The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) is the not-for-profit corporation that operates the three largest Thoroughbred horse racing tracks in the state of New York.
It operates Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, Queens; Belmont Park in Elmont; and Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs.
Racing at NYRA tracks is year-round, operating at Belmont Park from May to mid-July and from September through October; at Saratoga Race Track, from mid-July through Labor Day; and at Aqueduct Racetrack and its winter track from November through April. The three tracks are among the most storied in U.S. thoroughbred history; racing at Saratoga Race Course dates to August 1863, one month after the Battle of Gettysburg, and to 1894 at Aqueduct. Belmont Park, where each of the 12 winners of racing's Triple Crown were anointed, opened in 1905.
The New York Racing Association is the successor to the Greater New York Association, a non-profit racing association created in 1955. NYRA is separate from the governing body that oversees racing in New York, the former New York State Racing and Wagering Board (now the New York State New York State Gaming Commission).
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History
Though horse racing in New York goes back hundreds of years, NYRA's history dates to 1955 when the New York State Legislature with the strong backing of Governor W. Averell Harriman granted what then was called the Greater New York Association with a 25-year franchise for horse racing in New York.
The grant guaranteed the Association, later renamed the New York Racing Association, with a minimum 4 percent of pari-mutuel handle at downstate tracks and 5 percent at Saratoga to be used for capital improvements.
NYRA then bought the stock at New York's existing metropolitan tracks--Belmont Park, Jamaica Race Course, Aqueduct Racetrack and Empire City--as well as Saratoga Race Course, upstate. In Saratoga, there was concern that the Association would run a concurrent meet downstate and threatening the summer meet's routine weekday crowds of more than 10,000. But as part of the legislation that created NYRA, Governor Harriman prohibited a simultaneous downstate meet while guaranteeing a minimum of 24 days of racing each summer in Saratoga.
In the New York metro area, NYRA closed both Empire City and Jamaica and sold the Jamaica property for a housing development. Creating a corporation to be run by the racing officials who received no salaries, NYRA raised some $45 million, which it then earmarked for capital improvements at its tracks.
NYRA demolished the old Grandstand at Aqueduct, and in 1959, reopened the new facility. At Saratoga, the track and its drainage system were completely rebuilt, two new barns were constructed and 19 new bunkhouses and three kitchens were added. Racing at the Spa earned a further shot in the arm in 1963 when construction of the Northway provided a direct highway route from exit of the New York Thruway in Albany to the track. Belmont Park closed as well, in late 1962, and the Grandstand there was rebuilt and modernized before reopening in 1968, just in time for the 100th running of the Belmont Stakes.
NYRA's rescue effort was a resounding success. On September 14, 1959, opening day at the new Aqueduct Racetrack, more than 42,000 fans took note of what was then the most ultra-modern, up-to-date racing facility in North America. Turf writer W.C. Heinz noted something more, namely what he called "a revolution in New York State that should interest taxpayers, legislators, horse lovers and horse racing throughout the United States," as he wrote in Reader's Digest.
In the following decades, NYRA and New York racing enjoyed success with increasing attendance and handle figures. As a testament to this success, the franchise was extended in 1983 until 2000 and in 1997 until 2007 and eventually until 2033.
In 2006, NYRA filed for bankruptcy due to its poor financial condition, including a cumulative operating deficit of more than $135 million. In 2008, upon renewal of its exclusive franchise, NYRA entered into a bankruptcy settlement agreement conveying all rights, titles, and interests in racetrack properties (land and buildings) to New York State. In return, the State forgave nearly all NYRA's debt obligations. In addition, a Franchise Oversight Board (FOB) was formed to oversee NYRA's financial operations.
In October 2011, Resorts World New York City Casino (Resorts) opened next to Aqueduct Racetrack. According to NYRA's Franchise Agreement, a percentage of Resorts' Video Lottery Terminal (VLT) revenue was directed to NYRA for enhanced purses, operational support, and capital expenditures. The FOB stressed the need for NYRA to develop a plan to become profitable without reliance on VLT subsidies. In 2012, a temporary, State-controlled Reorganization Board of Directors was created by the Governor to provide further oversight of NYRA operations.
