State investigating NYRA takeout issues; Hayward, Kehoe terminated
 

New York Racing Association CEO Charles Hayward knew NYRA was over-charging bettors, state report claims

NYRA called overage a 'mistake' when notified in December

By Jerry Bossert / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Monday, April 30, 2012, 2:10 PM

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/mo...#ixzz1tZ2QPFH9

Clearly he was not taking his daily dose of Lasix.

The whole thing reads like Hayward thought it was optional to reduce takeout, not mandatory. Now, it can be argued that he should have known, or found out, but I don't think there was any big conspiracy.

I'd love to see the whole chain of email in its entirety, not pieces of it.

It all seems like a big misunderstanding vs. the ponzi scheme it is being compared to across the internet. If the slots weren't pumping money into the arms of the industry nobody would give a darn in Albany.. A bunch of two faced self serving politicians as far as I can see. Sure Hayward should have been crystal clear but him not being perfect doesn't mean NYRA are crooks.

Administrative leave announcements at NYRA
 

NYRA under fire and looks like the landscape of racing in NY will be changing in the future.

ELMONT, N.Y. – C. Steven Duncker, Chairman of The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) Board of Directors, has announced that the NYRA Executive Committee has placed NYRA President and CEO Charles Hayward and NYRA Senior VP and General Counsel Patrick Kehoe on administrative leave without pay, pending further review. The actions follow the April 29 release of the New York State Racing and Wagering Board’s interim report into the matter of incorrect takeout rates at NYRA and a letter to Duncker, also dated April 29, from Robert L. Megna, Chairman of the Franchise Oversight Board.



“NYRA takes the matters identified by the Franchise Oversight Board and the New York State Racing and Wagering Board extremely seriously, “said Duncker. “NYRA will take all appropriate steps and actions to cooperate with the State’s inquiries and insure the integrity of our operations. As part of these efforts, we will respond to Chairman Megna’s letter as requested by May 4th. NYRA has worked diligently over the past number of years to improve the racing and agricultural industries in New York State and enhance its national status as an industry leader, and we will continue with that commitment.”

Even if he was temporarily stealing from bettors and got caught with his hand in the cookie jar...I liked this Heyward guy a lot and I think ultimately we're way better off with him than your avg guy who gets that position.

I really liked Barry Schwartz a lot. Maybe they can get him back. He was outstanding and tried harder than anyone to get things going in a better direction.

Outside of the real young guy in Canada at Hastings and the guys at Tampa Bay Downs and Charles Town...it's a veritable Dumb and Dumber parade of racings Powers that be. Hopeless.

Raj?

Priceless
 

even if he was temporarily stealing from bettors and got caught with his hand in the cookie jar...I liked this Heyward guy a lot.

I am not one to jump to conclusions based upon allegations and I have been a supporter of NYRA, but if this is true, this is a real slap in the face to loyal NYRA customers. Ed Fountaine has this piece in the NY Post today.

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/horse...W51oB3IxYSakbN

The part of this that I want ot know more about is this:

"We originally had thought that we would announce this for Saratoga but political forces intervened."

Who are the political forces and what did they know and when. I would like to see Hayward come out swinging bit I am thinking he will fall on the sword.

How is Hayward going to come out swinging. He cannot even control his own racing office. They all need to be fired

this sport is a never ending debacle. a perpetual clusterf@ck.

If what the report says is true, there is absolutely no chance that Hayward keeps his job. I can't imagine this being a case of pre-meditated fraud or theft, though. It's not like NYRA was siphoning money from the pools and paying it to execs--the extra funds were relatively negligible in the grand scheme of things and nobody had any motive to "steal." Seems like a case of ineptitude or negligence that was compounded by some very poor decisions once the mistake was found.

Any evaluation of the situation needs to factor in the atmosphere of hostility from Albany and a governor who is eager to execute his own agenda, foist the land from the association and dismantle racing in the state.

