Nassau OTB must be open 365 days of the year without religious preference. See eg NY Const. Art. 1, Sec. 3. Andrew Cuomo is a thief. Any con knows that you cannot close Nassau OTB, a public benefit corporation on Roman Catholic Easter Sunday and Palm Sunday in preference to Greek Orthodox Easter Sunday and Palm Sunday. Send Andrew Cuomo back to school.
We will not take your money/bets when good races are being run all across the US that we want to bet.
Andrew Cuomo, the next President of Italy
NY Region
New York Racing Association Takes a Long Shot on the Horses
Three Racing Properties Getting $8.5 Million in Upgrades
Updated April 4, 2014 1:38 p.m. ET
The Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment complex in East
Rutherford, N.J., is bringing in a mix of diners, gamblers and
nightclub goers.
Mark Abramson for The Wall Street Journal
A fresh coat of paint and a truckload of TV screens go a long way—especially at an aging racetrack like Aqueduct.
But do they go far enough?
As
the Queens-based thoroughbred track prepares to host Saturday's $1
million Wood Memorial, a prestigious prep race for the Kentucky Derby,
it has been rushing to complete a nearly $6 million brush-up. Its walls
now pop with color. Newly installed high-definition TVs—more than 800 of
them—provide easy views of the races. And a long-delayed watering hole,
Longshots, is poised to welcome guests to what looks like a Las
Vegas-style multisport betting establishment.
The
facelift is part of $8.5 million in upgrades recently announced by the
track's operating body, the New York Racing Association, to be spread
across its three properties: Aqueduct, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race
Course. Aimed at enhancing the guest experience, the initiative includes
things like new seating, picnic tables and video boards.
But as these fading facilities
compete with lotteries and Internet and casino gambling for bettor
dollars, critics say the capital improvements are too long overdue—and
too incremental.
"I think $6 million is maybe one-tenth what they should be spending," said
Mike Repole,
a horse owner and Queens native who founded Vitaminwater. "It's not even close to being enough."
Leonard Riggio,
the former Barnes & Noble chief executive who now sits on the
NYRA board, recently pushed for even more improvements, criticizing the
Aqueduct facility as dirty and dangerous.
"You can't let the infrastructure fall apart," he said.
But
while racetracks serving the sport of kings have languished, those
showcasing harness racing, its working-class cousin, have been getting
more of the royal treatment.
Last fall,
the Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment complex in East Rutherford,
N.J., opened a new $88 million facility with a shiny, modern prix-fixe
restaurant, a sports-themed nightclub and a nearly 9,000-square-foot
roof deck with Manhattan views.
At
Yonkers Raceway and Empire City Casino in Yonkers, N.Y., a $50 million
renovation to the adjacent casino added a glossy diner created by the
consulting service of French chef Alain Ducasse.
As at most "racinos," the Yonkers casino and racetrack attract separate crowds. But, said
Timothy J. Rooney,
whose family acquired the track in 1972, "we've worked on integrating racing with the slot business."
Both facilities are privately owned. Meanwhile, NYRA, a not-for-profit corporation with a board largely controlled by Gov.
Andrew Cuomo,
is in the process of crafting a master plan for its properties that is due to the governor by April 2015.
One option on the table: privatizing the tracks.
The
stakes are high for New York: Belmont hosts the third jewel of the
Triple Crown; Saratoga is one of the few U.S. tracks to retain the charm
and prestige of racing; and Aqueduct's winter racing gives NYRA nearly
year-round activity.
Together, the races at the three
tracks are simulcast nationally and internationally, which generates
income all year. "NYRA is a huge content provider," said
Elizabeth Bracken,
who teaches at the University of Arizona's Race Track Industry
Program and formerly ran NYRA's simulcasting operation.
"The whole industry needs them to be strong and move forward," she said.
But
running daily races at largely empty grandstands can create the
perception that racing is a lost cause. It doesn't help that hard-core
horseplayers wager so easily online. This issue is one local harness
tracks owners say they have been working to address.
Yonkers
Raceway once drew about 20,000 a night. Today, it averages about 1,000,
said Mr. Rooney. "We didn't do any marketing for racing in the old
days," he said. "Now, we're doing everything we can."
At
the Meadowlands, Chairman
Jeff Gural
—who signed a 30-year lease to operate the facility—built a new
grandstand that holds about 10,000 people. The old one fit 35,000.
"It's a little depressing to come to an empty building," said Mr. Gural.
One
Saturday in March, its sleek restaurant Pink was booked by noon. That
evening, at the sports-themed nightclub Victory,
Jeffrey Naberezny,
34, of Hoboken, was poring over the racing program with a female
companion. It was his second visit since November, he said.
Before that, he said, the last time he came to the track was at about age 18.
In
2013, the Meadowlands altered its race cards and wagering options,
boosting the total money bet by 32% over 2012. Bets placed at the track,
by contrast, were virtually flat from 2012 to 2013. For 2014, Mr. Gural
has set a goal of a 20% increase.
By
comparison, at NYRA's three tracks, the 2013 total was down slightly
from 2012, which reflects race days canceled due to weather. Its average
daily total was up 2.3%, but on-track betting was down nearly 4%.
A new seating area in the Longshots bar at Aqueduct racetrack.
Mark Abramson for The Wall Street Journal
To bring those numbers up, NYRA is
trying a series of short-term changes as it works on the long-term plan.
Much of the work is centering on making the Belmont Stakes Day, June 7,
a splashier event with high-profile entertainment (to be announced),
more food and beverage options at the clubhouse and a more lucrative
race day to lure top-caliber horses.
"I'd
like to see people think of Belmont Stakes Day as the kickoff to
summer, the way they think of the U.S. Open as the end of summer," said
Christopher Kay,
NYRA's president.
How the public responds will make a difference.
"Once
we're finished with the 2013-2014 season, we'll probably make some
changes," said Mr. Kay. "We're trying to collect more data and evaluate
it and make decisions."
Write to Pia Catton at pia.catton@wsj.com
Stop scratching on holidays
Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.
HI-
Thanks for
the help. The item’s below. I’d be happy to mail you a copy,
if you give me a mailing address.
Claude Solnik
(631) 913-4244
Long
Island Business News
2150
Smithtown Ave.
Ronkonkoma,
NY 11779-7348
Home >
LI Confidential > Stop
scratching on holidays
Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012
Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.
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Dear Fellow New Yorkers,
Today, New York State passed its fourth consecutive on-time balanced budget, for the first time in more than 40 years since Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, Assembly Speaker Perry Duryea, and Majority Leader Earl Brydges – proof that Albany’s legendary dysfunction and gridlock are a relic of the past. Truly a NY Budget Grand Slam, this budget builds on the State’s progress over the past three years in order to grow the economy and create new opportunities for New Yorkers and their families.  Governor Cuomo and legislative leaders sign the 2014-15 State Budget in the Red Room. The 2014-15 State Budget maintains the fiscal discipline that has characterized the last three years of progress by holding the growth in spending below two percent, while also making broad tax cuts that will help homeowners and businesses thrive. It also contains targeted investments that will transform our schools, ensure safer, cleaner, and fairer communities, and restore the public’s trust in government. This budget contains the framework that will allow us to build a new New York. I commend Senate Majority Coalition Co-Leaders Dean Skelos and Jeff Klein, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, and the members of the State and the Assembly who have joined us to continue that progress. We invite you to learn more about the 2014-15 State Budget at www.governor.ny.gov. Sincerely, The Office of the Governor |
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