Second Saratoga Group Sounds Off on NYRA Plan

Another Saratoga Springs-based organization has issued a call for privatization of the New York Racing Association as state lawmakers work on legislation that will shape the future structure of the organization.

Less than a week after Concerned Citizens for Saratoga Racing issued a release critical of a plan by Gov. Andrew Cuomo—his office hasn't said the plan exists—to exert control over NYRA, the Saratoga Race Course Local Advisory Board May 31 said it supports a bipartisan effort by legislators to re-privatize the racing association that oversees Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park, and Saratoga Race Course.

The 15-member advisory board was created under 2008 legislation and serves as a liaison between NYRA and Saratoga Springs, the upstate New York community in which the lucrative summer meets at Saratoga are held.

The advisory board said it "firmly believes that only through the promised re-privatization can the future of Thoroughbred racing in New York be preserved and improved. The board is convinced that this step is also necessary for the enhancement of the historic Saratoga Race Course, one of Sports Illustrated' s 10 best sporting venues in the world.

"Furthermore, needed capital improvements and an enriched fan experience, as well as the maintenance and sustainability of the aging physical plant at Saratoga can only be achieved by re-privatization. If the next generation of racing fans is to be encouraged and attracted, the advisory board is convinced that the bipartisan effort currently underway in the New York State legislature to return NYRA to the private sector must move forward and do so expediently."

The 2016 legislative session ends in mid-June. NYRA-related bills have been introduced in the Assembly and Senate.

The Concerned Citizens for Saratoga Racing claimed the Cuomo administration is looking at shifting some revenue from video lottery terminals that goes to racing, breeding, and capital improvements to other state programs—a situation that has played out in multiple states with racetrack gaming. New York lawmakers have shown no appetite for doing so thus far.

"We greatly appreciate the efforts of Saratoga's local legislators working collaboratively with the Capital Region's delegation and the chairs of the Assembly and Senate Racing Committees to re-privatize NYRA as a not-for-profit corporation," the citizens' group said. "They clearly want to keep this promise before the legislative session ends this June. We hope they will provide a clean standalone bill for the governor to sign."