NYRA Board – agenda is now clear

Posted by noonante on August 29, 2013
Posted in: Political/Social commentary, Politics, Saratoga thoughts. Tagged: , , , . 9 Comments

The August 28 meeting of the New York Racing Association’s Reorganization Board was the most significant one in the Board’s 10-month history.  It was the first meeting for Chris Kay, NYRA’s newly appointed President and CEO, but it was not because of him that the meeting had such importance.  Rather it was the constant, almost subliminal, comments by David Skorton, Chairman of the Board, concerning the financial future of NYRA.  The issue can be stated simply:  what role will revenues from the video lottery terminals at the racino adjoining Aqueduct have in the NYRA’s future?  When VLT revenues are included in NYRA’s financial statements, NYRA turns a profit;  when they are not included, there is a loss.

It is clear where the Cuomo Administration is on the question  –  NYRA should be operating without the revenue from the VLT’s.  That was the constant refrain by Skorton, Andrew Cuomo’s hand-picked Board Chairman, with Cuomo’s Budget Director and Board member Robert Megna nodding vigorously anytime someone commented that the revenues should not be considered.  The issue has both immediate and long-term significance.  If NYRA decides to operate as if the revenues are not available, it will require significant controls on expenditures  –  serious cutting of costs.  The long-term in this case is not actually all that long.  NYRA has to come up with a recommendation on returning to private operation in less than 20 months.  If that means putting the franchise out-to-bid, it is unlikely an outside group will bid unless the franchise is operating at a profit without the VLT revenue.

Given the importance of this matter, along with Chairman Skorton’s obvious focus on it, one might expect it would have taken up the better part of the two-hour meeting.  But we first had to sit through Chris Kay’s reading of a prepared statement for almost 40 minutes.  Interspersed throughout the statement were a series of video clips, including Kay’s interview on NBC  on Travers Day, Kay’s unveiling of the viewing tower, Kay’s plaque honoring the winningest jockeys, etc. There was also a clip of one of the daily unsung heroes.  This particular one was the security guard who helped a lost five-year old reunite with his mother.  When your standard for heroism is not letting a five-year old wander around a race track, the bar is obviously not set too high.

Most of his remarks had to do with enhancing the “guest” experience, as Kay refers to fans.  One of his “metrics” for measuring increased satisfaction is that spending on food, drink and apparel is up 18% over last year.  He also mentioned enhancing the experience for women, referring to the “Fabulous Fillies” promotion, a lunch honoring Mary Lou Whitney that raised money for breast cancer awareness, and a concert starring Zendaya that attracted mostly girls and their mothers.

A second priority for Kay is improving the quality of racing, a topic to which he devoted a mere five minutes of his speech. He mentioned equine safety, specifically noting the decline in fatalities at the Belmont spring meet.  While this is indeed a notable accomplishment, his failure to mention either the four racing fatalities at Saratoga, including two in the same race on Sunday that equaled Belmont’s total, or the serious injury to an exercise rider on Monday, gave his remarks a rather unsettling feeling.   Another five minutes were devoted to his main priority  –  the reprivatization effort  –  including his observation that the “critical figure” is net profit without the VLT revenues.

The VLT revenue topic came up in other reports, including the report by the CFO and one by the head of the Board’s Finance Committee.  At no point, however, was there an in-depth discussion of the matter.  Then, with only about five minutes left in the meeting, Skorton asked if “everyone was comfortable” with operating as if there were no VLT revenues.  And, he made it clear that such a decision would “dictate expenditure control.”  I wondered if I was hearing correctly.  The Chairman of the Board allows the CEO to drone on for forty minutes about a host of inconsequential matters, pushes every other speaker to move quickly so the meeting can end on time, and then drops a bombshell with little time to discuss it.

Fortunately, not everyone was “comfortable” with taking such a significant step.  After several Board members raised legitimate concerns, Skorton allowed how “these subtleties are important,” and that a “fuller discussion”  –  presumably one lasting longer than five minutes  –  was warranted.  But he also wants to have that discussion in private, while simultaneously stating his commitment to operating in public.

