When Delaware North announced it was ending its partnership with the New York Racing Association to install video lottery terminals at Aqueduct racecourse, the executive director of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders sprung into action.
Noting that the end of the partnership represented yet another delay in the long-overdue effort for the Empire State’s racing and breeding industries to begin reaping the financial benefits of VLTs, NYTB executive director Jeff Cannizzo called upon Gov. David Paterson to “make the re-bidding of VLTs an administration priority.”
In his press release Cannizzo reiterated the benefits of VLTs at Aqueduct—an estimated $1 million daily to the state coffers and millions to the equine agribusiness—and pointed out that “Now, with Wall Street in meltdown, sales tax revenue at historic lows, and a state deficit of staggering proportions, the continued delay in installing VLTs is unfathomable.”
Being proactive and taking the offensive on major issues facing the New York racing and breeding industries have been priorities for newly elected NYTB president Barry R. Ostrager, and Cannizzo, who assumed his position last summer.
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