SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Off Track Betting officials say the plan to push for legislation that would allow them to stay open on Palm Sunday. State Racing Law prohibits live racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday. By extension, the state Racing and Wagering Board has ruled that OTBs may not conduct business, either. But OTB leaders say they're losing several million dollars worth of wagering, a portion of which goes back to the cash-strapped state and county governments. "It's going to be part of our legislative agenda this year," Capital Region OTB President John Signor said. "In my view it's a no-brainer. It's very competitive out there. By not allowing it you're driving bettors to out-of-state wagering sites." Non-New York thoroughbred tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne conduct Palm Sunday racing along with The Meadowlands in New Jersey where harness racing is held. New York bettors should be allowed to wager on those races at OTBs or at New York racetrack simulcast venues, Signor said. In 2003, New York City Off Track Betting challenged the law and stayed open on Palm Sunday, generating about $1.5 million in handle. However, the Racing and Wagering Board said the entity didn't obtain approval to alter its plan of operation and imposed a $5,000 fine. The next year, New York City OTB formally asked for approval to change its plan of operation and was denied. "We have not tested it since then," President Raymond Casey said. "If you have a specific directive from a regulator you need to obey that." But with the state facing a projected $15 billion budget deficit, others say it's time to revisit the matter. "I've been an advocate for more than 30 years to have betting on Palm Sunday," Catskill Regional OTB President Donald Groth said. "It would be one small step to increase business." The Racing and Wagering Board's makeup has undergone major changes since 2003 including a new chairman, John Sabini, who took office last August. Spokesman Joseph Mahoney said that no one has brought the matter before the board this year. "There's been no recent legal analysis about this," he said. "We're not bound by previous decisions. If the issue was raised, we would conduct a review and decide based upon the relevant information." The Palm Sunday debate is one more example of the way state leaders are turning to gambling as a way to solve New York's fiscal woes. In December, Gov. David Paterson proposed putting video lottery terminals at Belmont Park in addition to Aqueduct, where Buffalo-based Delaware North Companies is scheduled to operate a 4,500-machine racino. In addition to VLTs, the Lottery Division has talked with the governor about expanding gaming to include electronic table games such as poker, blackjack and 21 that are very similar to traditional forms of casino gambling. Several years ago, Senator Bill Larkin, R-New Windsor, introduced legislation (S-1199) that would have overturned the Palm Sunday provision. However, it got bottled up and died in committee in 2005. "It kept getting more and more opposition from people who don't like gambling," spokesman Steve Casscles said. The current financial crisis could change that, however. Jackson Leeds is a part-time cashier for Nassau Regional Off Track Betting on Long Island. As a taxpayer advocate, he says it's incumbent on the state to allow OTBs to stay open on Palm Sunday. "Nobody has any money," he said. "The state should be glad to allow it. It's the universal common denominator --cash."
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