The Act was to expire after three years, and the Reorganization Board was required to recommend a statutory plan for a prospective not-for-profit governing structure no less than 180 days prior to the sunset date. Finally, in April 2017, due to the performance of the Reorganization Board and new management team, the New York State Legislature authorized NYRA to become a private not-for-profit organization that included the introduction of a new board.
Nyra Horse Racing Video
"American Pharoah is the One!"
On June 5, 2015 at Belmont Park, American Pharoah became the first horse in 37 years and only the 12th in history to take one of the sports world's rarest honors--horse racing's Triple Crown.
Before 90,000 cheering fans and some 22 million watching on NBC, American Pharoah with jockey Victor Espinoza aboard went wire-to-wire to win the grueling 1 ½-mile race by 5½ lengths, prompting the memorable call by NYRA Race Caller Larry Collmus that "the 37-year wait is over ... American Pharoah is the one!"
In doing so, American Pharoah covered the distance in 2 minutes, 26.65 seconds to end the longest stretch without a Triple Crown champion in history. His time of 2 minutes, 26.65 seconds was the second best in the Belmont by a Triple Crown winner, trailing only Secretariat's 2:24 in 1973.
American Pharoah's owner, the New Jersey businessman Ahmed Zayat, bred the colt and put him up for sale before buying him back for $300,000. The horse's unusual name stems from the family's online contest, in which the winning moniker came a misspelling that wasn't noticed until the name was already official.
How elusive is Triple Crown success in recent decades? Very. Between 1978 and 2015, 13 other horses had won the Derby and the Preakness--with 12 losing the third leg and the horse, I'll Have Another, scratched with a leg injury in 2012.
"Sports Event of the Year"
In 2016, NYRA won the Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal "Sports Event of the Year" award for the 2015 Belmont Stakes. NYRA earned top honors among a premier group of finalists that included Super Bowl 50, the FIFA Women's World Cup Final, the Bojangles' Southern 500 and the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao prize fight.
Launched in 2008, the Sports Business Awards were established by Sports Business Journal and Sports Business Daily to celebrate and recognize the leaders, visionaries and day-to-day practitioners who personify excellence in the business of sports.
The 2016 nominees and winners were recognized for excellence and outstanding achievement in the business of sports for the period from March 1, 2015 - February 29, 2016.
NYRA Bets
During the 2016 meet at Saratoga Race Course, NYRA introduced NYRA Bets, an advanced deposit wagering (ADW) platform. Launched in unison with NYRA's flagship racing broadcasts "Saratoga Live" and "Belmont Live," NYRA Bets offers viewers the opportunity to watch and wager on NYRA races.
By mid-2017, NYRA had expanded its geographic reach by nearly 50 percent and was available in 29 states nationwide. It did so by adding new regional markets in California and Ohio via agreements with FOX Sports Prime Ticket, FOX Sports San Diego and FOX Sports Ohio. As a result of these arrangements and existing deals with FS2, MSG+ and Altitude Sports, "Saratoga Live" is now available in 75 million households, resulting in more programming hours of live thoroughbred racing than all the other television networks in the United States combined.
NYRA Bets integrates with the NYRA XP app, providing racing fans with an easy way to wager on their mobile device. Also, Saratoga Race Course in 2017 hosted weekly handicapping seminars from NYRA Bets experts as well as kiosks throughout the venue for betting question from fans.
The New York Islanders Are Headed to Belmont Park
On December 20, 2017, a development team led by the National Hockey League's New York Islanders said that it will invest $1 billion in private funds to transform Belmont Park into a state-of-the-art sports and entertainment destination, including construction of an 18,000-seat arena that will bring the hockey club back to Long Island.
