Finger Lakes Racing Dates Could Plummet Under Proposal

The number of racing dates at New York's Finger Lakes racetrack could plummet by at least 15 percent under a proposal pushed by state officials to help the track cope with competition from a newly opened commercial casino just a half hour's drive from the Thoroughbred track.

That's the assessment of the Finger Lakes Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association following the release of a state plan several days ago to deal with the financial impact a new casino, called del Lago, is expected to have on Finger Lakes' racino operations. A portion of the track's racino revenues are steered to fund purses.

David Brown, president of the Finger Lakes horsemen's group, said all sides in the dispute are working "amicably" to come up with a solution after Gov. Andrew Cuomo's state Gaming Commission recently floated a plan to try to keep the track afloat in the face of the new casino's opening. It was immediately rejected by the horsemen's group.

"The proposal the state put out provides some excellent framework on which to build,'' Brown said in a February 22 interview. He characterized the offer as being more than $1 million below what is needed to keep purse levels flat.

At issue is how to bail out expected declining Finger Lakes' purses, which now heavily rely on proceeds from video lottery terminal revenue sharing arrangements. Those VLT revenues are due to decline—depending on which side in the debate is talking—at least 25% as a result of the February opening of del Lago casino, which is located about 29 miles away from the track.

The new commercial casino, okayed as part of a casino expansion plan approved in 2013, offers a full array of gambling, including real slot machines and table games, such as poker. Video lottery terminal revenues at Finger Lakes are already down double digits during the first couple weeks of del Lago's operations, though Brown believes the full brunt will not be felt until better weather in the spring and summer and until del Lago completes a hotel now under construction.

Late last week, the Cuomo administration proposed a bailout plan to guarantee additional purse money would come from a few sources: track owners Delaware North Cos., the New York Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund, and del Lago casino. The administration touted that no state money was involved in any bailout. The plan also called for cutting the number of race dates at the track from 155 days last year to 145 days this year.

But Brown said the administration's plan would also reduce the number of races per day from nine last year to eight in at least the coming year. Adding the reduction in race dates and fewer races on a weekly basis would be the equivalent of cutting overall race dates to 131 in 2017.

"It really wasn't going to work out,'' Brown said of the administration's plan. He noted the cannibalization of VLT revenues at Finger Lakes from the opening of del Lago - which he projected would total at least 30 percent - is the result of the state okaying the placement of the new casino, with more gambling options, just a short drive from Finger Lakes. "A lot of people feel this is a state-created problem,'' he said of the newest financial problems facing Finger Lakes. He said the Cuomo deal also included deeper cuts in race dates and a drop in contributions from Delaware North if the cannibalization of Finger Lakes' racino resulted in revenue decreases of more than 30 percent.

Brown said his group submitted a counter proposal to Cuomo aides last Saturday to the state, and that the sides again discussed the matter on Tuesday. In an interview Wednesday evening, Brown said: "We're in a waiting game.''

The horsemen's group has not approved a contract to commence racing at the track for the 2017 season. But Brown said that deal could come together quickly if the broader purse dispute is resolved.

Meanwhile, legislation is pending in the state Senate to require the state put up funds to guarantee purses do not fall below 2013 levels as a result of del Lago's opening.

The Cuomo administration said Feb. 23 the governor's recent Finger Lakes plan is about providing certainty to the different stakeholders.

"Applying the governor's proposal based on overall purses as opposed (to) the number of races is the same as claiming that the Finger Lakes Horsemen should be completely 'held harmless,''' said Lee Park, a spokesman for the state Gaming Commission. "This is an invalid argument. No other industry in any capacity ever gets—or should get—such a 'hold harmless' provision from government.''

Further, Park said there will be no plummeting of race dates, and he disputed the horsemen's group calculation that Cuomo's plan would—between cutting actual race dates and by one the number or races to be held each day—effectively reduce racing to the equivalent of 131 days in 2017 compared with 155 dates in 2016.

"It's the length of the meet that's crucial so that the horsemen can run their horses a number of times during that meet,'' Park said. He said horsemen have "the same opportunity to compete" in individual races as they did last year. He said, for instance, a trainer who ran in nine races in 2016 will still be able to race in nine races this year and in 2018.

Park declined to comment on the legislation pending in the Senate that would involve the use of some state money to keep purses at 2013 levels. "It's important to note that the governor's proposal is based on reaching a mutual agreement between parties and actually gives the horsemen the opportunity to fairly compete—without spending a single taxpayer dollar,'' Park said.