"I don’t know what is going on here, whether it is a personal vendetta, a power play, or an attempt to cover up governmental ineptitude by focusing all the blame on a single individual and a group of citizens who do not get paid for their service on the NYRA Board. What I am fairly certain of, however, is that it has little to do with what is in the best interests of horse racing in New York."

"As a horseplayer and as a columnist with license for commentary, It is absolutely appalling to see the treatment Mr. Hayward is getting from people who should know better, people who should know how much he has fought to improve the NYRA on many levels, how much improvement has occurred and how most policy decisions he has made -- that I am aware of -- have benefited NY racing, its participants on the track and in the grandstand."

"The purses were also increased for the cheaper horses that fill in the everyday claiming races. As a result, horses running for a claiming price of $7,500 were running for a purse worth $30,000, which increased the number of starters and seemed like a home run for all involved. Instead, it turned out to be a nightmare for the NYRA when an astounding 18 horses suffered fatal breakdowns over the inner-dirt track during the winter meet. The majority of the breakdowns came in the cheaper claiming races, which tend to have the biggest field sizes and the horses with the most physical problems."

"One obvious conclusion is that horses in the cheaper claiming races are vulnerable. Of the 18 fatalities, 13 came in races where horses were running for a claiming price of $15,000 or less."

“The very simple answer is that the purse becomes more valuable than the horse,” Arthur said in early March. “It creates a negative incentive to look after the long-term welfare of the horse when the purse is so disproportionate to the value of the horse. That’s the thinking on it. The recommendation was basically to discourage incentives that would overpower the responsibility to look after the welfare of the horse.” See also: NYRA adjusts bottom-level purses: http://www.drf.com/news/aqueduct-nyra-adjust-bottom-claim-level-purses-following-breakdowns

"Hayward said he didn’t want to reveal details of NYRA’s bid, but he did say the association is committed to making capital improvements at Belmont, something that will be much easier for NYRA when the under-construction video lottery terminal casino at Aqueduct begins operating."

"Since NYRA keeps 10 percent of wagers considered to be made ontrack -- which includes phone, Internet, and Belmont -- the $52 million increase helped offset the $50.4 million decrease in handle that was associated with the closure of New York City OTB. NYRA only got 2.5 percent of a dollar wagered at OTB. Thus, NYRA realized approximately a $5.2 million revenue increase."

"What most everyone underestimated was the resilience of New York's horseplayers. They like the game and they like to wager. Take away OTB and most will find a way to get a bet down."

"Total pari-mutuel handle at New York Racing Association tracks was up 76% in the first month after the shutdown of New York City Off-Track Betting Corp., according to state officials. The increase amounts to about $11.6 million in added facility handle, according to the New York State Racing and Wagering Board."

"Overall, daily average total handle at NYRA in December was down 8.1 percent compared with 2009, though daily average attendance was up 39.4 percent, most of that coming following the Dec. 8 closure of OTB."

"Outside the shuttered parlor near Times Square, a man recognized a reporter from an earlier visit and asked if there had been any developments. Told that NYRA had taken over the television programming, he beamed. 'So NYRA is taking over OTB?' he asked excitedly. No, friend. Just the television part. He sank. 'This is a crazy situation,' he said."

"The possibility that residents of New York City will remain unable to place a legal wager at any storefront property has led to discussions about the potential of NYRA to open offtrack betting sites under a law passed in 1990. With the elimination of New York City OTB from the political scene, NYRA would appear to be in position to seek the licenses, according to officials."

"Greg Rayburn, the NYCOTB president, said Dec. 14 that half of the OTB’s ADW account holders have withdrawn their funds, taking its balance down from about $1.5 million a week ago to $700,000."

"Hayward said he sent a letter to the New York State Racing and Wagering Board proposing a 120-day pilot program, during which any regulated in-state advanced deposit wagering entity could video stream NYRA's races."

"But the complexities of the state’s racing money distribution formula presents some opportunities for NYRA. NYCOTB had been paying NYRA about 2.7% of its handle on bets made at parlors and over the internet and phone accounts. But NYRA gets to keep 10% of the handle on live bets, and the state considers live bets to also include wagers made through NYRA’s ADW operation. Also, if a NYCOTB ADW patron migrates to an out-of-state ADW, NYRA would get about 50% more per wager than it had gotten on bets on its races made through NYCOTB."

"Racing is more than about people sitting in betting parlors. It is about the sport -- making the tracks viable as racing entities -- not just places where VLTs are played. We need to focus on helping the breeders and horsemen since they are the infrastructure that develops a successful racing product. We then need to market racing in a manner which brings fans to the track and generates interest in the sport overall."

"As is often the case in New York, politics trumped logic."

"Asked if he expected some resistance to opening Belmont for simulcasting from Nassau OTB -- which has as a nearby branch in Franklin Square -- Hayward said, 'If NYRA were to reduce its race days and go out of business, the other regional OTBs would be right behind us; we're 40 percent of their business. They should be thrilled we're trying to stay in business.' A spokesperson for Nassau County OTB said it had 'not yet received any proposal from NYRA or any information about this plan. But when we do receive it, we do look forward to reviewing it with Charlie Hayward.'"

"Total all-sources handle from Wednesday was down 3.8% to $5,385,903 compared with an average of total all-sources handle from the November 24 and December 2 cards. All three of those cards featured nine races and were comparable in that December 2 was a Thursday card and November 24 was the most recent Wednesday card."

"With money finally available to help improve their living conditions, the association is going to back off previous assurances? You must be kidding. Summer is the apex of the thoroughbred experience, when extraordinary wealth is on display in this city in a variety of activities. It will be an embarrassment to NYRA and to the community of riches if leaders look the other way."

"Executives from the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, Keeneland Association, New York Racing Association, and Oak Tree Racing Association met in late September in Lexington to discuss the launch of an advance-deposit wagering (ADW) site. The initial concept is the site would return a higher percentage of money from handle to tracks and horsemen, in the form of purses; and possibly to players, in the form of rebates; by eliminating the percentage of handle that other ADWs currently retain."

"Most recently there has been a new philosophy at NYRA when it comes to servicing media. Traditional press departments are tasked with providing information by which the press dispatches publicity on upcoming races and events and the relative condition of a circuit’s equine stars. The NYRA has developed a new approach that has created a culture of distrust between the two groups. Here are a few examples which, while it appears to be much ado about inside baseball is about more than that: The elimination of anything that’s perceived as a negative whether it‘s in the public interest or not."

First punch in another round of tracks versus ADWs? "We have a plethora of tracks running today that are exclusive to TVG," said TVG senior vice president and executive producer Tony Allevato. "NYRA is not an exclusive track."

"There was one troubling development during the course of this meet. Some NYRA officials have attempted to regulate the flow of information to and from the media ... the emergence of an intensified adversarial relationship could interfere with the readers’ need to know facts."

"NYRA has placed a big wager on the renowned Saratoga meet this year by adding four days of races, a 10 percent expansion. The 40-day meet remains NYRA’s money-maker, and is now the longest in almost 130 years." Related: <a href="http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2010/07/02/sports/horseracing/doc4c2d71ca44631121554616.txt">Ready to gamble?</a>

"To have racing cease at what remains the most important racing circuit in North America seems unimaginable, but it's not. In New York, where the politicians are beyond contempt and the off-track betting system is a bad joke, it can happen."

Recklessness, defined: "New York stewards scratched Gato Go Win from the Bay Shore Stakes (G3) on Saturday at Aqueduct after security personnel said they saw trainer Jeff Mullins attempting to administer a substance to the colt before the race."

Traditional non-profit racing fan organization based in Saratoga