NYRA Franchise: "Backwards, not forwards"

[blackthroatedwind]

Bruno has repeatedly " bargained " in bad faith against the interests of racing. And, even at this late date, he continues to do so.

[kenny p]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

Bruno has repeatedly " bargained " in bad faith against the interests of racing. And, even at this late date, he continues to do so.

Agreed. But where have all our other state senators been? That includes mine, Sen. Owen Johnson who I have not heard a peep from. Nor has he answered my letters to him about nyra. Are they all scared of Bruno or are they just waiting to see what their cut will be? Albany, what a joke.

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by kenny p

Agreed. But where have all our other state senators been? That includes mine, Sen. Owen Johnson who I have not heard a peep from. Nor has he answered my letters to him about nyra. Are they all scared of Bruno or are they just waiting to see what their cut will be? Albany, what a joke.

You're far from the only one asking that exact question.

[pmacdaddy]

The way the Pols operate is truly disgusting.

[parsixfarms]

Originally Posted by kenny p

Agreed. But where have all our other state senators been? That includes mine, Sen. Owen Johnson who I have not heard a peep from. Nor has he answered my letters to him about nyra. Are they all scared of Bruno or are they just waiting to see what their cut will be? Albany, what a joke.

It's the culture of Albany. They won't take him on, especially with the Republicans only holding a two-seat majority in the State Senate. Furthermore, they don't know much on the subject; anyone who heard Senator Larkin, the head of the Senate Racing Committee, on the "Down the Stretch" show on the OTB channel in late December can attest to their general lack of knowledge on racing matters.

Perhaps the scariest thing is that I attended a party this past summer at which a highly-ranked member of the Senate majority was present. When I started to talk to him about the franchise issue, his response was that I shouldn't worry because Saratoga is in Bruno's district. The other implication from the conversation was that, because Bruno's district includes Saratoga, the other senators will defer to his "expertise" on the subject.

[pgiaco]

Bravo. Well said on the air Steve. I also would not support another extension so we can revisit this again in a few weeks.

[pmacdaddy]

Any thoughts on what a missed racing season would do to the economy of Bruno's Saratoga?

He better be careful what he wishes for. Horsemen and NYRA workers aren't the only ones with skin in this game.

[Norfolk]

http://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/stories/Feb112008b.shtml

From NYRA Press Staff | February 11, 2008


To Our New York Racing Fans

As I’m sure you may know NYRA is faced with the real possibility of having to suspend racing after the Wednesday, February 13th card is run.

NYRA’s franchise to run thoroughbred racing at Aqueduct, Saratoga and Belmont Park, which dates back to 1955, expired on December 31, 2007 without a franchise renewal in place. Acting in good faith and responding to assurances that an agreement would soon be reached mirroring the September 4th Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) already agreed to by NYRA, the Governor and the State Assembly, NYRA accepted a three-week temporary extension of its franchise until January 23rd and a second extension which will expire Wednesday.

NYRA can no longer operate under temporary extensions and will conclude racing at Aqueduct on Wednesday unless NYRA receives a new long-term franchise.

Without getting too deeply into the issues surrounding the franchise, NYRA is committed to securing an agreement that ensures the franchise is operated by people who have the best interests of thoroughbred racing at heart and are dedicated to ensuring that the thoroughbred industry is a vital contributor to the State of New York.

Absent an appropriate franchise agreement, on Thursday two-thirds of our employees will be laid-off, while the rest will take significant pay cuts with further cutbacks expected if the closure is prolonged. Trainers have been told they may train their horses at our tracks for two weeks, but that NYRA will not be able to accommodate horses or backstretch workers past February 27th.

Unfortunately, you will be affected as well, as your participation in the greatest game played outdoors also will be interrupted. We will keep you informed about any significant developments in the franchise process and deeply hope that any interruption in racing is brief. We understand your frustration and appreciate your patience.

[SniperSB23]

Originally Posted by pmacdaddy

Any thoughts on what a missed racing season would do to the economy of Bruno's Saratoga?

He better be careful what he wishes for. Horsemen and NYRA workers aren't the only ones with skin in this game.

Doesn't really matter for his re-election chances. Saratoga Springs has 26,000 residents. Rensselaer County (also in his district) has 160,000. So as long as he keeps pumping state money into the revitalization of Rensselaer and Troy and at least does reasonably well in Clifton Park he would be able to win re-election without a vote from Saratoga.

[parsixfarms]

Originally Posted by SniperSB23

Doesn't really matter for his re-election chances. Saratoga Springs has 26,000 residents. Rensselaer County (also in his district) has 160,000. So as long as he keeps pumping state money into the revitalization of Rensselaer and Troy and at least does reasonably well in Clifton Park he would be able to win re-election without a vote from Saratoga.

Very true, but if the Democtrats funded a decent candidate against him, he'd be forced to spend resources defending his own seat that he'd rather spend elsewhere. That's the only way to get his attention.