How convenient too that all responsibility of the State Racing & Wagering Board, the Franchise Oversight Board and State Legislature appears to have evaporated as part of this. Guess they didn't need to do their job in monitoring the timeline on the original increase (which the legislature foisted on NYRA and players as part of the NYC OTB transfer to state control).

People shouldn't be taken in by the smokescreen.. there's bigger motives involved here than extracting Charlie Hayward or browbeating NYRA.

im a huge hayward fan. i think he has guided nyra well for many years and is bieng screwed..

Steve, these are very vaild points. The State Racing and Wagering Board and Franchise Board are just as guilty if not more here. Their job is to ensure the integrity of the sport. What is their excuse?

As for the State Legislature, don't even get me started on them. This is one of the most corrupt governments in the USA. You can't even open a newspaper without seeing a State legislator being investigated, charged, on trial or convicted of a crime on a daily basis. I believe Carl Kruger is the poster boy of the day today. Or it may be Pedro Espada. They are incredibly corrupt and it is sad that they keep getting elected until they are convicted and stripped of their positions.

DiNapoli's office is just as responsible. What happened to the audit in 2010 that didn't catch this? How did they miss that? Yet they are quick to place the blame on others and take the credit for it instead of sharing the blame, typical DiNapoli spin of taking a negative and making it a positive for him that the general public that knows nothing about this swallows up as a positive for him. Frankly, DiNapoli is incredibly inept, had no experience as a comptroller and continues to waste taxpayer money.

At the end of the day, who gets screwed? The "dengerate" horseplayer, like you and me and no one gives a $hit. We are an easy punching bag just like smokers, who cares about us. You can tax us at usurious rates and no one really cares. You can screw us and the public says we deserve it. It is a sad state of affairs.

I don't for a second think that the timing of this report by those that are more responsible for the blame than those they are scapegoating is a coincidence either.

Having said that, regardless of the atmosphere in Albany, if the allegations against NYRA are true than the decision making was truly warped and allowed this kind of scapegoating to happen IMO.

Don't you think the Governor will use this as an excuse to fire Hayward, throw the NYRA into disarray, appoint his own people, and have his way?

I think Steve is right on point that this is probably being used as a politcal ploy by Cuomo to execute his grand stupid plan to steal Aqueduct from NYRA and turn it into a convention center. If there are some casualties during the way in order for it to be executed, I doubt that Cuomo really cares.

This is a State full of politcians that have a problem with spending money that the People of this State cannot afford and they will stop at nothing to execute it and do it in a way that it appears to the taxpayers that they are not paying more. Many of the politicians have no problems iilegally stuffing cash into their own pockets at the taxpayer expense either. The corruption in Albany in mind boggling.

NYRA better put that slot money to good use as it won't be around for long. Welcome to New York, the land of the corrupt in power.

They dont need an excuse to fire him, he captains the ship. He should be held accountable for anything that's mishandled wager wise, or anything in that racing office that brings the integrity of their product into question. Roll the heads, not just Hayward, but second in command and revamp what's going on over there.

Its corrupt inside, whether this is a mistake or not

Will firings of the State Comptroller and the entire Racing and Wagering Board commence soon as well? How are people that were just as guilty in charge of investigating?

Yes - that's precisely what Steve's comments have me worried about. Thanks.

Actually the Racing Board will be gone soon. The latest budget has the Racing Board being merged with the Lottery Commission. There will be 7 seats and the Governor will select 5 of the 7 members. I think it is a safe assumption that John Sabini will not be head of the new commission.

who knows what they are gonna do they just need to be fired no matter who investigates.

Talk about stacking the deck. If one goes rogue he has a safety valve. Bodes well for the future of racing in New York.

I dont have much of an opinion on this entire situation, but I have to say this. I think its silly that this is a major story and the main topic of conversation Oaks/Derby week.

Agreed......but, as ALWAYS the mainstream media just loves to bring up this crap during a spotlight week for our sport! :(

Totally agree..well put!