The Islanders moved to Brooklyn's Barclays Center in 2015 after playing more than 40 years at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale. The team plans to break ground on the year-round arena in the spring of 2018 and open the building in 2020.
New York Arena Partners, the Islanders' partners in the development--which includes Sterling Project Development, a real estate firm run by the New York Mets' Wilpon family, and Oak View Group, an arena development company funded in part by Madison Square Garden--will finance the project. The group will sign a 49-year lease with the state and pay a total of $40 million in rent.
The arena is expected to host up to 150 events per year, including concerts. The plan calls for 435,000 square feet of space of retail stores, restaurants and a movie theater; a hotel with up to 250 rooms and nearly six acres of outdoor recreation space.
Concurrent with the project, Belmont's Park's Long Island Rail Road station would become a full-service station with the area enhanced by landscaping, public art and a bike path connecting the property to the residential community. Also, NYRA plans to upgrade the track, clubhouse and heating systems.
The Triple Crown
Only 12 horses have captured the Triple Crown--all of them heading through Belmont Park en route to earning thoroughbred racing's ultimate prize.
The first winner of all three Triple Crown races--the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes--was Sir Barton in 1919, though the term, "Triple Crown," wasn't then in use. Some journalists began referring to the three races as the Triple Crown as early as 1923, but it wasn't until Gallant Fox won all three in 1930 that Charles Hatton of the Daily Racing Form put the term into common use.
Here is a brief look at the horses and riders who have triumphed in the 1 ¼-mile Kentucky Derby, the 1 3/16-mile Preakness Stakes and finally, the grueling 1 ½-mile "Test of the Champion" at Belmont Park:
1919: Trained by H. Guy Bedwell and ridden by Johnny Loftus, Sir Barton was supposed to be the pacemaker in the Kentucky Derby for his stablemate, Billy Kelly, but went wire-to-wire to win by five lengths. He took the Preakness by four lengths, followed by another win in the Belmont Stakes, setting an American record for the 1 3/8 miles, the distance for the Belmont Stakes at the time. Sir Barton was bred by John E. Madden and owned by J.K.L. Ross.
1930: Gallant Fox confirmed his status as a promising horse by winning the Wood Memorial Stakes in April at Jamaica Race Course by four lengths. Trained by "Sunny Jim" Fitzsimmons and ridden in major races by Earl Sande, Gallant Fox took the Derby in a steady downpour, and then the Preakness, becoming known as "the red-hooded-horse" for the bright red hood he wore in races. At Belmont Park, Gallant Fox easily won the Belmont Stakes from Harry Payne Whitney's Whichone. Gallant Fox was bred and owned by Belair Stud.
1935: In the Wood Memorial, Omaha took third, but as a journalist noted, finished "like a runaway freight train." That closing speed came in handy later that spring as Omaha, ridden by Willie Saunders, became the second Triple Crown winner for trainer "Sunny Jim" Fitzsimmons. The instant Omaha crossed the line in the Belmont Stakes, he earned another distinction as he and his sire, Gallant Fox, became the only father/son Triple Crown champions. Omaha was bred and owned by Belair Stud.
1937: War Admiral lacked the fierce temperament of his famous father, Man o' War, but earned the Triple Crown for his breeder and owner, Samuel D. Riddle. Ridden by Charles Kurtsinger, War Admiral in the Belmont Stakes showed the grit of a champion: After stumbling at the gate and cutting himself on the right front fore-foot, he quickly recovered and won by three lengths. His injury wasn't discovered until after the race, on the way to the Winner's Circle. War Admiral's trainer was George Conway.
1941: Trained by Ben Jones and ridden by Eddie Arcaro, Whirlaway had a habit of "bearing out," drifting toward the middle of the racetrack, during the latter part of his races and losing as a result. So before the Kentucky Derby, Jones fitted the colt with a full-cup blinker over his right eye, giving him a tiny and straighter field of vision. The ploy worked and Whirlaway became the fifth winner of the Triple Crown. That summer, he also took the Travers at Saratoga--and remains the only horse to win all four races. Whirlaway was bred and owned by Calumet Farm.
