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 is headquartered at Aqueduct.
NYRA should not be confused with the New York State Racing and Wagering Board, the official governing body that oversees racing in New York.
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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 Racetrack, Belmont Park, and Saratoga Race Course and demolished Jamaica, which is now the Rochdale Village, housing development. The partnership became the New York Racing Association on April 10, 1958.
The racing association's current franchise now expires on Dec. 31, 2033. 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. On September 4, 2007, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer announced his recommendation that NYRA retain the racing franchise for an additional 30 years under certain conditions; this recommendation is subject to the approval of the state legislature.
[edit] New Deal
NYRA will run racing for the next 25 years under legislation approved February 13 that provides hundreds of millions of dollars in direct aid and loan forgiveness to NYRA and new oversight abilities by the state.
The legislation, which stalled for several hours in the Senate due to back-room jockeying on unrelated issues, was approved 92 to 40 in the Assembly and 39 to 17 in the Senate.
The legislation, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly Racing Committee Chairman Gary Pretlow, extends NYRA’s franchise until December 31, 2033. It turns NYRA into a not-for-profit corporation, but includes a provision authorizing the state comptroller with power to audit its books. As a not-for-profit, NYRA will also come more directly under the oversight of the state attorney general’s office.
[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 (in 2008, the start date is July 23). 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.