I was talking to a well known racing mind this morning who pointed out that NYRA did not keep the lot of the 8.5 million in overcharges. The OTBs and other ADW outlets took most of that. I would think that someone from one of the OTBs or ADWs would have stepped up on the issue but, so far, they to were silent.
There will be changes in the NYRA exec staff. Unfortunately NY politicians will fix the problem (God helps us). Since Skelos is fancy with the OTBs you could perhaps see a John Signor of Capital appointed top exec of NYRA. That's government for you.

Given Cuomo administration officials previously questioning operation of NYSRWB (for example, on RWB's approval of call center in Oregon), would he even be a member of the the new Gaming Commission? For that reason, I'm suspect of a number of recent news items: Sabini named new Chair of ARCI; disclosure of "interim report" that tars NYRA and, for want of a better word, exonerates the Franchise Oversight Board and NYSRWB; and initiation by NYSRWB of public comment period regarding use of Lasix in NY. An awful lot of activity in a short period of time for a guy whose days would appear to be numbered.

Mike Vietch
 

Mike Vietch wrote a great article today regarding this whole issue. It may be viewed at www.saratogian.com. Worth reading.

Scat

Here's the e-mail I sent to the Saratogian and Albany Times-Union when this story first hit last December:

"I don't understand why the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance is getting a pass on this. You need to talk to someone in what passes for their Pari-Mutuel Revenue Unit in Albany and ask them why they didn't catch this error for 15 months.

Prior to 1991, Pari-Mutuel Examiners of the Tax Dept. were in place at NY State tracks and off-track betting venues to check EACH AND EVERY POOL to insure the accuracy of the reported handle, commission, breakage, and payoff to the public. They also saw to the collection of franchise fees and admissions taxes. In that year, NY State decided, AS A COST-CUTTING MEASURE, to disband the entire unit, and lay off or transfer the employees.

I know this for a fact because I was one of the examiners so affected. All you have to do is check the history of NYRA's transgressions over the last two decades to realize the State Tax Dept.'s decision to leave the henhouse unguarded was actually a very costly one. Had we been in place, say, on 9/15/10, the error would have revealed itself after the running of the very first race with "exotic" betting."

Incidentally, my ex-boss at Pari-Mutuel who was the last remaining Tax Dept. representative at NYRA until August, 2010 (!!!) just e-mailed me to let me know he was contacted recently by a reporter from the Albany Times-Union.

Tom DiNapoli already shifting blame instead of explaining why his office missed this for so long. The seeds for the political motivations seem to be planted. He seems ideally suited for a position on the Obama campaign.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion...tF3vgapzfVmMhI

Where was the oversight from the Oversight Committee?

Here's what my ex-boss just sent me:

"My phone still ringing with calls from Albany tax people and that reporter from the Times Union. He is writing an article for this Monday's edition and tells me my picture will appear. Quite a hornet's nest your note to the Times Union stirred up. It will be interesting to see what he writes. I suspect NYRA and the Racing & Wagering Board will be targeted. NYRA for failing to act when advised of their error and the Racing and Wagering Board for their inefficiency. We know our pari-mutuel crew was the eyes and ears of racing surveillance. We assured the integrity of racing in NY State and with our departure the void was not filled."

I'm looking forward to reading that article on Monday. Keep in mind that my old boss was basically "forced to retire" in August, 2010 just a month before this fiasco hit, so he might be a little "disgruntled."

Story I wanted to see published finally hit:

http://www.timesunion.com/local/art...yes-3538781.php

Guess I'm a "whistleblower" of sorts. Reporter did a great job with this story, I thought.


Ocala Mike, nee Michael Napolitano

they overlooked instead?

Your link was not working

http://www.timesunion.com/local/arti...es-3538781.php

RWB report tried to "exonerate" the Franchise Oversight Board by noting that it essentially has no staff.

It's truly an amazing article. Shock journalism