State investigating NYRA takeout issues; Hayward, Kehoe terminated

[Riot]

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

The report cites emails between Hayward and Steve Crist, the publisher and columnist for the Daily Racing Form in which Crist passed along an email from a reader indicating that takeout rates "had expired and were outside the parameters of the Racing Law."

According to the report, "Mr. Hayward emailed Mr. Crist on August 1, 2011 confirming that the reader was correct and requested that Mr. Crist keep the information confidential. Mr. Crist agreed."

Crist repeated the story about the reader's email and then told the News, "I didn't know they were overcharging at the time. I asked Charlie (Hayward) if NYRA was going to apply for a lower takeout rate and he said, ‘not now.’ I didn't know until December like everyone else. If I did, we (the Daily Racing Form) would have put it on the front page."

The report hints that Hayward may not have lowered the takeout rates due to perceived political and financial reasons as NYRA was in debt in both 2010 and 2011.

"Off the record, we have been working on this for some time," the report quotes another email to Crist saying. "We originally had thought that we would announce this for Saratoga but political forces intervened. Since we are showing substantial losses in 2010 and 2011 and we have been smacked around by Cuomo (and he could check the SRWB from approving), we decided to wait.

"Also, the regional OTBs who collectively lost money in 2010 will scream like stuck pigs and that would provoke (Dean) Skelos who is very tight with the guys who run Nassau OTB to introduce anti-NYRA legislation for the benefit of the OTBs," the email continues. "Finally, we are quietly working on a plan to open 10 or so restaurant/bars in the city and we did not want the politicos to block this effort. We have some internal debates on how much to lower each pool and how we would present this to our simo customers, the consumers and the politicos. I would appreciate it if you could keep these details confidential."

On Dec. 28, NYRA lowered the takeout and refunded monies to those they were able to track down the discrepancies through account wagering.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/mo...#ixzz1tZ1rlo1K

[Indian Charlie]

Clearly he was not taking his daily dose of Lasix.

[cmorioles]

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.

[freddymo]

Originally Posted by cmorioles

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.

[postpicker]

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.”

[Calzone Lord]

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.

[Antitrust32]

Originally Posted by Calzone Lord

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?

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.

[Bigsmc]

Originally Posted by Antitrust32

Raj?

imagesCAYM3Q8J.jpg

[pointman]

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

[Stall Mucker]

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.