1943: The Spring of 1943 didn't start off well for Count Fleet. He won the Wood Memorial, but injured himself in the process. He recovered to take the Kentucky Derby by three lengths and the Preakness by a commanding eight lengths. Then, at the Belmont Stakes, Count Fleet, bred and owned by Mrs. Fannie Hertz and ridden by Johnny Longden, put on a memorable performance--demolishing the competition by 25 lengths, a margin that stood as the record until Secretariat surpassed it in 1973. Count Fleet was voted the 1943 Champion Three-Year-Old and named American Horse of the Year. Count Fleet's trainer was Don Cameron.
1946: Described as being "on the delicate side" by his jockey, Eddie Arcaro, Assault had good reason for having a limp: As a youngster, he accidentally stepped on what was thought to be a surveyor's stake, driving it through his front right hoof. But under Max Hirsch's training, Assault became a force. After stumbling at the start of the Belmont Stakes, Assault with Warren Mehrtens aboard, rifled past the leaders down the stretch for a three-length victory to earn racing's seventh Triple Crown. Assault was bred and owned by King Ranch.
1948: In capturing the Belmont Stakes to become the eighth Triple Crown winner and fourth of the 1940s, Citation helped to close out a banner decade for thoroughbred racing. The horse known as "Big Cy" and his fellow 1940s-era Triple Crown winners, Whirlaway, Count Fleet and Assault, help create a renaissance for thoroughbred racing in the years following the Depression by drawing countless new fans to the sport. Aboard Citation was Eddie Arcaro, the only jockey in history to have ridden two Triple Crown winners. Citation was bred and owned by Calumet Farm; his trainer was Horace A. "Jimmy" Jones.
1973: With Secretariat blazing into the far turn in the Belmont Stakes on the way to the first Triple Crown in a quarter-century, track announcer Chick Anderson captured his electrifying performance: "Secretariat is widening now," he said. "He is moving like a tremendous machine." Ridden by Ron Turcotte, Secretariat crushed the field at the Belmont Stakes, winning by 31 ½ lengths in a record time of 2:24, which still stands. Belmont Park's Secretariat Pole, painted blue and white for the stable colors of his owner and breeder Penny Chenery of Meadow Stable, commemorates the feat. The pole is just inside the rail at Belmont Stakes, 31 ½ lengths from the finish line. Secretariat was trained by Lucien Laurin.
1977: "Every time he ran he was an odds-on favorite, and the response to his presence on the racetrack, either for a morning workout or a major race, was electric," wrote Joe Hirsch of the Daily Racing Form of Seattle Slew. "'Slewmania' was a virulent and widespread condition." In winning the Belmont Stakes, Seattle Slew, trained by Billy Turner and ridden by Jean Cruguet, became the 10th winner of the Triple Crown. Seattle Slew was bred by Ben S. Castleman and owned by Mickey and Karen L. Taylor, Tayhill Stable, Jim Hill, etc.
1978: Ridden by Steve Cauthen, Affirmed became the 11th horse to win the Triple Crown in storybook fashion. In all three Triple Crown races, he defeated Alydar, ridden by Jorge Velasquez, by a nose in one of racing's epic rivalries. Two months later in the Travers, Affirmed finished first but is placed second for interfering with Alydar, who was declared the winner. Affirmed and Alydar would race 10 times in their careers, with Affirmed winning seven times. Cauthen was 18 when he captured the Triple Crown, the youngest jockey in history to achieve the feat. Affirmed was bred and owned by Harbor View Farm; his trainer was Laz Barrera.
