BRUNO: NYRA DEAL NEAR
In the wake of Wednesday’s dire warning by the New York Racing Association that it will shut down racing on Thursday if the state doesn’t strike a deal to renew its franchise, State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno sought to calm the waters yesterday at an Albany press conference.
Bruno, fingered by NYRA partisans as the stumbling block to that renewal, scolded NYRA for what he called its “scare tactics” and outlined the framework of a franchise agreement he said was close to being announced. Its points include:
* NYRA will get a 25-year extension (not 30, as originally called for).
* Periodic benchmarks to measure NYRA’s performance.
* A new NYRA board, with 11 members chosen by NYRA and 10 appointed by the state. The split could go to 12-11 if an OTB representative is added.
* Four-year term limits for the NYRA chairman.
* The state will appropriate $75M to get NYRA out of bankruptcy and another $30M for operating costs until VLT revenue kicks in next year from the long-delayed casino at Aqueduct.
* A vendor to build and operate that casino will be chosen within 30 days.
* The percentage of VLT revenue for purses would begin at 6.5 percent, going to 7.5 percent after three years; the breeders’ cut would go from 1 to 1.5 percent.
* The issues of VLT’s at Belmont Park and the future of OTB would be tabled till a later date.
Bruno spokesman Scott Reif said the Senate, Assembly and Governor’s Office are crafting the draft legislation into final bill form, which he expects will be announced before NYRA’s current extension expires on Wednesday.
Paul Francis, the governor’s director of state operations, agreed a deal is near.
“I’d rather not talk about specific terms . . . but certainly I think what the senator said is fairly consistent with the conversations we’ve been having,” Francis said. “We’re essentially all in the same place. I’m very hopeful we’ll get this done by the 13th.”
NYRA president Charles Hayward, asked to comment, said, “NYRA has not and will not negotiate the franchise agreement in the press.”
