Cuomo Proposes NYRA Extender Bill

By Mike Kane 
An extender bill proposed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo could stretch New York State’s authority over the New York Racing Association for up to one more year. 

A provision of the 2012 legislation that allowed the state to take over NYRA says the association must be 
returned to private control three years after the majority of the public appointees to the Reorganization Board were named. Cuomo’s office announced the names of the board members on Oct. 18, 2012. Since the 2012 bill did not specifically address what would happen if NYRA did not go back to private status by Oct. 18, 2015, Cuomo’s proposal would assure continuity. 

The one-sentence bill memo was included in a budget briefing book released on Jan. 21 – the day Cuomo delivered his annual State of the State address in Albany – and said: “This bill would put into place an extension of the NYRA Reorganization Board in the event a prospective governing structure is not enacted prior to the scheduled termination of the Board.” 

The Cuomo administration seized control of NYRA in May 2012 after a state Racing and Wagering Board report showed that officials of the beleaguered racing association had overcharged bettors by failing to lower takeout rates on some wagers.  

Chaired by Cornell University president David Skorton, the Reorganization Board of 17 people, a dozen of whom were governmental appointees, met for the first time on Dec. 12, 2012 in New York City. At the Dec. 2014 meeting, NYRA President Chris Kay announced that the nation’s largest racing association would end the year with a $1.5 profit, its first time in the black in 13 years. Skorton announced his resignation at the meeting. He is leaving Cornell in June to lead the Smithsonian Institution.