FINLEY: Politicos, OTB biggest threat to NY racing
 

Absolutely terrific situation summary column by Bill Finley if you haven't seen it... Sums up everything involving NY succinctly.



Will NY politicians, OTB kill racing?
By Bill Finley

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/hor...ill&id=5038247

The New York Racing Association operates America's flagship racetracks, runs Saratoga, the sport's most important racing meet, and is home to the Belmont Stakes. But there's every chance that it will be forced to shut down some time this year because it is quickly running out of money. This is a real and scary situation, and it is completely unnecessary.

NYRA has done nothing wrong. Rather, it is the victim of the state's pathetic political leaders, who are incompetent, selfish and don't seem to care one bit about their constituents. They are Enemy No. 1. Enemy No. 2 is New York City OTB, which has declared bankruptcy, owes NYRA $15 million and has forever been run by politically connected hacks who care only about perpetuating their fat paychecks.

What could have been had Elliot kept it in his pants.

Spritzer is an easy scapegoat, but don't forget that Delaware North fumbled the ball at the end of 2008 as well when they suddenly couldn't come up with the franchise fee down payment in the teeth of the 'credit crisis'.

And if we're using a wide angle lens on all of these issues, the mother of all villains would be conspiratorialist George Pataki. It was under his auspice that the Lottery Division kept refusing to rubber stamp MGM's deal as the VLT operator as several cohorts planned to foist the franchise away from NYRA. (How did that work out for you Joe Bruno?) Everyone seems to forget all that was happening from 2005-2008.

I liked Spitzer, I still do....If he hadn't gone after wall street he would still be screwing prostitutes with abandon....lots of people wanted to see him fail.

People need to separate the public interest from people's private lives. I get it, he's a scumbag...is he a good gov? If yes, then he stays.

http://saratogian.com/articles/2010/...1599791205.txt
recent letter to the saratogian, by a local real estate broker. i called all of the local reps. on the list at the bottom. tony jordans office actually returned my call and someone talked to me for about 10 minutes. i could tell by the peoples voices that answer these calls that they are feeling the heat. people think it does no good but if badgered enough these people fear for their jobs. the time to apply pressure is NOW before something bad happens. i'm letting my opinion be known to these people, others should do the same. once something gets closed or shut down you will have all the monday morning quarterbacks crying the blues. people got to use their voice whether you think they listen or not because when all these calls come in, believe me, they get nervous. THE ONLY GOOD POLITICIAN IS ONE AFRIAD OF LOSING THEIR SEAT.

the most telling line in the article is the one i agree with the most

Now the state is broke

the state may have promised $$$$ to send to nyra , but , pols break promises everyday , this is another one , it will be interesting to see after the fall meet what will happen


Penn Nat'l , Charlestown , have gotten slots .... the bottom lone is the pols in NY are some of the worst in the country and NYRA and racing fans will have to suffer for their incompetence ..............could sarah palin have done any worse ? me thinks not

we really don't know how good a gov he could have been , he wasn't there long eneough , he was a good DA , but , his grade as gov is incomplete

Wow. Tom is actually the guy we've used every year to rent a place in Saratoga. A great guy - nice letter!

The politicians are horrid, and primarily responsible, sure. But to say NYRA has done nothing wrong is a bit of an overstatement.

Spitzer was and is a shitsack that started the whole NYRA mess with his witch hunt to prove his chops as "The Sherrif" when he was Attorney General that eventually caused MGM to back out. The fact that he eventually awarded NYRA the franchise had very little to do with his support for racing and everything to do with the fact there was an undeniable little truth that NYRA OWNED the land and the tracks and there was nothing the state or anyone else could do. And while we can all point to George Pataki, the lottery division and Joe Bruno for their misdeeds, only Shelly Silver has been in office for the whole fiasco and is a consistent roadblock to any progress. Throw in Spitzer's role as Client #9, the laughably incompetent David Patterson, Delaware North, for having, then not having the upfront cash, NY OTB, the current state senate and legislature and you have a Greek tragedy the Aristotle would shake his head in disbelief over.:zz:

Nj's smart boutique decision may be the NY death-knell.

you are absolutely correct. but, they got the 25 year contract and gave up real estate. for the last few years they've been doing good things for racing. saratoga is the center of american horse racing. thats some of the thinking here . a grudge with NYRA. the thing is, its about people,the game, the fans and business. the hachet should of been burried when the deal was inked. the hard working people of this game and the fans supporting it deserve better. regaurdless of the state or NYRA and what either think. its petty, its child like and its not professional when so much stands to be lost. differences need to be set aside for the sake of the tax payers that these morons get paid by. because if this gets stupid alot of innocent people will suffer.

I'll bite... What exactly has NYRA 'done wrong' in regards to the failure of the state to allow the AQU VLT to be built or NYC OTB's serial corruption and ineptitude? These 2 specific issues are solely Albany-managed, supervised and legislated. NYRA is involved tangentially solely.

I won't say you bite--you're too nice for that.

If you are limiting yourself to just those two issues, I'd agree.

That's the biggest shame.....In hindsight an MGM/NYRA partnership would have been incredible. Talk about the marketing opportunities.

It defies sanity . Great article . Tx for posting Steve . What opening night at VLT @ Aqueduct could have been . A sensational, all-world destination with the biggest stars, fans, and horses on the planet .

It figures that this is the year I finally made concrete plans to go to Saratoga for the first time since 1987. Could it really be cancelled?

No......it WON'T be

:tro:

I agree totally Paul!