Skorton’s regular comments expressing his “commitment” to a public process for important decisions has become nothing short of laughable, and after 10 months of failing to follow through on even the most basic aspects of open government is significantly undermining his credibility.  I realize that he is following the lead of his boss, the Governor, but the Cuomo NYRA is about to embark on a path that is going to have a significant impact on New York racing and the tens of thousands of lives dependent on it.  It is a discussion that is necessary and important, which is why it is one that must be conducted in the open.

Random thoughts from the Spa’s fourth week

Posted by noonante on August 19, 2013
Posted in: Horse Racing, Saratoga thoughts. Tagged: . 3 Comments

With the fourth full week of racing over, here are some random observations:

What’s wrong with Wise Dan?  From what I know, there is nothing wrong with the reigning Horse of the Year, although you would not know that from the disparaging comments about the gelding’s connections not entering him in dirt routes.  It is perhaps a reflection of the America-centric view of racing that only considers dirt races at 1 1/8 or 1 1/4 miles as worthy of attention, but I do not see anything wrong with a superior turf miler.  Not only did Wise Dan win the Breeders’ Cup Mile  –  certainly one of the top events in the world  –  but has now compiled a record of nine wins from ten starts over the past two years.  His only defeat came in the 2012 Stephen Foster at Churchill  –  1 1/8 miles on the dirt  –  where he lost by a head to top dirt horse Ron the Greek.  In last week’s Fourstardave, he was assigned 129 pounds  –  a number rarely seen this side of the Fall Highweight Handicap  –  giving 11 to 14 pounds to his opponents.

Quote of the week #1:  “it’s easy to throw darts when you’re uninformed.”  That was trainer John Kimmel’s comment after one-half the crowd at Albany Law School’s Saratoga Institute responded in the affirmative to Kimmel’s impromptu survey of how many thought horses were over-medicated.  While Kimmel’s less-than-gracious comment did little to advance the dialogue on a topic that was foremost in all of the racing industry’s seminars held in Saratoga in recent weeks, it does typify the level of emotion within the sport on what is clearly its most visible challenge.  Included in the legion of Kimmel’s uninformed may be Joel Turner, a leading equine law practitioner, who chaired a panel later that day.  Turner rhetorically questioned why so-called “super-trainers” seemed to not do well in the Triple Crown races or in the Breeders’ Cup when there is heightened scrutiny and drug testing.  Or maybe it was Ogden Mills Phipps, Chairman of The Jockey Club who, two days earlier in the same room, threatened to throw the weight of his organization behind federal legislation should states not get on board with the adoption of uniform medication rules.  Perhaps he meant the Task Force on Racehorse Safety that, a year ago, concluded that the medications administered to a group of fatally injured horses at Aqueduct may have contributed to their breakdown, and recommended the adoption of more stringent rules  –  a step later taken by New York’s regulatory agency.

Two members of the Task Force appeared on panels later in the day and argued that the sport has made considerable progress in improving medication rules, emphasizing that horse racing is actually a leader among professional sports in addressing the issue of drugs.  This is a topic that warrants a more in-depth analysis given its complexity, but Kimmel did make one point that resonates. He blamed much of what he thinks is an inaccurate perception on the mainstream media that fails to distinguish between permissible therapeutic medications and illegal drugs.  If further proof were needed, the nation’s “paper-of-record” obliged three days later with an editorial referencing their own “report” finding “pervasive doping by owners and trainers.”  There is, however, little actual evidence that illegal drugging of horses is a widespread problem.

