NYRA increases purses

[freddymo]

Originally Posted by parsixfarms

Because the NYSRWB will not let them do rebate programs at the level that they would like, because of opposition from the OTBs.

Oh so now we are back to the state screwing the NYRA..

BTW is NYRA needs money whats the big deal with charging for stall space? If you are bankrupt and need money you had better start finding additional revenue from somewhere. Or should the tax payers just pay?

I will really bad for weathy owners having to pay 100 a month for a stall

Originally Posted by freddymo

Oh so now we are back to the state screwing the NYRA..

BTW is NYRA needs money whats the big deal with charging for stall space? If you are bankrupt and need money you had better start finding additional revenue from somewhere. Or should the tax payers just pay?

I will really bad for weathy owners having to pay 100 a month for a stall

No wealthy owners shouldn't have to pay that extra $5/day in dayrate. We all know horse ownership is a right of all americans and they shouldn't have to pay for it all. Let the middle-class pay for it with higher taxes. LOL

NYRA is a joke. Always has been, but that is what you get when you essentially have zero accountability. I can't wait for NYRA to pull out the "we are doing it for the children and education" or some lame pr stunt.

[parsixfarms]

The costs of racing here in NY are already higher than other locales. If you raise the cost of doing business, the horsemen will take their horses elsewhere, and you can enjoy betting on small fields. Besides, most horsemen and owners are not the "wealthy" individuals you make them out to be.

[freddymo]

Originally Posted by parsixfarms

The costs of racing here in NY are already higher than other locales. If you raise the cost of doing business, the horsemen will take their horses elsewhere, and you can enjoy betting on small fields. Besides, most horsemen and owners are not the "wealthy" individuals you make them out to be.

Your kidding right? Maybe your right maybe NYBreds mdn claiming 25's should race at Finger lakes...Maybe racing in NY should be 4 days a week...maybe the poor poor horse horsesman that spend 50k on a NY bred Freud or Precise End we should have a benefit for them.. You know what if you can't make a living trainering 5 claimers in NY MOVE

[parsixfarms]

I thought that this board was for people who were fans of racing. You seem to have such disdain for everyone involved in the business. Why are you here?

[freddymo]

I love racing I have NO disdain for racing at all. But come on with the poor owners routine. There is no such thing. If you can afford a race horse you can afford alot. The NYRA is a joke but I absolutely LOVE racing and horses.

[parsixfarms]

I'll take your word for it on your love of racing. I guess I'm coming from the viewpoint that NY, through its high parimutuel taxes and parisitic OTBs, is doing its best to try to prevent racing (forget about NYRA) from competing on a level playing field with other gambling enterprises (compare horse racing's takeout to the house's advantage at a casino), so I'm tired of the "we poor taxpayers are constantly bailing NYRA out" routine recently advanced by members of the NYS Senate.

Let's put it this way. Up here in Malta, the state has pledged over $1 billion dollars to build a plant that may - and I emphasize MAY - allow a Texas company to employ a couple of hundred workers. Meanwhile, the politicians seem hell-bent on playing games with a horse racing industry that employs over 40,000 New Yorkers. Even assuming that we don't fix the broken model (which everyone at the earliest stages of the franchise process agreed was broken), and the track operator needs a $20 million per year subsidy to ensure that those persons dependent on the industry remain in their jobs, that's far less than the state already takes out of the game, so I fail to see how the taxpayers are harmed in all this. And let's keep in mind that the numbers were talking about do not account at all for the income taxes that those working in the horse industry pay into the state coffers.

[sumitas]

Does anyone hear that giant SUCKING sound ? That's the sound of the money the for profits would suck out of NY racing and into their own accounts out of state. Forget money for increased purses, increased profits are all that matters to robber barons.

[Bigsmc]

Originally Posted by freddymo

If you can afford a race horse you can afford alot.

Most hilarious post of the day. Thanks for the laugh fm.

[ELA]

Everytime this discussion, or arguement takes place -- every single time -- I think it's crystal clear as to who understands the actual and substanative issues; and who is more oriented toward "the noise" -- the propaganda, and whatever else you want to call it. Anyone who comes from a place of getting rid of NYRA because they have failed, and bringing in someone who can build a successful business model, clearly doesn't understand anything about the economic and political environment of not only NY racing, but the entire industry. Now, there is nothing wrong with that, and in saying that I mean no offense to anyone and it's not meant to be riduculing in any way. However, it does point out that it is extremely difficult to have an intelligent, meaningful conversation when people are on two completely different planes of knowledge.

NYRA declaring bankruptcy is not a measure of their financial prowess or lack thereof. It's not cause and effect. It was, in part, very simply a strategic move and I think some people are upset not that NYRA did it, but more so that it actually worked. Think about that. The bankruptcy is however very and extermely indicative of the current political and legislative landscape that any franchise operator would have to operate under. It was not NYRA's business model that was broken. Yes, the propaganda will talk about expense accounts, NY Bred races, the taxpayers -- and while I don't mean to trivialize any issues, those are not the real issues. The critics and the people who are absent of facts and understanding must make it those items the issues. NYRA's business model -- any business model, in the current environment, would fail.

How many of these bidders were considering the franchise before the VLT legislation was passed? How many bidders were throwing their hat in the ring before the state legislature agreed to change the laws that make it impossible for anyone to operate the tracks in a prudent, dilligent and "profitable" form and fashion? For the first time, the state (or at least part of it, LOL) is actually looking to work with the various components of the industry and be part of the solution.

This is not about NYRA, although some people tend to make so. This entire situation is not a NYRA issue -- it's an industry issue. It's about archaic laws that were once feasible. However, the world has changed, and NY Racing -- not just NYRA -- has been dying a slow death. Like an old car that gets real old real fast, the death has been accelerated. NYRA has made mistakes, like CD, Magna, Woodbine, Delaware North, Empire, Excelsior, Capital Play, and so on. Everyone on the rosters have made mistakes -- just like all of us.

I think people need to set aside the sour grapes, animosity, hostility, and everything else -- and truly understand the issues and look to what is best for the sport and the industry.

Eric