New York Racing Association

Bill Finley's report (Week In Review) in the Feb. 9 edition of TDN on NYRA's action to restrict wagering on its Pick 5 and Pick 6 wagers by computer-assisted wagering (CAW) players caught my attention, as does any article written on this form of wagering, which I call computer robotic wagering or bots for short. My experience with the bots and their very smart and well- capitalized owner managers goes back 20 years or so. Then, as now, my opinion on wagering by the bots is that over the long...

The New York Racing Association (NYRA) announced Saturday that it will once again offer "Ship and Win" incentives for horses coming from Fair Hill Training Center or Oaklawn Park to race at Aqueduct or Belmont. Owners of horses stabled at Fair Hill, in Elkton, Maryland who register an official start during the Aqueduct spring meet (Apr. 1 through Apr. 18), or during the Belmont spring/summer meet (Apr. 22 through July 11), will be credited with an $800 shipping stipend, excluding stakes races. First-time starters must have their three prior works...

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that sports arenas and stadiums with a capacity of better than 10,000 can re-open with limited spectators. The first event open to spectators in the state will be the National Basketball Association contest between the Sacramento Kings and Brooklyn Nets at the Barclay Center Feb. 23. The opening of venues will follow the Buffalo Bills pilot program, deemed an "unparalleled success" by Cuomo, following guidelines including Department of Health approval for venues and events, capacity limitations, testing requirements, mandatory face coverings, temperature checks and...

The Week in Review by Bill Finley It's not often in this sport that John Q. Horseplayer gets a break, but that's exactly what happened last week when it was revealed that NYRA was no longer accepting bets from the so-called computer-assisted wagering (CAW) players on its Empire Six wager. The Empire Six wager joined the Cross Country Pick 5 and the late Pick 5 as NYRA wagers that are no longer available to the CAW players. The computer players use algorithms that predict the probability of a particular outcome....

Marshall Cassidy, the announcer at the New York tracks from 1979 through 1990, passed away Sunday at his home in Saratoga Springs, NY. He was 75. According to friends of Cassidy, he died in his sleep. The cause of death was not immediately known. Cassidy began his announcing career as the backup caller to Dave Johnson and then Chic Anderson. After Anderson passed away in 1979, Cassidy was promoted to the job of head announcer. In 1990, after the Saratoga meet concluded, he was replaced by Tom Durkin. Over his...

NYRA is no longer accepting wagers from customers using computer assisted wagering (CAW) programs on its Empire Six wager. The new policy took effect Feb. 4. The Empire Six joins NYRA's Late Pick 5 and the Cross Country Pick 5 as pools that are now closed to a group of bettors who use computer algorithms to place their wagers and are known for betting huge amounts, particularly when there is a large carryover in a pool or a mandatory payout day. This was the second step in a process that...

The New York Racing Association (NYRA) released its 2021 racing calendar. A total of 202 days of live racing are scheduled to be held at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course. Aqueduct's winter meet will continue through Sunday, Mar. 28 and be followed by an 11-day spring meet starting Apr. 1 and concluding Apr. 18 (click for winter and spring Aqueduct stakes schedule). Racing then shifts to Belmont for a 48-day spring/summer meet starting Apr. 22 and ending July 11, highlighted by the 153rd running of the GI...

With the fifth running of the $3-million GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. on the horizon, Gulfstream television host Acacia Courtney joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland Wednesday morning. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Courtney talked about the significance of her and her colleagues' work on the New York Racing Association's "America's Day at the Races" broadcast that shined while other sports were on hold due to the pandemic last spring, how she thinks racing can better market itself and more....

First thing Monday morning, common sense should be enough to get the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) to quickly re-examine a rule that has been on the books for decades, but just surfaced with controversy over the weekend, one race into the 2021 Aqueduct meet. But in case reason isn't enough to spark regulators into action, here's an alarming lost-revenue estimate that might get their attention: Every time the mounts of recently married riders Trevor McCarthy and Katie Davis are mandated to be coupled in the wagering--as required by...

New York Thoroughbred Breeders has announced Executive Director Najja Thompson will be appointed, as the NYTB's representative, to the New York Racing Association Board of Directors and the New York Breeding and Development Fund Board of Directors, made effective at a Dec. 18 meeting of the Board. Thompson's appointment fills the vacancies created with the resignation of former Executive Director Jeffrey Cannizzo, who will join NYRA on Jan. 1 as Senior Director of Government Affairs. "I feel very fortunate to represent the interests of breeders in New York with this...

The average daily handle from all sources at the recently concluded Aqueduct fall meet was $9,261,276--an increase of 12.8% from the 2019 meet--the New York Racing Association announced Tuesday. The 2020 fall meet, which was conducted over 18 race days, generated all-sources handle of $166,702,976. The 2019 fall meet, which was conducted over 25 race days, generated all-sources handle of $205,249,710. A total of 175 races were run in 2020, 58 fewer than the number of races run in 2019. Of the 175 races run during the fall meet, 107...

Kendrick Carmouche registered his first-ever riding title for a New York Racing Association meet, notching 23 victories to pace all jockeys for the 18-day fall meet at Aqueduct Racetrack that ran from Nov. 6 through Sunday, Dec. 6. Christophe Clement tallied 16 wins to lead all trainers, while Klaravich Stables and Repole Stables each campaigned five winners to finish as co-leading owners. Carmouche, a mainstay on the NYRA circuit, earned his first NYRA riding crown by registering a 23-18-14 record in 123 mounts with earnings of more than $1.5 million....