Quote of the week #2:  “If humanity was to end, and you could save only one race track, that track would be Saratoga.”  That is a rough approximation of a statement by Paul Roberts speaking on Seth Merrow’s program Racing Across America on the Capital OTB station.  Roberts is an internationally-recognized authority on race track design and planning who also consults with NYRA on development issues.  While Saratoga has obviously changed over the years, it retains what seems to be an immutable sense, whether you are wandering through the grandstand, backstretch or Oklahoma.  It is a dramatic contrast with what is happening at America’s other signature track, Churchill Downs.  The first track I ever went to was Churchill, and I was awed by the iconic twin spires that I had so often seen on the television coverage of the Derby and in news photographs.  Now, however, you need precisely the right angle to see them.  They are now dwarfed on both sides by luxury seating that has been built next to them.  Churchill’s appetite for increased revenue seems to have no bounds.  Most recently, they evicted the press box from an area that could produce high-paying patrons with a facility entitled “The Mansion.”  Recently, they announced new construction at the head of the stretch “to better serve their customers.”

Attendance:  At the end of the third week, it looked like the attendance figures were starting an upward trend from the 2012 numbers, but after nine more days the total number remains at about three percent below last year.  What is particularly interesting about the decline is that it consists almost entirely of a drop-off on the give-away days, when attendance is inflated by the “spinners” going through multiple times to pick up that day’s cheap gift.  Yesterday’s attendance, for example, was 51,847, significantly below last year’s 58,701.  The attendance on non-give-away days is down by less than 4,000 over the meet’s first 27 days, a decline of less than one per cent.  There is a certain irony that if these trends continue, the perception will be of a major disappointment from an attendance standpoint even though it will be attributable almost entirely to NYRA’s inflated figures on the give-away days.

Random thoughts from the Spa’s third week

Posted by noonante on August 9, 2013
Posted in: Horse Racing, Saratoga thoughts. Tagged: . 2 Comments

With the third full week of racing over, here are some random observations:

  • Chad Brown on grass.  Has Chad Brown become the top turf trainer in the country?  He had six wins on the weeds this week, including a three-bagger on Sunday.  (Mike Maker had a similar turf triple on Friday.)  Brown’s prowess is not new this year.  At the 2012 meeting, 24 of his 29 wins were on the green, and he had a remarkable winning percentage on grass of 36, more than twice his percentage on dirt.
  • Oklahoma viewing stand is a nice addition, but why is it only open during the meet?  The viewing stand by the training track opened last week and is accessible during the morning training hours  But it will not be open from April until opening day, and again from Labor Day to November, when Oklahoma is open for training.  I understand the safety considerations behind limiting access to a place that can have riderless horses running around, but there must be an inexpensive way for local Saratogians to enjoy a cup of coffee at the track on a brisk October morning.  They have to put up with a lot of inconvenience during the meet, so it would be a nice quid pro quo by NYRA.
  • Be careful what they name you.  I have often been amazed by the names of horses who end up being gelded.  This week’s nominees are Key Decision and Freud’s Pleasure.  (My wife thinks this is a uniquely male obsession.)
  • This is what passes for racing journalism in Albany.  I was dismayed last year when Governor Andrew Cuomo was able to seize control of one of New York’s signature industries without a peep by the mainstream media.  The Times Union of Albany has continued its formulaic critique of NYRA  –  this time it’s the purportedly “shady and slipshod history.”  Editor Rex Smith wrote that NYRA’s new CEO Chris Kay is “smart and honest, traits often lacking in racing industry leaders.”  In my brief exposure to Kay, I would say he is smart, but have no idea about honesty other than to say I assume he is, having no reason to think otherwise.  I wonder what Smith would say if a journalist wrote,  “Boston Globe editor Bill Jones is smart and honest, traits often lacking in capital city newspaper editors.”  He would, of course, be justifiably outraged because such a statement was not supported by factual examples  –  a “trait” if you will, one expects from responsible journalists.  Incidentally, do those wondering about the best way of attracting new fans  –  and this includes NYRA’s leadership  –  consider  that the constant criticism of the sport’s honesty may have a deleterious impact?  It’s one thing if the comments are based on facts, but the Times Union is notorious for stating conclusions about racing without any factual back-up.
  • Speaking of Kay, is he becoming the new Billy Fuccillo?  Last week I wrote that it was nice to see Kay MC the ceremony for John Velazquez’ breaking the record for wins by a jockey.  Since then, it seems one cannot watch a Saratoga event without seeing him.  He has become huuuugely ubiquitous  –  not a bad trait for the guy in charge.
  • Timing is everything.  Last week I intended to write about one of my all-time favorite books on racing.  I wanted to quote from its opening chapter, but could not locate the book in my “library,”  sizable chunks of which are still in cardboard boxes.  The book is Racing Days, a collaboration by outstanding photographer Henry Horenstein and writer Brendan Boyd.  Fortunately, that opening chapter is reprinted in a blog post by Peter Fornatale, referenced in the essential racing web site equidaily.com.  Entitled “Perfection,” it captures the Saratoga experience better than anything I have ever read.
  • Attendance update.  It must be that August thing.  It was down seven percent compared to the same period in 2012 after the second week, but now is down only three percent.
  • Tom Durkin is employee of the month.  Track announcer Durkin is required to read tributes to NYRA’s employees who do something remarkable  –  today it was returning someone’s wallet.  While I think employers should give recognition to valued employees  –  and by “recognition,” I mean including some coin.  But is it really necessary to make the announcements (today it was twice) to the entire world?
  • Permanently Disabled Jockeys:  Earlier this week I wrote about the remarkable decrease in racing equine fatalities at NYRA’s tracks.  Compared with the same period in 2012, there were two catastrophic injuries compared with ten last year.  As I watched Thursday’s first race, my heart sank when a horse went down, throwing her rider.  The mare was able to walk back to her barn, but steeplechase jockey Archibald Kingsley, Jr. had to be removed in an ambulance.  According to The Saratogian, he may have suffered a concussion.  This Monday evening at the Vapor Night Club at the harness track, there will be a karaoke contest among the jockeys to raise funds for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund.  VIP tickets are $150, regular ones $75, and contributions can be made at the group’s web site.  See the site for complete info.

