NY racing has money woes

Associated Press

NEW YORK

The New York Racing Association is running out of money and may have to shut down in less than three weeks, the day after the Belmont Stakes.

One leading horseman described the situation as “catastrophic” and said that even Saratoga — the jewel of New York racing — could be threatened by the turmoil.

NYRA president and CEO Charlie Hayward said Monday that cash problems must be resolved with the state “to make it through the entire Belmont Park race meet.”

He did not give a timetable for a possible closing, but several horsemen said racing could be halted June 6 — a day after the Belmont is run without any star power since Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver and Preakness winner Lookin At Lucky are bypassing the final leg of the Triple Crown.

The Belmont meet ends July 18 before racing shifts upstate to Saratoga for the state’s most lucrative meet, which runs July 23-Sept. 6.

“NYRA’s current cash position will not allow us to make it through the entire Belmont Park race meet,” Hayward said in a statement. “We are in discussions with the state regarding potential avenues for us to acquire funding.”

NYRA had hoped video lottery terminals would be in place at Aqueduct to generate needed revenue, but the selection of a gaming operator by the stat has been delayed several times and the bidding process was recently reopened. Hayward said the state was supposed to subsidize NYRA if the VLTs were not installed by April 2009 — legislation for VLTS was first approved in 2001.

NYRA also is owed $17 million by the bankrupt New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation, and no timetable has been set for payment.

To make matters worse, a Belmont Stakes without a horse going for the Triple Crown likely costs NYRA about $3 million in additional revenue.

“Without a Triple Crown it’s a completely different race,” Hayward said. “But in terms of solving the long-term financial problems of NYRA, that wouldn’t come close.”