NYPost: Cuomo to solicit bids; No criminal wrongdoing in takeout snafu
 

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/g...Jl7I4fjg2K89JM

Cuomo, who will sign legislation within days giving the state control of NYRA’s board of directors, plans to seek public bids for a new operator to replace NYRA, a not-for-profit corporation, from for-profit companies with deep experience in the racing and/or entertainment industries, sources said.

The IG report concluded that no criminal conduct occurred and that a successful Civil Court action was unlikely, the source said.

Who is expected to bid?

Oh, great.

Stronach ;p

I'm a big fan of his energy drink and his Internet Horse Racing League. Almost bought a Team Red Bullet Jersey.

Churchill Downs Inc. has done a first rate job running Calder, why wouldn't you want them to run NYRA as well ? It is simply an exchange of one management company (Cuomo) that couldn't care less about what is in the best interest of racing for another.
Or better yet, Stronach, who believes that fans shouldn't be able to see the horses get saddled, or have a place to sit to watch the races.

Choosing between Churchill and Stronach to run a racetrack is an even worse choice to have to make than Obama or Rommney, no good can come of having to make a choice between the lesser of two evils. It's like in Mel Brooks' classic History Of The World....."It's either Hump or Death, you have ten seconds to make up your mind....Hump...Death...hump...death...hump ...death...your time is running out........"

The winner is going to be the outfit that can divert more of the slot money into the politicians wallets.

The better question is, who in their right mind would bid considering that the State has shown that they will not honor the contracts and deals they have made? There was a system of due process built into the original contract. It was not followed. The deal struck when the State violated the contract the first time was that control would be returned to the franchise in 3 years. Now they would violate this as well? And they expect someone just to pony up millions for such a privilege?

Death

Your choices floated so far:
Churchill- which has made no bones about having zero interest in horse racing outside of Oaks and Derby days and spend the majority of its time figuring out how to squeeze out a few more cents from the golden goose

Stronach- An 80 year old guy who is currently running for President of Austria. The pols threw a hissy fit over NYRA board members horses getting free shuttle van rides (like every other horse at NYRA) so I'm sure they will love a guy like Stronach who stands stalions in the state and races a sizable stable.

Formula One -which to my knowledge has zero gambling expertise and has done such a bang up job promoting its product in the US

MSG- I like the work they do so much that if given a chance I would spend 20 year in prison for the good of society if they would let me personally strangle Silver Spoon Dolan and his boy friend Isiah Thomas

Penn national Gaming- Because you know when you think of quality racing operations you think of Penn National!


Why ANYONE would want to operate racing in NY under the current climate especially with no chance at alternate gaming and not being in control of the OTB's is beyond me.

OTM Al,will the adw( NYRA )be affected by any of this?

No idea. Don't work there. I would guess not, at least in the short term, but who knows. A better question is why are they only allowed to take customers from NY and CT? Surely if the State wants them to stand on their own without slots, then they should be allowed to sell their product wherever it is legal to do so.

So does the successful bidder have to agree to run all three tracks? Will Aqueduct, Belmont, and Saratoga be unbundled? I can envision a cockamie deal in NY over dates like we had (have) here in Florida.

So, If the state terminates the deal agreed to in 2008, Does NYRA get the deeds to the tracks back?
Sounds to me like politics as usual,with crooked politicians making up the rules as they go along to profit financially.

http://tenoonan.com/2012/09/24/lates...w-york-racing/

Good blog post by Tom Noonan.

Thanks for posting the link. That was a good op-ed. Money quote (literally and figuratively):

<<Then there is the matter of the Cuomo Super PAC, or as it is known officially, the Committee to Save New York. The New York Times reported in June that casino interests had contributed some $2.5 million to the group. The Governor has refused to divulge the sources of other contributions that were made before the effective date of a law mandating such disclosures. What we do know, however, is that the Governor has made changing the state constitution to allow casinos one of his priorities. We also know that his interest in horse racing does not extend to attending premier events such as the Belmont Stakes or the Travers, but that in the space of less than four months, he has gone from ramming through a state government takeover of racing to now contracting it out to the highest bidder.>>

And, once again, we get to see what the Supreme Court hath wrought with that b*llsh*t Citizens United decision.

The whole property at Aqueduct is the main reason behind the State initially breaking the Franchise Agreement. It's not the grand prize but a block that was needed to get there. The agreement stipulated that the State had the right to develop the property except for the racing property. The convention center plan required that property and thus the coup. The real grand prize, for anyone who really cares, isn't even the grease from the gambling industry. It's the development rights to the current convention center property, the Jacob Javits Center, 6 full blocks of riverfront midtown Manhattan property that is now getting a subway extension to reach it. What you think that is worth? If anyone doesn't care about the animals, it's the individuals in Albany.

This is probably a stupid question, but if other people are buying the politicians, can't people sympathetic to horse racing buy them right back? Millions get dropped on yearlings, so I just wondered who was trying to, ehem, "invest" in political campaigns that's on our side here.