NYRA Board to Discuss Future of Franchise

NYRA Board to Discuss Future of Franchise Nov 12, 2014 0:50:12 GMT -5

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Post by Jon on Nov 12, 2014 0:50:12 GMT -5

The NYRA needs to be "responsive" to the Gaming Commission and the people - not to Dictator Sonny Andy!

NYRA Board to Discuss Future of Franchise
By Tom Precious
Bloodhorse

The leaders of the New York Racing Association will start outlining a path for the racing giant's future at a board meeting Nov. 12, and it could be a precursor to talks at the state Capitol next year culminating in a new entity to lead the track operator into its future.

NYRA in 2015 is scheduled to come out of its period of being controlled by a state government-dominated board of directors with ties mostly to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. A brief agenda released by NYRA the evening of Nov. 11 in advance of the meeting provides no details, but indicates the board will discuss a "re-privatization plan" for the operator of three Thoroughbred tracks in New York, as well as the "legal structure and governance," budget, and a "three-year business plan."

NYRA officials provided no details, and the racing world has been left to only guess what shape the future governance of NYRA will take when it emerges from its state-run operation in 2015.

Given its size, how NYRA is reconstituted will have a major impact on the future of Thoroughbred racing in New York and the rest of the country. Also to be decided, whether during the state oversight or not long after, is whether NYRA can continue to operate two downstate racetracks when some state officials see the prospects for developing valuable real estate opportunities.

There has been growing speculation in Albany that board members with close ties to the Cuomo administration will be pushing for a new non-governmental board of directors that will, unlike previous NYRA boards, be more responsive to the governor's office. Among those on the NYRA board with especially close relations to Cuomo and major involvement in the reorganization effort is Michael Del Giudice who, while an appointee of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, goes back as a Cuomo family adviser to the days of former Gov. Mario Cuomo.

The NYRA Reorganization Board, as it is formally known, is composed of 17 members, eight of whom are appointed by Cuomo. The board's takeover of NYRA was effective in the fall of 2012 and is set to be in place for three years, at which point NYRA's operation is to revert "to majority private control," according to the state.

State officials, with approval by the legislature, could extend the takeover period, though the Cuomo administration has been eager to eject itself from the racing industry, state sources said. Cuomo in 2012 said the new NYRA board would be charged with "reforming NYRA," a job description that is still playing itself out.

NYRA released a "meeting book" in advance of its session Nov. 12 in Manhattan. It consisted of 22 words, including approval of minutes from the last board meeting and a "report of the chair."

The NYRA board clearly wants to get issues about its future in the open now in advance of the next legislative session that starts in January. A wide-ranging discussion of possible options is expected the board meeting.

The legislation that created the oversight board calls for the NYRA board to come up with a plan for the racing entity's future by the spring of 2015. The legislature and governor then have until next fall to adopt that plan or a different version.

The NYRA discussions come as the state is moving to approve four Las Vegas-style casinos in three geographic areas of the state, including the Catskill Mountains, which could prove to be, depending on where the facilities go, new competition for the video lottery terminal operation at Aqueduct Racetrack.

NYRA Board to Discuss Future of Franchise Nov 12, 2014 23:50:50 GMT -5

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Post by Evelyn on Nov 12, 2014 23:50:50 GMT -5

The key is it has to be "accepted" by the politicians!

NYRA Plan Won't Recommend Changes at Aqueduct
By Teresa Genaro
Bloodhorse

The agenda for the Nov. 12 meeting of the board of the New York Racing Association was short and sweet: to discuss a re-privatization plan for the organization due next spring to the office of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.  
And while board chair David Skorton cautioned that no decisions would be made at the meeting, the biggest news was about a decision that has already been made—that is, to make no recommendations about the future of Aqueduct Racetrack.

Established in October 2013 following the state takeover of NYRA, the reorganization board was given three tasks to accomplish during its three-year tenure: enhance the guest experience, improve the quality of racing, and prepare a plan for re-privatization.

With a deadline of April 2015 to present a reorganization plan that would be implemented six months later, the board was widely believed to be in favor of closing Aqueduct as a cost-saving measure. The cessation of racing at Aqueduct would enable Genting Resorts Worlds Casino New York City, which opened on the site of the Aqueduct grandstand in October 2011, to expand.

But Christopher Kay, the NYRA's chief executive officer and president, stated that no such recommendation would be a part of the plan to be presented by this board.

"We are to serve on this board for three years," he said, "but with respect to these real estate issues, particularly as they relate to the continued operation at Aqueduct and Belmont, that's a decision that will have longterm and significant impact on those communities as well as the entire state of New York, for several decades.

"We determined that it would not be appropriate for a temporary and transitional board like ours to make the decisions that will have such a longterm and permanent effect on not only NYRA, but the communities we serve and the horse racing industry in this state."

At the same time, both Kay and chief financial officer Susanne Stover pointed to financial losses at Aqueduct, caused by drops in handle due to bad weather and the inability to close the Aqueduct barn area for an extended period of time. Aqueduct was closed for training only during the Saratoga Race Course meeting this year.

As a result of those losses and the decline in the horse population, Kay suggested that although racing will continue at Aqueduct, the possibility of fewer race days--a minimum of which is no required by New York state statute--is something he will discuss in an upcoming meeting with the New York State Gaming Commission.

He also said increased barn capacity at Belmont Park will make it easier to close Aqueduct for training for a longer period of time in 2015.

Kay and Stover reported that NYRA expects to end 2014 with $1.5 million surplus, exclusive of video lottery terminal revenue from the Genting casino. They said it would be NYRA's first operating surplus in 13 years, a result of an increase in revenue from this year's Belmont Stakes; an increase in the cost of the simulcast signal and admission prices; and a decrease in labor costs.

They also said that they expect increased surpluses in 2015 and 2016, based on current budgetary and revenue projections. The 2015 budget, Kay said, was based on a six-day racing week at Saratoga from July 24 to Sept. 7, putting to rest rumors of an extended five-day meet that would begin earlier in July.

And while Kay stressed the goal of operating with a surplus irrespective of VLT revenue, he also emphasized that NYRA is entitled to it.

"Over a billion dollars of real estate was conveyed to the state," he said, "and in return, there are VLT revenues to pay for it."

Led by general counsel Joseph Lambert, the board also discussed possible governance structures for reorganization, which he said will be a private, not-for-profit model as the current state statute requires.

Lambert recommended that the new board include some members appointed by the State of New York and ex-officio representatives from New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and New York Thoroughbred Breeders. He also suggested that additional ex-officio members could be added, such as an expert in equine safety.

Though the reorganization plan must be approved by the current board and submitted to the state by April, Kay said that he expects the plan to be complete in advance of that deadline. The board will next meet Dec. 3 to discuss the 2015 budget and to further consider the plan for reorganization.