New York Racing Association
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The New York Racing Association is the non-profit management group that runs the three largest thoroughbred horse-racing tracks in the state of New York. It runs Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, Queens, Belmont Park in Elmont, Long Island (just outside New York City), and Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York. They are currently operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
NYRA should not be confused with the New York State Racing and Wagering Board, the official governing body that oversees racing in the Empire State.
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[edit] History
In 1913, racing returned to New York after a hiatus. Only four tracks had survived the hiatus. These were Aqueduct Racetrack (the Big A), Belmont Park, the old Jamaica and Saratoga Race Course. These tracks were formed together under a not-for-profit association known as the Greater New York Association in 1955. The Association remodeled Aqueduct and Belmont and demolished Jamaica, which is now the Rochdale Village housing development. The association later became the New York Racing Association.
The racing association's current franchise expires on Dec. 31, 2007. Until September 2005, it operated under a deferred prosecution agreement following a 2003 indictment. The charge stems from alleged income tax evasion and money laundering by mutuel clerks between 1980 and 1999. The overhauled NYRA management, led by president Charlie Hayward, convinced the US Attorney's Office in Brooklyn and a federal court judge to dismiss the indictment.
NYRA, citing that the New York State Lottery Division's failure to approve the installation of video-lottery terminal (VLT) machines at Aqueduct Racetrack pushed them to insolvency, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on November 2, 2006. [1]
Despite its financial and legal woes, NYRA is still one of the most powerful racetrack operators in the thoroughbred business. The completion of VLT machine installation at the Big A is expected to help increase income (and thus purses) for whichever entity wins the current franchise, whether it be NYRA, another operator (such as Frank Stronach's Magna Entertainment, the owner of Pimlico Race Course, or Churchill Downs Incorporated) or a partnership of NYRA with another entity.
[edit] NYRA Activities
The New York Racing Association conducts year-round racing in New York. In the winter they operate at Aqueduct, from May to mid-July they operate Belmont. In the latter part of July, all of August and the beginning of September they operate Saratoga Race Course. From September to the end of October they return to Belmont. The year concludes in the fall at Aqueduct. NYRA sponsors the Triple Crown for fillies in the US, known as the Triple Tiara.