[pmacdaddy]

Originally Posted by SniperSB23

Doesn't really matter for his re-election chances. Saratoga Springs has 26,000 residents. Rensselaer County (also in his district) has 160,000. So as long as he keeps pumping state money into the revitalization of Rensselaer and Troy and at least does reasonably well in Clifton Park he would be able to win re-election without a vote from Saratoga.

Maybe he would get re-elected. Certainly don't think folks in Saratoga Springs itself would be the only ones hurt though.

I could see a missed meet putting a lot of businesses under. Can't imagine he wants that on his hands.

Hopefully not something that becomes a reality, but if NRYA lays off 2/3 of staff and can't race at Belmont. I would not rule it out in any fashion.

[Kasept]

NY STATE SENATORS

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over the Internet. While Senators may choose to respond to your note
directly through e-mail, there may be cases where more extensive follow-up
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Adams, Eric 20th eadams@senate.state.ny.us
Alesi, James S. 55th alesi@senate.state.ny.us
Bonacic, John J. 42nd bonacic@senate.state.ny.us
Breslin, Neil D. 46th breslin@senate.state.ny.us
Bruno, Joseph L. 43rd bruno@senate.state.ny.us
Connor, Martin 25th connor@senate.state.ny.us
DeFrancisco, John A. 50th jdefranc@senate.state.ny.us
Diaz, Ruben , Sr. 32nd diaz@senate.state.ny.us
Dilan, Martin Malave 17th dilan@senate.state.ny.us
Duane, Thomas K. 29th duane@senate.state.ny.us
Farley, Hugh T. 44th farley@senate.state.ny.us
Flanagan, John J. 2nd flanagan@senate.state.ny.us
Fuschillo, Charles J., Jr. 8th fuschill@senate.state.ny.us
Golden, Martin J. 22nd golden@senate.state.ny.us
Gonzalez, Efrain , Jr. 33rd gonzalez@senate.state.ny.us
Griffo, Joseph A. 47th griffo@senate.state.ny.us
Hannon, Kemp 6th hannon@senate.state.ny.us
Hassell-Thompson, Ruth 36th hassellt@senate.state.ny.us
Huntley, Shirley L. 10th shuntley@senate.state.ny.us
Johnson, Craig M. 7th johnson@senate.state.ny.us
Johnson, Owen H. 4th ojohnson@senate.state.ny.us
Klein, Jeffrey D. 34th jdklein@senate.state.ny.us
Krueger, Liz 26th lkrueger@senate.state.ny.us
Kruger, Carl 27th kruger@senate.state.ny.us
Lanza, Andrew J. 24th lanza@senate.state.ny.us
Larkin, William J., Jr. 39th larkin@senate.state.ny.us
LaValle, Kenneth P. 1st lavalle@senate.state.ny.us
Leibell, Vincent L., III 40th leibell@senate.state.ny.us
Libous, Thomas W. 52nd senator@senatorlibous.com
Little, Elizabeth O'C. 45th little@senate.state.ny.us
Maltese, Serphin R. 15th maltese@senate.state.ny.us
Marcellino, Carl L. 5th marcelli@senate.state.ny.us
Maziarz, George D. 62nd maziarz@senate.state.ny.us
Montgomery, Velmanette 18th montgome@senate.state.ny.us
Morahan, Thomas P. 38th morahan@senate.state.ny.us
Nozzolio, Michael F. 54th nozzolio@senate.state.ny.us
Onorato, George 12th onorato@senate.state.ny.us
Oppenheimer, Suzi 37th oppenhei@senate.state.ny.us
Padavan, Frank 11th padavan@senate.state.ny.us
Parker, Kevin S. 21st parker@senate.state.ny.us
Perkins, Bill 30th perkins@senate.state.ny.us
Rath, Mary Lou 61st rath@senate.state.ny.us
Robach, Joseph E. 56th robach@senate.state.ny.us
Sabini, John D. 13th sabini@senate.state.ny.us
Saland, Stephen M. 41st saland@senate.state.ny.us
Sampson, John L. 19th sampson@senate.state.ny.us
Savino, Diane J. 23rd savino@senate.state.ny.us
Schneiderman, Eric T. 31st schneide@senate.state.ny.us
Serrano, José M. 28th serrano@senate.state.ny.us
Seward, James L. 51st seward@senate.state.ny.us
Skelos, Dean G. 9th skelos@senate.state.ny.us
Smith, Malcolm A. 14th masmith@senate.state.ny.us
Stachowski, William T. 58th stachows@senate.state.ny.us
Stavisky, Toby Ann 16th stavisky@senate.state.ny.us
Stewart-Cousins, Andrea 35th scousins@senate.state.ny.us
Thompson, Antoine M. 60th athompso@senate.state.ny.us
Trunzo, Caesar 3rd trunzo@senate.state.ny.us
Vacancy, 48th SD48@senate.state.ny.us
Valesky, David J. 49th valesky@senate.state.ny.us
Volker, Dale M. 59th volker@senate.state.ny.us
Winner, George H., Jr. 53rd winner@senate.state.ny.us
Young, Catharine M. 57th cyoung@senate.state.ny.us