Joe Faraldo: SOA of NY is not to be blamed

A recent statement appeared blaming the SOA of NY for its role in negotiating with NYRA and the NY OTB’s in establishing various benchmark revenue protections for NY harness racing.

Those protections were negotiated to ensure that NY’s revenue stream remained in place when NYRA and the NY OTBs wanted to take out of state thoroughbred signals at night. That would have hurt NY harness racing which traditionally operated as the sole NY nighttime market.

All NYS track operators and horsemen supported those protections. That negotiated deals brought protections in the form of a maintenance of effort provision from the OTBs and the agreement with NYRA to take NYS harness signals at night.

These deals were made, not solely for the benefit of the SOA of NY, but for, and with the approval of, the NYS harness track operators and upstate horsemen’s’ associations.

The results, brought and, continue to bring tens of millions of dollars split equally between various NYS track operators and NYS horsemen’s associations today.

Additionally, the NYS harness tracks, and their horsemen share in a percentage of the surcharge levied upon all out of state ADWs that take action from NYS residents. That revenue, supplies Yonkers and MGM and other NYS harness tracks and their horsemen, as well as NYRA with, again, tens of millions of dollars.

NYRA does take action on out of NYS harness racing through its own out of state ADW. That NYRA out of state ADW, like all others is subject to the levied surcharge while NYRA Bets, a NYS ADW would not be.

If NYRA Bets could be relieved of its responsibility to NYS harness racing it would benefit NYRA and the Meadowlands at the expense of NYS harness racing in multiple ways.

I do acknowledge that the Meadowlands has connections to NYRA and its Fox Sports Network. Fox Sports indicated an interest, at the request of the SOA of NY, to televise the International Trot, but that was inappropriately tied to the SOA of NY’s giving up the protections it helped put in the law, protections that funneled money to it, MGM and all the other NYS tracks and their horsemen.

The SOA of NY does not have the right to give away other people’s money, which protects the NYS harness industry. Sadly, the Meadowlands saw fit to interfere with an opportunity for that international harness racing event to be showcased on Fox Sports TV unless the SOA of N.Y. succumbed to giving up these benefits going to NYS harness racing, in order to add revenue to both NYRA and the Meadowlands coffers.

Also, some highly invested foreign amateurs looking for a much-coveted chance to race at the Meadowlands, as was the case in the past, were summarily excluded, unless concessions from the SOA of NY on behalf of all NYS harness tracks were made to the Meadowlands and NYRA.

Make no mistake about it, all this is what was done. The SOA of NY is proud to have played a vital role in negotiating, on behalf of its members and all NYS tracks. Things like statutorily protected revenue from VLTs and Casinos as well as minimum race days something vehemently opposed by one NYS track operator in particular.

It is unfortunate that this was brought up at this time, before the Hambletonian, but something like this needed to have all the details filled in. I am very sorry to have been forced to respond. I am proud of what has been done over these many years to protect the harness industry in NYS.

by Joseph Faraldo, president of the SOA of NY