2015: Before a roaring Belmont Park crowd of 90,000 and a national television audience of more than 22 million, American Pharoah won the 147th Belmont Stakes to become the 12th winner of the Triple Crown and first in 37 years. "This little horse deserves it," trainer Bob Baffert said of his horse, American Pharoah, bred and owned by Ahmed Zayat and ridden by Victor Espinoza. "There's something about this horse that he just brought it every time." Of the more than 94,000 winning $2 tickets sold at Belmont Park, each with a yield of $3.50 for American Pharoah's triumph remained unredeemed several days after the race, most likely held as race-day souvenirs.
Traditions
NYRA honors its traditions and history. Here are some of the ways it does so at Saratoga Race Course, Belmont Park and Aqueduct Racetrack:
Saratoga Race Course (Founded 1863)
Give Them a Red Jacket: Launched in 2013, the Saratoga Walk of Fame recognizes the legendary owners, trainers, jockeys and figures who have made an indelible mark on thoroughbred racing at historic Saratoga Race Course. Inductees earn an emblematic Saratoga red jacket and a commemorative plaque on the eve of the Travers. The "Walk" itself is a striking covered structure featuring the traditional Saratoga turrets, near the Carousel, and featuring the plaques along with memorabilia and video displays that honor the best of "the Spa."
Travers Canoe: Since 1961, the colors of the winners of the Travers have been painted onto a canoe--or in the case of the 2012 dead-heat between Golden Ticket and Alpha, two canoes--which floats on an infield pond for a year. The canoe itself has mysterious origins, dating to 1926 when according to The Saratogian, "Visitors thronged round the grounds and emanated gasps of surprise when their eyes first met the beauty of the center field. The artificial lake with its enhancing foliage and shrubs, the graceful movements of the swans in the water, and its personal touch with two brightly colored canoes ..."
Saratoga Bell: Listen closely: A bell in the Winner's Circle is hand-rung seven times, precisely 17 minutes before the post time of each race at Saratoga Race Course. It's a nod to the days before television and smartphones when the clanging alerted riders and trainers that it was time to saddle up for the next race.
Step Right Up: Two historic rectangle-shaped coach stepping stones dating to 1864, the year Saratoga Race Course opened at its current location, occupy honored spots: under a tree in the Clubhouse entrance, near Shake Shack; and the other behind the Grandstand near Horse Sense. The stepping stones once served as platforms to help women get more easily to and from their horse-drawn carriages; both are now adorned with vases filled with flowers.
For You, Big Red: Commemorating the legendary race horse Man o' War are several spots around Saratoga Race Course including part of the horse path, which is named "Man o' War Way." Elsewhere, just inside Gate B, is the Eighth Pole from Aqueduct Racetrack, which the great thoroughbred passed on the way to winning the 1920 Dwyer against John P. Grier in what many consider the most difficult of his 20 victories in 21 career starts. Saratoga's Backyard features the "Big Red Spring," so named for the nickname of both Man o' War and 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat. Across Union Avenue near the Oklahoma Training Track is Barn 43, where Man o' War was housed while at Saratoga Race Course; today, it houses NYRA's outrider ponies.
Hoofprints Walk of Fame: These bronze plaques in the Clubhouse plaza commemorate 38 of the most notable horses to compete during the track's illustrious history. Modeled after the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Hoofprints Walk of Fame was installed in 2013 in conjunction with the 150th celebration of the first organized race meeting in Saratoga. Each plaque features the thoroughbred's name alongside the names of its sire, dam, owner, trainer, jockey; and signature wins at Saratoga.
Whitney Viewing Stand: Modeling the look of the Race Course's original 1892 Judges' Stand, the Viewing Stand offers an unprecedented vantage point to experience the enduring tradition of morning training at the Oklahoma Training Track, across Union Avenue from the Race Course. It honors the contributions of the Whitneys, one of thoroughbred racing's most prominent and dedicated families.
