Headlines

by Paul Post

New York Racing Association is considering another drastic cost-cutting measure to prevent a racing shutdown this spring.

NYRA already said it might eliminate training at Aqueduct. Now, security barns instituted five years ago to enhance racing integrity, might be on the chopping block, too.

So-called detention barns were set up so that only veterinarians hired by NYRA could administer Salix to horses before races. NYRA also uses the barns to test for total carbon dioxide.

NYRA will discuss and possibly vote on these and numerous other measures at its March 3 board meeting.

“There’s a whole litany of proposals,” said trainer Rick Violette, New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association president and NYRA board member. “Everything that’s potentially cost-saving has been put on the table.”

NYRA said that it would run out of cash this summer. New York City Off Track Betting Corp. owes it $15-million, and there is no cash coming its way from expanded gaming at Aqueduct either. The state is obligated to keep NYRA afloat, but it’s facing a more than $7-billion deficit of its own and might not have such funds available.

In the face of a potential crisis, NYRA is looking everywhere it can to save money. Eliminating Aqueduct training could save $3.6-million per year, but some of the 500 horses stabled there would have to move to nearby Belmont Park. To make room, NYRA would eliminate the Belmont security barn and use its 100 stalls for horses in training.

Violette said that other horses could leave the circuit altogether by training in Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

The security barn costs NYRA about $1.2-million per year in staffing, maintenance, and upkeep. However, Violette said he believes the program can be cut without sacrificing integrity.

“I’m not sure how effective it’s been,” he said. “No other state has adopted it. It was probably overkill. We have great, great testing in New York. Testing is incredibly accurate. It’s not like we’re going from the 21st century back to the Wild West. There’s more post-race testing than football, basketball, baseball and hockey put together. Most sports don’t even allow testing.”

Also, the detention barn system costs horsemen up to $2-million in extra expenses annually, he said.

“Every horse has to have an attendant with it all the time,” Violette said. “It has increased work staff, hours, and overtime. It’s a significant amount of money.”

The program was one of several steps NYRA took in 2005 to show it had improved its approach to integrity issues following a widespread money-laundering scandal among pari-mutuel clerks. Violette said other integrity measures could be taken, such as tagging stalls of horses slated to race with bright colors so security staff would know to keep people away from them.

“I honestly believe NYRA is doing everything it can to save every penny it can,” Violette said. “Every day we’re trying to come up with ideas.”

Paul Post is a New York-based correspondent of Thoroughbred Times