Cuomo Authorizes Further 1% Share to NYTHA
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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed legislation authorizing an additional 1% of purse money payments to the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association. He is the third New York governor to OK what lawmakers originally called a temporary statute.
Each year since 2007, lawmakers and governors have decided against making the total 2% purse payment part of permanent state law. Instead, the horsemen's group needs to lobby Albany to ensure the additional purse money flow from New York Racing Association tracks does not get interrupted.
The additional 1% purse payments to the NYTHA was scheduled to expire Aug. 31. The measure was signed by Cuomo on Aug. 31, just hours before it was set to expire.
The measure, the ninth straight annual extension of the law, was approved by lawmakers in May. The additional 1% is, according to a legislative memo accompanying the bill, intended to support additional medical and mental health benefits for backstretch employees at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park, and Saratoga Race Course. In past years, officials have said the extra purse money can also be used for programs such as equine research and retraining retiring Thoroughbreds. An estimated dollar value of the purse extension could not be immediately obtained.
"In the past, additional purse monies received by NYTHA have been used to provide funding support for the Equine Drug Testing program. This bill would also allow the organization to continue providing much-needed health and dental benefits for backstretch employees,'' a legislative memo states.