Sharp decline in racing deaths at NYRA tracks

Posted by noonante on August 6, 2013
Posted in: Horse Racing, Political/Social commentary, Saratoga thoughts. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

At this time last year, a blue-ribbon task force had just completed a review of equine fatalities that had occurred earlier in the year at Aqueduct.  The Task Force on Racehorse Health and Safety completed a comprehensive analysis looking at the possible causes of 21 racing fatalities over three and one-half months, and recommended dozens of steps to lessen the risks for both the equine and human competitors.

For the three-month period ending July 22, 2013, there were two racing fatalities at Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course.  For the same dates last year, there were ten.  (July 22 is the last date for which information is available on the web site maintained by the State Gaming Commission.)

This represents, of course, a significant drop, particularly when you consider that Finger Lakes  –  a non-NYRA track  –  experienced seven racing fatalities and there were even two such deaths at harness tracks.  After David Skorton, President of Cornell University, took over as Chairman of the NYRA Reorganization Board last October, he made the safety of competitors his number one priority.  Indeed, one could argue that it has been his only priority.

Among the more significant recommendations of the Task Force was a change to regulations governing the administration of therapeutic drugs.  The state’s regulatory agency increased the permissible time before a race for administering two powerful medications  –  clenbuterol and corticosteroids.  The clenbuterol change  –  from five days before a race to twenty-one days  –  was considered so significant by NYRA that it was cited as a reason for a significant drop in out-of-state shippers soon after the rule went into effect.

While a more restrictive regimen of administering therapeutic medications that can also have the effect of either masking pain or enhancing performance can only be beneficial for the safety of both the horse and the jockey, the Task Force literally made dozens of other recommendations, taking up 9 1/2 (single-spaced) pages in their report.  The report was universally praised, and represents a practical guidebook for improving safety on racetracks in this country.  The four task force members were Alan Foreman, Chairman and CEO of the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, Scott Palmer and Mary Scollay, two nationally-recognized veterinarians, and former jockey Jerry Bailey.  Both Foreman and Palmer have stayed on top of the issues, regularly attending NYRA’s Board meetings.

