Bloodhorse.com April 3: The following letter is from Jeff Cannizzo, New York Thoroughbred Breeders executive director, regarding the New York state budget, which took effect in April and excludes a hold-harmless provision for purses at Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack, located 30 miles from a new Lago Resort and Casino that will open in 2017.
This is extremely disappointing and nauseating news because a healthy racing program at Finger Lakes is critically important to Thoroughbred breeders. Just look at the statistics. In 2015, NY-breds were responsible for 70% of total starts at Finger Lakes and earned 73% of all purse money distributed. Furthermore, races at Finger Lakes generated 52% of the number of breeder awards paid by the Fund.
NYTB pursued all available avenues to protect the Finger Lakes Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association and the Fund for over a year from the competing Lago casino, from Delaware North, and even the state. The gaming tax relief helps only the bottom line of Delaware North, which made $16 million in profit last year. The budget assures it making the same profit. The FLHBPA formally supported Delaware North receiving this relief. In addition, Delaware North is not required to give anything to purses from this bail out—unfathomable as it runs the racetrack. It’s as unfathomable that Lago doesn’t have to follow the same rules as the rest of the state’s casinos.
NYTB will now pursue protection for the FLHBPA and the Fund through stand-alone legislation in the upcoming session. Passing these matching Senate and Assembly bills on purse protection will be an uphill battle. Although the Governor’s office, Senate, and Assembly have committed verbally to working on the problem, the obstacles thwarting our earlier efforts remain. Governments only seem to react to a crisis, and it’s apparent it feels that crisis is a year away.
Every 10% decrease of video lottery terminals revenue reduces the Finger Lakes purses by $1.1 million and 65% of purses come from VLT revenue. Finger Lakes purses are likely to be somewhere between $12-14 million next year after accounting for losses from the Lago casino. On-track live handle at Finger Lakes is down more than 50% in the last decade, export to NY OTBs is down more than 70%. When the daily live handle is less than $50,000, it accelerates purse declines because the live handle contributes up to five times more than export. We must ensure that racing is viable at Finger Lakes, which plays an essential role in New York’s racing industry. NYTB has routinely requested Delaware North investigate the installation of a turf course, which would help field size and the population. NYTB even identified funding. These discussions all have resulted in no action. Perhaps now these types of long-term strategies can happen to better racing. It’s a must for New York.
