CRIST: (Updated: Bruno proposal)

[philcski]

Originally Posted by Kasept

The "inherent financial issues" were created by the state government and the odious patronage power associated with the OTB's. Not that anyone has remotely begun to address that issue...
And I don't understand the "bad decisions" saddlebag constantly flung over the back of current NYRA management. How are the Kenny Noe/Barry Schwartz years NYRA administrations relevant now? Why is there no credit applied to what's been accomplished the last 3 years?

And with due respect, do you have any idea to what degree the same state government hacks that are losers in the current battle, and are now desperate to keep their fingers in the pie, were responsible for the "mismanagement" for which they chide NYRA? The same scum that take delight in citing NYRA's expenditures under old regimes are the very guys that were glomming everything they could off the NYRA teet for years... I'd find a new whipping post.

This is the biggest issue no one in Albany seems to want to address.

NYCOTB alone did over $1.06 billion in handle in FY2006, if we conservatively estimate 30% of that was on NYRA (probably closer to 40-50%), that's $54,000,000 in revenue per year at a takeout rate of 18% (approx. the blended NYRA rate). Taken incrementally over their contract, which I cannot confirm but I have heard is 6%, that's $36,000,000 in lost revenue for NYRA that could be applied to racing directly.

To put that in perspective, that's enough to cover the purses for the ENTIRE winter meet- now multiply that by a factor that includes WNYOTB, Capital OTB, Catskill OTB, Nassau OTB, and Suffolk OTB.