So what has NYRA done in implementing the recommendations of the Task Force?  It is difficult to say because they have refused to release public documents that compare the recommendations with actions they have taken to implement them.  This is particularly ironic because the Task Force report was prepared for the “old” NYRA that was not subject to the public records law while the “new” NYRA clearly is.  There is also a NYRA Board committee on equine health and safety that met regularly early in the year, but has not had a meeting in almost four months.

While the decline in fatalities over the last three months may be happenstance, it is much more likely the result of NYRA’s efforts and focus on it as a priority matter.  (At the April 11 Board meeting, then-CEO Ellen McClain said the Aqueduct fatalities this year were at the lowest point in 8 years.)  One would think NYRA would be proud of its impact on reducing catastrophic injuries and would readily share information about its efforts.

But even if one assumes they have legitimate reasons to withhold these documents, what about their responsibility to the industry of racing and the safety of its most vulnerable participants?  Anything related to health and safety should be readily available so that further improvements can be made, not just in New York but elsewhere in the country.  NYRA purports to be an industry leader, and should act as such by sharing its experiences, even if it thinks some of them may be embarrassing.

Random thoughts from the Spa’s second week

Posted by noonante on August 2, 2013
Posted in: Horse Racing, Saratoga thoughts. Tagged: . Leave a comment

With the second full week of racing over, here are some random observations:

  • Allen Jerkens and Bill Mott provide the training highlights.  In what has to be one of the more remarkable streaks in racing  –  along with being one of the most meaningless  –  Bill Mott again saddled a winner on his birthday. According to Tom Durkin it was the 15th time he has done it, and he needed to start horses in five races on Monday, finally winning with his last chance.  Allen Jerkens only ran one on Mott’s birthday, in the Grade 2 Honorable Miss Handicap.  The heavy favorite in the field was Dance to Bristol, coming off five consecutive wins and on her way to being considered one of the top sprinting fillies in the country.  Jerkens’ filly was also on a winning streak, although her most recent win came in an optional claiming $25K/NW1X.  She was not in for a tag in that one, but was running for a price earlier this year and had broken her maiden at $16K in October.  There was only one reason to pick her jumping up to a graded stake, and it was Jerkens and his reputation as The Giant Killer.  Well, he almost did it again, with Classic Point trying to wire the field at 14-1 before being caught at the finish by the chalk.  Jerkens is an institution at the Spa, and is that truly rare individual about whom I have never heard a negative thing.
  • Quote of the week:  “They got you by the stalls.”  This was said by the head of a mid-Western horsemen’s group in support of a rule that would prevent the management of race tracks from retaliating against advocates for the trainers.  He argued that he was moved from a desirable barn to a considerably less appealing one because of his advocacy efforts.  The comment was made at a Tuesday meeting of the Model Rules Committee of the Association of Racing Commissioners International.
  • Don’t throw out the inserts from Sunday’s Times Union observing the 150th anniversary.  They are filled with interesting articles and historical facts that are worth reading at your leisure.
  • Some apostasy on Pick 6 carryover days.  The conventional wisdom is that the small bettor should not play on carryover days, particularly big carryover days such as Monday’s.  The thinking is that the heavy hitters are going to come in with unaffordable large tickets and the smaller wagerer cannot compete.  That is true, of course, if you know that there will again be the long shots that caused the carryover in the first place, and as a smaller wagerer you cannot afford to spread too deeply.  I have long thought the opposite.  Because the big bettors will be going deep in most races to pick up those long shots, they will be pouring money into that day’s betting pool..  If moderate or short-price horses end up winning, all that money by the heavy pounders is going to inflate the value of the Pick 6.  Monday’s pool ended up being over a million dollars.  Three favorites won, a second choice at 4-1 came through, and the two biggest prices were 7-1 and 8-1.  The result?  $53,212.00.  You won’t see that on a non-carryover day.
  • Two exhibits worth checking out:  There is no shortage of equine art during the meet, ranging from the high end at the Fasig-Tipton sales pavilion to what is, shall we say, less high end.  Then there are the water colors of R.C. Ewell, a fixture in the morning at both the main track and Oklahoma.  He has an exhibit at the Visitors Center on Broadway opposite Congress Park through August 30.  It is a short drive to the Brookside Museum at 6 Charlton Street in Ballston Spa, but the photography exhibit is worth it.  The artists are backstretch workers who worked on a project last year and were displayed at the Racing Museum.  That exhibit runs through August 24.
  • I was glad to see NYRA’s CEO show up after Johnny V’s record-breaking ride.  Velazquez, of course, was the jockey highlight of the week, breaking the all-time record for wins held by Jerry Bailey with his 694th, a number that is somewhat mind-boggling considering that he is only 41 years old.  NYRA’s new CEO Chris Kay was there to MC the brief ceremony.  This is, of course, something that would not have been noteworthy by any prior CEO, but Kay works for an Administration that does not care about racing.
  • Attendance continues to decline.  After the first week, attendance was down five per cent from the same period last year.  Now it is down seven per cent, although a good portion of that can be attributed to only 47,000 showing up for the first giveaway as compared to 51,000 last year.  Still, nine of the twelve racing days have seen a decline from the same day last year.  It isn’t the weather.  Aside from the scorcher on opening day, we have been experiencing perfect summer weather, with only an occasional shower.  Attendance figures to increase when we hit August.  I guess “the August place to be” is a catchier slogan than “the 40 days, not counting Tuesdays, that ends on Labor Day place to be.”
  • The Fire:  There was a bad fire on Woodlawn Avenue in Saratoga Springs that displaced about 18 backstretch workers who lost all their belongings.  These are the folks who don’t garner the attention or headlines of the jockeys and trainers, but who every bit as essential to ensuring that we have racing to follow.  It’s is a tough life.  They don’t get paid much, work long hours, and have to travel from track to track as a normal part of their job.  My experience has been that almost all of them are doing it because they love horses and the sport.  Teresa Genaro’s Brooklyn Backstretch.com describes the efforts to provide some assistance to these folks.  The Recreation Center is across the street from the track on Union Avenue, between the main Union Avenue gate and the Northway entrances.

Spa day 11 trivia question

Posted by noonante on July 31, 2013
Posted in: Horse Racing, Saratoga thoughts, Uncategorized. Tagged: . Leave a comment

Trainers look for the best available jockey for their horse, and the many trainers often have a “go to” rider.  Here are five trainer/jockey combinations with their respective winning percentages (for all horses) for 2013.  Rank the combinations from highest winning percentage for 2013 to lowest.

Steve Asmussen (23%) – Rosie Napravnik (24%)

Bruce Levine (19) – Joel Rosario (23)

Todd Pletcher (26) – John Velazquez (20)

Rudy Rodriguez (17) – Joel Rosario (23)

Rudy Rodriguez (17) – Cornelio Velasquez (18)

Go to the Horse Racing page for the answer.

The facts are from today’s Daily Racing Form.

Spa day 10 trivia question

Posted by noonante on July 29, 2013
Posted in: Horse Racing, Saratoga thoughts. Tagged: . Leave a comment

Today’s card has a double carryover in the pick six.  Two of the pick six races (6th and 9th) are scheduled to be run at 5 1/2 furlongs on the Mellon turf course and have full fields of twelve.  Last year, 35 horses started from posts 10, 11 or 12.  How many won?

Go to the Horse Racing page for the answer.

The facts are from the Daily Racing Form’s Ultimate Saratoga Players’ Guide.