New York State of Mind - by Dan Liebman

Blood-Horse Staff — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 13:41:00 GMT

After many years in the same profession, it is not uncommon to feel the need for a new and greater challenge. Charlie Hayward fit that bill, so in November 2004, following a lengthy career in publishing, Hayward was named the president and CEO of the New York Racing Association.

If it was a challenge he wanted, Hayward was in the right spot.

In fact, he was brought in, Hayward said Sept. 13, “to fix things.” And there was much to fix.

At the time of his appointment, NYRA was operating under a court-appointed monitor overseeing its operations after the organization was being indicted and fined $3 million for its role in a tax-fraud scheme by employees. Investigators had uncovered widespread abuses; NYRA was bleeding millions month after month; the battle for a new franchise agreement was looming.

A challenge? You might say that.

In November 2006, a non-binding decision by the Ad Hoc Committee on the Future of Racing recommended that Excelsior Racing Associates be awarded the franchise to run racing at Aqueduct, Belmont, and Saratoga racetracks.

At about the same time, NYRA filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, claiming the state’s failure to approve a long-stalled casino project for Aqueduct had pushed it toward insolvency.

The committee was formed under the administration of Gov. George Pataki. Following the election of Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a full review was made and final bids for the franchise were accepted last year from four groups—Excelsior, NYRA, Capital Play, and Empire Racing Associates.

In the end, after much negotiation and political give-and-take, Spitzer formally recommended that NYRA receive a new 25-year franchise agreement. A key was NYRA’s release of a claim that it owns the land upon which the three tracks sit, acreage presently valued at $1 billion.

On Sept. 10, signatures were placed on 17 different documents, and the following day the bankruptcy court signed off on things. On Sept. 12, it was announced NYRA had emerged from bankruptcy and was officially the new franchise holder.

The state is also giving NYRA $105 million to help it emerge from its Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

A key question remains: Who will operate the video lottery terminals at Aqueduct? Three entities are bidding for the right to install the 4,500 machines.

Asked his three priorities for the new NYRA, now incorporated as a not-for-profit company, Hayward said the first will happen by the time this column is read by most.

“On Wednesday (Sept. 17), we are meeting with our employees to thank them for their hard work, their good frame of mind through everything, and to talk about the future,” Hayward said.

Second…“We won’t have any revenue from VLTs for at least 15-18 months, so we need to do priority planning. We are working on a long-term plan for our facilities.”

Third…“From a business perspective, we need to work with the OTB network. We need to consider rationalization and consolidation. It is a broken system.”

There are those on both sides of the argument as to whether or not NYRA should have received the new franchise agreement. Certainly the state gaining title to the land was a huge bargaining chip.

The state also has more oversight, the new board consisting of members chosen both by the state and the racing association.

New York is the most important racing circuit in North America, and its survival is critical to the entire industry. At the three tracks operated by NYRA, 23% of all graded stakes are run (110 of 481), and 35% of grade I contests (38 of 110).

The handle by New York citizens, and the total handle on New York races, is second to none, and the purses paid to horsemen, partly due to a strong state-bred program, are also significant.

NYRA has a new life, but many challenges lay ahead. The entire Thoroughbred industry needs to help the new holder of the franchise more than it helped the former franchise holders.

Policy Play - by Dan Liebman

Blood-Horse Staff — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:29:00 GMT

The Breeders’ Cup took important steps last week to help ensure the integrity of its races, while at the same time prodding those states not already on board to hurry and establish steroid policies for tracks its racing authority regulates.

Should a horse test positive for anabolic steroids at the Oct. 24-25 Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Santa Anita, the trainer of that horse will be suspended from the event for one year. The organization also instituted a “three strikes” rule that would ban a trainer from Breeders’ Cup races for life should horses in his care violate the steroids policy three times.

Perhaps more importantly, beginning Jan. 1, 2009, Breeders’ Cup will not help fund purses or hold Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” races at tracks that are not following the model rules for steroid use established by the Racing Commissioners International.

With calls for uniform medication rules within the industry for decades, Breeders’ Cup officials are helping move racing in that direction.

While it is important for policies to be uniform from state to state, it is also necessary for the rules and regulations to be the same for claiming horses as they are for grade I horses. But headlines are made by “big” races and “name” horses, so the Breeders’ Cup forcing the issue is the right thing at the right time.

In this instance, the big race was the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) and the big horse was Eight Belles, whose breakdown while galloping out after finishing second on racing’s biggest stage made the type of headlines the sport was not looking for.

But, in fact, her tragic death has become a rallying cry for an industry often criticized for holding many meetings but accomplishing little. Many positive decisions have been made to help right the plight of the Thoroughbred since the death of Eight Belles.

Organizations such as the Breeders’ Cup have gotten the message that the time is right for not only urgent, but clear, decisive, and strong action.

In the release announcing its new policies, Breeders’ Cup chairman Bill Farish said the organization’s board believed it was crucial to take a leadership role in ridding anabolic steroids from the sport. He is correct. In fact, it has a responsibility to lead the sport into new territory, and based on its new policies, it is taking that duty seriously.

The Breeders’ Cup’s hard line on steroids is one of several firsts currently happening in the industry.

Thoroughbred auctions at Fasig-Tipton and Keeneland are being conducted this summer and fall under new conditions of sale, prompted by recommendations from the Sales Integrity Task Force.

Like the Breeders’ Cup has said it is watching trainers and veterinarians, the Task Force is watching breeders, consignors, buyers, and agents. It has taken some steps to help ensure the integrity of the Thoroughbred auction place, while realizing it has taken only the first steps in that process.

A monitoring committee has been established by the Task Force, with Fasig-Tipton chairman and former Breeders’ Cup head D.G. Van Clief Jr. as its leader. It is not easy to reach a consensus when self-regulating, but Van Clief ensures integrity in the process.

Other important matters, such as the disclosure of surgeries of young horses before they are sold, are being discussed by the members of the group.

*******

In New York, the first $100,000 allowance race was run at Saratoga after the New York Racing Association instituted a new policy adding purse money to distance races (nine furlongs or more) with more than six (dirt) or eight (turf) starters. The idea, conceived by NYRA chairman Steve Duncker and refined by racing secretary P.J. Campo, is a great step in promoting durability in the breed.

What's Going On Here : NYRA

New York State of Mind - by Dan Liebman

Policy Play - by Dan Liebman