Andrew Offerman

The Belmont Big Apple Bonus, a new initiative created to reward owner and trainer participation at the new Belmont Park, will kick off in September, according to the New York Racing Association, Inc. on Tuesday. Scheduled to launch with the opening of the fall meet on Sept. 18, the Big Apple Bonus will provide up to $8,500 in awards per horse shipping or relocating to Belmont Park from other racing jurisdictions. Owners and trainers currently based at NYRA are fully eligible for these bonuses, which complement the record overnight purses...

When the new Belmont Park opens on Sept. 18, NYRA will kick off an expanded fall meet that will run through Dec. 6 and include 72 stakes races worth $17.7 million in total purses, the racing association announced Thursday. Among the highlights will be the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup, which has been moved back to the downstate track after being run in Saratoga from 2021 through 2025. With a purse of $1 million, it will be the feature race on the first day of racing at the new facility....

A new partnership has been announced between Chester Racecourse and The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA), creating an international pathway from the Boodles May Festival to some of the most prestigious Graded races in America. Under the initiative, the winner of the G3 Ladbrokes Ormonde Stakes (Thursday, May 7) at Chester's May Festival will receive automatic entry and travel incentives to compete in the GII Belmont Gold Cup (Thursday, June 4), worth $250,000. The Belmont Gold Cup has been hosted at Saratoga Race Course since 2024 while the new...

The New York jockey colony refused to ride after Sunday's first race at Aqueduct because of a number of recent problems they have said they were having with NYRA management. The latest incident occurred around the time of the first race when the jockeys learned that NYRA Assistant Clerk of Scales Brian Pochman was told to leave work and go home after he balked at additional duties that NYRA had asked him to do. Pochman was not fired. "I have never seen such disrespect to a jockey colony and the...

The state of New York will implement penny breakage, a horseplayer-friendly measure that will result in all wagers placed on NYRA races being paid to the penny instead of the tiered breakage model that was previously in effect under New York Law, NYRA announced Thursday. The new breakage will be in effect for Saratoga's closing day. Beginning Monday, September 1, New York will join Washington and Kentucky as the only racing jurisdictions in the country to eliminate breakage on races hosted within their state. "This is a common-sense reform that...

Pending relevant licensing, Scott Jordan will take over the post of head starter at the New York Racing Association (NYRA) tracks beginning May 23, the organization announced Monday afternoon. With more than 20 years of experience in the position and a tenure at Churchill Downs which began in 2006, Jordan has also worked roles at Keeneland, Ellis Park, and Kentucky Downs. In addition to managing NYRA's team of assistant starters and starting gate operations at Aqueduct, Belmont Park, and Saratoga, he will also work with trainers and riders to aide...

Guests Andrew Offerman of NYRA, Cathy Shircliff of Churchill Downs, Del Mar's David Jerkens and 1/ST Racing's Jodie Vella-Gregory, joined the latest installment of the OwnerView webinar series Apr. 8 to discuss how they ensure owners take center stage in their operations, according to a Friday press release from The Jockey Club of America who serves as one of the hosts. The panel discussed a myriad of topics related to how to improve an owner's experience at the racetrack, and the group addressed the all-important issue of how to attract...

by Jim Reisler, Edited Press Release Courtesy of NYRA For Laurie Scott of the Great Strides Equestrian Foundation, the biggest impact of escorting a group of teenage students to Saratoga Race Course as part of the New York Racing Associations, Inc. (NYRA)'s Leg Up! program, didn't happen on the day of their visit. The impact came days later when Scott realized the students were still buzzing about the races and meeting people from across NYRA--and most of all, about the range of job opportunities in horse racing. "What really hit...

Owners and trainers affected by the cancellation of racing at Aqueduct on Sunday, Mar. 30, will be compensated from the purse account, according to a Saturday release from the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association. On the Mar. 30 eight-race card there were 61 horses entered and nine were announced as scratched before the cancellation. The races on the card that day were put back up as extras. The managing owner of each horse that would have raced will receive $2,500, while the trainer of each horse will receive $1,000. NYRA's...

After having to cancel Sunday's card at Aqueduct due to concerns that excessive noise from an event at the adjoining Resorts World Casino created unsafe racing conditions, the New York Racing Association has asked the casino company to pay them back. "NYRA will seek reimbursement from Resorts World on behalf of the people impacted by the cancellation, most notably the horsemen and women who were deprived of racing opportunities on Sunday," said NYRA Vice President, Communications Pat McKenna. The event, the "March Madness Car and Bike Show," was held in...

Longtime NYRA stakes coordinator Andrew Byrnes will retire at the end of the Saratoga meet in September 2025, the organization announced Friday. "The New York Racing Association is proud to recognize and celebrate the career of Andrew Byrnes," said NYRA's Senior Vice President of Racing and Operations Andrew Offerman. "Andrew has invested much of his career working to showcase the best racing in North America at NYRA's racetracks. The consummate professional, we appreciate Andrew's willingness to provide advance notice of his retirement and his desire to ensure his replacement is...

Beginning in January 2027, the prize money on offer for all New York-bred overnight races on the New York Racing Association (NYRA) circuit will equal that which is available to their open-company counterparts, officials at NYRA said on Monday. As was announced in 2023, beginning in January 2026, all New York-bred overnight races for 2-year-olds will offer equal purse money. In 2024, NYRA staged 548 races restricted to New York-breds for total purses of $42,817,000, and the new program is expected to raise New York-bred overnight purses by 15% versus...