools are failing people are losing there jobs and basic things are being washed away. Because NYRA has a piece of paper that saying the State is obligated to fund them is different then basic implied financial obligations of State government.. Come on cops schools and teachers have to go behind NYRA because they have a piece of paper.

I don't know. I would say NYRA is quite different as their business plan (assumption of VLT), ties NYRA's survival directly to the State. The State and OTB are certainly undesirable bedfellows, but the reality is that they are NYRA's business partners. If the State isn't willing to bridge the gap for now, it can't bode well for the future.

I also don't know how "short term" this need really is. If they get this $17M and OTB screws them some more and State delays VLT's another 2 years, what then?

Ultimately, I assume the State will come up with the $17M. Hopefully, getting NYS on the hook a bit motivates them a bit to get OTB/VLT on track.

NYRA is different because they are a State entity. Unlike other businesses, I doubt NYRA can go just to a bank and take out a $17 million loan. And if they did, where in their budget will be the money to pay the interest? When I joined the board of the organization I was on, we were in serious cash flow problems for two reasons, first the County significantly delayed payments forcing the organization to take out loans which created interest which was not in the budget. They had to pay salaries somehow. Second, a creative head of the day to day operations had just been fired who had cleaverly (and legally) pilfered the organization out of money. We got the county to agree to pay the interest in return for a promise of timely payments and were forced to make severe budgetary restrictions including many layoffs that were painful for years until we righted the ship.

If the State does not give NYRA the money, they really have nowhere to get the money from. Hence, their only real option is to shut down. I can assure you owners and trainers will not race their horses with the promise that they will be paid in the next 6 months to 1 year. I fail to see where you think NYRA can drum up the money to continue operating when they are not receiving money they are entitled to from NYC OTB which would float their operations.

Unlike some of schools and cops, NYRA has been paying a vig to the State for years just for the privilege of operating which is why they are entitled to help from the State. Even the dumb idiots NY State has elected know they cannot let NYRA fail. Don't think for a second that the State hasn't gotten its cut of the betting action for a long time.

Further, cops and schools have created much of their problems through their unions which refuse to let go of unproductive employees and refuse to renegotiate ridiculous benefits which they do not deserve in this economy.

This is not true any more. Before 2008, they were a quasi-state agency. Now, they are a not-for-profit. I do not believe there is any legal impediment to NYRA getting a loan from a private institution (subject, possibly, to any oversight boards). As for how would they pay the interest, I'm sure there are expenses that could be cut (d-barn, off-season training facilities are two that have already been discussed but not implemented).

Nick,

I believe NYRA is now a Not-for-Profit organization, no longer a state entity. Accrodingly, they can certianly access working capital given collateral and cash flow. However, the current state of limbo leaves them with much on neither...

I guess I find it hard to believe that shutting down is their only option.

Purse levels are contractually dictated by agreements between NYRA and the horsemen; they are a function of handle and the amount of money that flows from handle into the purse account. Horsemen would not be "running for nothing" unless NYRA were using such funds, as they did about 7-8 years go, to cover operating expenses (and on this point, I believe that there is now complete segregation of accounts because of this prior episode).

As large as NYCOTB is, it still generates only a percentage of NYRA's total handle on a given day, so it's not as if the organization has no revenue coming in.

I am not positive, I believe they are still a municipal not for profit corporation. And yes, when they deeded $1 billion worth of land to NY State they certainly compromised their collateral, not to mention having just come out of bancruptcy does not help either. Regardless, as a not for profit there is no room in the budget for interest. I still don't know where the money to pay that is supposed to come from.

This is survival, not a balanced budget excercise. Not to say things are sustainable without VLT's coming to fruition or some other changes to the current situation.

Are the toll collectors on highways much different then NYRA when it comes to giving money to the State. Isn't NYRA a business designed by the state to collect revenue for the State. I am all for NYRA succeeding because I love racing but effectively they are wards of racing appointed by the state to manifest the industry while taking a rake. I never understood NYRA's claim that they owned the land because they paid (or short paid) the property tax for years. Wasn't that the point of the A in NYRA? Wasnt it an assc. chartered to create revenue not its bottom line? How the heck did that become we own the land because we paid the tax?

Steve Crist speaking to the NYRA/NYS crisis:

http://www.drf.com/drfNewsArticle.do...5&subs=0&arc=0

While touching on the NY situation momentarily, Crist is addressing the sustainability of the Monmouth meet concept with the column.

Well, true, but he sounded pretty optimistic that things will work out for NY racing.

For whatever his opinion is worth.

What did he think when Charlie Sheen stated that he was done with 2 1/2 men? Was he optimistic that Sheen was coming back (as he has agreed to)?

Stop mixing meds. The law is the law period. The law HAS been implemented in the state yet NYRA has been prohibited from implementing VLT BECAUSE of the action of the state. That is not my opinion, it is the facts. NYRA operated a business for 1/2 a century that has poured billions of dollars into the state coffers. Another fact. Giving credit or assigning blame to NYRA or its management is a moot point. The state has created this mess and done a huge disservice to the people of the state of NY. Now they want to not live up to its commitment. Sure Freddy, its all that bad management at NYRA that has caused the state of NY to elect morons.

NYRA is dependant on the state because the state has not honored its commitment AND the state owned OTB has not lived up to their commitment. It is different than any other business because the same people who owe them the money are the ones that regulate them! Name me another business that could fall into that quandry?

Apples and oranges. C'mon you know this isn't relevant.

What collateral do they have? The state owns the land. They arent getting paid by NYCOTB (owned by the state) which is chapter 11 and are required by law to continue to send them the signal. There is a big chunk of the cashflow. Who is going to risk any money in this scenario? Sheikh Mo?

That's what I am saying. The current situation leaves them without collateral or cash flow. Even though they are technically "allowed" to borrow as a NFP.

School districts in NY, for example, are putting out budgets without knowing state aid figures. And health care facilities may see reimbursement rates cut by the state, after budgets have been prepared.

The Highway Authority has operated a business that has poured money to the state. You know the guys that take the toll money. I havent blamed the current NYRA managemment once. The states in trouble that means NYRA is in trouble period. BTW laws get chaged all the time..Look NYRA will get the hand out they are requesting. I never thought for a minute they wouldnt..It is sad to see the negative "we are goiing out of business" publicity

On the heels of NYCOTB "bluffing" the pols in Albany, if NYRA does not get the cash from the State, they have really backed themselves into a corner where, from a political standpoint, they probably have to shut-down (or else their credibility in Albany will be same as that of NYCOTB).

My cynical fear is that (1) there are still a number of people in Albany who think NYRA never should have received the franchise extension in the first place, and (2) if this Albany-created "cash crisis" results in a cessation of racing, that may be used as a back-door way to try to take the franchise away from NYRA. The litigation that would result from that would cripple NY racing for a long time.

Save for the fact that we all know that NYRA will get the cash, what has NYRA done so bad since being awarded the franchise that would concern the morons who were against them, let alone try to void NYRA's franchise agreement?

If NYRA doesn't have the cash to operate after the Belmont, how can you criticize them for handing out legally mandated warn notices in the minimum period of time required to cease operations at that time? The bad guy is the Legislature for allowing both themselves and OTB to put NYRA in this position.