Belmont Park (Founded 1905)
Outside Gates: At the Clubhouse entrance, Gate #5, on Hempstead Turnpike stand four imposing stone pillars, which during most of the 19th century were a part of Washington Course of the South Carolina Jockey Club in Charleston, S.C. When August Belmont II offered to purchase the gates for Belmont Park after Washington Course closed, the Mayor and Park Commissioners of the City of Charleston presented them as a gift.
Chaplains' Rock: Chiseled into a boulder-sized rock on the walkway between the Racing Office and the Clubhouse is a plaque that honors four chaplains who were among the 672 Americans who perished in the World War II sinking of the Dorchester by a German torpedo attack in the North Atlantic. Methodist Reverend George L. Fox, Rabbi Alexander D. Goode, Roman Catholic Priest John P. Washington and the Reformed Church of America Reverend Clark V. Poling all gave away their life jackets to save others before they died in the 1943 tragedy.
The White Pine: The stunning Japanese White Pine that shades the Paddock may look familiar: It was officially incorporated into the official Belmont Park logo in 1968, the year the new grandstand opened. For all its significance, no one knows the exact age of the tree. According to a 1968 NYRA historical publication, it was planted in 1826, long before Belmont Park was even a twinkle in August Belmont II's eye. During the track's reconstruction in the mid-1960s, the tree was allegedly marked for destruction but again escaped the axe and has remained a dominant and cherished part of the Paddock landscape ever since.
Woody's Corner: Danzig Connection's victory in the 1986 Belmont Stakes capped a streak for the ages: It was trainer Woody Stephens' fifth consecutive victory in the "Test of the Champion." The Hall of Famer's legacy is celebrated by this display just inside Belmont Park's main Clubhouse entrance of Stephens' trophies as well as a painting that depicts the trainer aboard his pony, Rex, surrounded by images of his five Belmont winners. Stephens died at age 84 in 1998. He is honored in another way as well--the Grade 2 Woody Stephens Stakes for 3-year-olds at seven furlongs, part of the Belmont Stakes Day undercard.
Inside Gates: The exquisitely detailed wrought iron gates of the late, great Jerome Park Racetrack in the Bronx, are preserved on the fourth floor of the Belmont Park Clubhouse, at the entrance to the Garden Terrace Restaurant. In 1937, the gates bearing an illustration of the first Belmont Stakes, held at Jerome Park in 1867--were donated to the track by August Belmont II's son, Perry Belmont.
Big Red Redux: Facing the track, turn your eye to a spot exactly 31½ lengths short of the finish line--where just inside the railing, you'll see a striped blue-and-white pole. It the "Secretariat Pole," which marks the margin of Secretariat's smashing victory in the 1973 Belmont Stakes to earn the Triple Crown. Retired NYRA Race Caller Tom Durkin came up the idea in 2013 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the horse known as "Big Red," whose racing colors are represented by the pole. The margin of victory and the time, 2:24, still stand as Belmont Stakes' records.
Hail to the Champ: From the flagpole, run your eye a furlong or so to the right to find a white gazebo in which a wooden cutout of the jockey silks features the colors of the owners of the most recent Belmont Stakes. Shortly after the Belmont Stakes ends, Paul Ferris gets to work painting the cutout of the colors of winning owners, which goes on display in the gazebo for a year.
Aqueduct Racetrack (Founded 1894)
Mural, Mural on the Wall: "The Aqueduct Murals," created in 2013, are the horse- and racing-related work of 14 street artists from as far away as Sweden and South Africa, on the walls inside and outside the track. The biggest mural is the 30-foot-by-70-foot painting of Secretariat by David Flores; it's outside, above the Turf and Field entrance, and is so large that it's viewable from the Belt Parkway.
Ussery's Alley: The area of the backstretch going into the far turn is named for retired Hall of Fame jockey Bobby Ussery, who sealed many of his biggest wins at Aqueduct. He did so by perfecting a technique of racing wide down the backstretch, and at the right instant dropping off the high ridge of the track going into the heavily banked far turn. The maneuver was often enough to make the hard-charging rider virtually uncatchable the rest of the way.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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