NY Budget Plan for Equine Screening Program in Question

A plan to create a screening and advanced imaging program near Belmont Park in a partnership between the New York Racing Association and Cornell University is facing an uphill climb at the capital in Albany, N.Y., as officials rush to craft a final 2024 New York State government budget.

The proposal, which if it were to happen this year would typically have to be contained in the budget given its fiscal requirements, has a cloudy fate because, sources say, there are still unanswered questions about how the annual operating portion of the funding would work for the facility.

Democrats who run the state Assembly, in their own non-binding state budget plan for 2024, last month submitted a fiscal plan that included a small section squirreled away deep within it to create the imaging program at the Cornell Ruffian Equine Specialists equine hospital outside the gates of Belmont.

The plan's intent is "to assure the public's confidence and continue the high degree of integrity in racing,'' the Assembly budget proposal states.

But in the past week, budget negotiators have been raising some red flags about the plan. Individuals with knowledge of the situation would not publicly speak about the specific problems, but indications are from sources in Albany that negotiators are awaiting more details from Cornell about the annual flow of funding it is seeking from the state in order to operate the facility's new equipment.

Officials are hoping to put together a final, massive state spending and taxing plan for 2024 in the coming week or so. The advanced imaging program plan is a minuscule portion of what will end up being an overall state budget topping $230 billion. In the ways of Albany, spending proposals in trouble this week could have a way of magically being resolved without the reasons being fully known. That's because the entire budget process, except its introduction and final passage, is done in secret at the Capitol. No one April 11 was declaring the outright budget death of the screening and imaging proposal.

The equine proposal calls for NYRA to provide a $2 million grant for the purchase of equipment, which could include positron emission tomography and computerized tomography scanners for the Elmont, N.Y.-based equine hospital. The state would then back $1.8 million in annual operating expenses via higher taxes imposed on out-of-state advance-deposit wagering companies, according to the Assembly plan.

Democrats who run the state Senate and Gov. Kathy Hochul, also a Democrat, did not advance the plan in their own separate budget proposals for 2024. But Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr., an influential Queens Democrat who chairs the Senate racing, gaming and wagering committee, recently told BloodHorse that he supports the proposal.

Asked about the situation regarding the advanced imaging plan it wants, a Cornell spokeswoman said the university was unable to provide "available experts" to discuss the matter.

NYRA president and CEO Dave O'Rourke last September, at the conclusion of the Saratoga Race Course summer meet, first announced the racing corporation would be making "significant investments" in advance scanning equipment to better identify pre-existing injuries in racehorses. Officials say the equipment will help owners and trainers better spot small problems in horses before they become major health concerns.

"NYRA has long been interested in acquiring the most advanced equine imaging technology to enhance equine safety, improve academic research around Thoroughbreds in training, and provide trainers and owners with an important diagnostic tool at low cost,'' NYRA spokesman Patrick McKenna said this week when asked about some roadblocks the proposal is apparently facing in Albany.

"NYRA was strongly supportive of the initiative contemplated in the budget proposal and will continue working to identify a partner in this endeavor,'' McKenna added of the plan included in the one-house Assembly budget proposal.

A legislative official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said while the idea has support among some lawmakers there have been enough concerns raised that the proposal is "probably out" of the budget talks. Others say the issue hasn't been fully vetted in talks between the two legislative houses and the governor's office. That leaves considerable time in the world of New York State budget negotiations for refinements, if needed, to the plan the Assembly has already okayed in its non-binding budget plan—assuming the Assembly is still on board with the idea, which is uncertain.

The state's 2024 fiscal year began April 1. Officials are hopeful for passage of a final budget deal in the next week, but optimism can often be overstated during the New York State budget's foggy season.

Whether the advanced imaging facility idea would even ever rise to the level of attention in talks at the top between Hochul and two legislative leaders—Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins—is uncertain. Their focus and attention has been on much broader, statewide issues, from competing plans to address worsening housing affordability problems to funding for public schools.

"I do support the proposal, and I understand it still needs to be discussed in detail,'' Addabbo said Thursday of the equipment expansion plan for the equine hospital outside Belmont.