And I want this to be a place where we discuss the issues that are affecting New York racing. And so, with that in mind, I want to pose a hypothetical question to you, in an attempt to jumpstart a discussion on the issues that you feel most passionate about.
If you were in charge of NYRA, what would be your first act?
This has been a chaotic time at NYRA. All things considered, the powers that be deserve a great deal of credit for guiding NYRA through these troubled times in New York racing. The present leadership has proven adept at handling situations such as the closure of New York City OTB in an aggressive manner. Their business is all the better for it.
Still, there’s always room for improvement. Total handle is still down a good bit from where it was this time last year. Already this winter, we’ve seen enough $7,500 claimers run to last us a lifetime. And, a quick gander at the overnight entries on Wednesday reveals a grand total of 69 horses are scheduled to run, pre-scratches. This is an average of less than eight per race (and this number will likely be reduced to less than seven following scratches).
And this is the area of concern that I, personally, would address first. It just seems as though NYRA is running too many races. California has been dark on Wednesdays for a few years now, and the time seems right for NYRA to follow suit. We saw a truncated race meeting lead to much larger field sizes at Monmouth. The New York horse population just cannot seem to justify a year-round five day per week race meeting. At Aqueduct (and perhaps at Belmont too), four days a week seems much more appropriate.
Now it’s your turn. What would you change first? Would you lengthen (or shorten) the Saratoga meeting? Would you shut down Aqueduct for part of the winter? What would you do about the Belmont Stakes television contract? Would you embrace fractional wagering? Would getting television exposure for other races be your primary focus if you were in charge of NYRA?
What would you do?