New York Racing Association

It's not at all unusual for the New York Times to publish anti-horse racing pieces, something it has done dozens of times. But in Friday's edition, the Times held nothing back in what was arguably its most negative story yet. In a scathing 4,600-word guest essay written by Noah Shachtman entitled "Dead Athletes. Empty Stands. Why Are We Paying Billions to Keep This Sport Alive?," the author's main conclusion is that governments should not be propping up a dying business in horse racing, whether that is through revenues from casinos...

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) has canceled live racing on Sunday at Aqueduct Racetrack due to high winds associated with a strong winter storm forecast to impact the New York City metropolitan area throughout the day. Aqueduct Racetrack will remain open for simulcasting, and wagering is available via NYRABets.com. Live racing is scheduled to resume on Monday with a first post of 1:10 p.m. Eastern on the eight-race Presidents' Day card.

The New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NYTHA) and the Jockeys' Guild agreed to a new scale of mount fees for jockeys who ride at NYRA tracks which will take effect Feb. 1, according to a Wednesday release from the Guild. Under the new fee agreement, jockeys will receive a minimum of a $125 losing mount fee for races at all NYRA racetracks as well as a $500 minimum fee in races with purses of $1 million or more. This scale also includes a 4th place incentive. "We have come to...

Paul F. Oreffice, who spoke fewer than 50 words of English when he arrived in America in the mid-1940s and went on to become a partner in multiple Classic-winning Thoroughbred horses in addition to a successful career in the business world, passed away peacefully in his sleep on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, at his home in Paradise Valley, Arizona. He was 97 years old. Born in Venice, Italy, on Nov. 29, 1927, Oreffice moved with his family to Quito, Ecuador, and came to the U.S. in 1945, attending Purdue University...

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...

On the eve that Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI) and the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) were scheduled to appear at separate enforcement hearings in front of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority board to address disputes over their non-payment of assessment fees that are based partially on purses, those two prominent Thoroughbred track operators teamed up to sue the Authority and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in federal court, alleging that both the fee impositions and the attempted enforcement actions for non-payment are "illegal." According to the civil complaint...

When veteran New York trainer Gary Contessa ran a horse named Answer the Call (Dialed In) in a Sept. 25 claiming race at Delaware Park, he had no idea that he had violated a rule. He claimed the horse out of an Aug. 4 race at Saratoga and believed the filly was allowed to run outside of New York because more than 30 days had transpired since the claim. Little did he know that only a few days earlier, the rule was changed so that a claimed horse had to...

FOX Sports will be the television home of Jamaica's Mouttet Mile Invitational in 2024 following the announcement of a partnership between the New York Racing Association and Caymanas Park, Jamaica's premier horse racing venue. The Mouttet Mile Invitational, a Grade 1 event for 3-year-olds and up over one mile, will be worth $250,000 when it is held Dec. 7. In addition to live coverage and on-site analysis of the Mouttet Mile from Caymanas Park, America's Day at the Races will also offer coverage of the G3 Chairman's Plate Invitational, while...

Golden State Racing (GSR) has reached an agreement with The Stronach Group's (TSG) Xpressbet, allowing punters to be able to wager on Pleasanton through that particular ADW platform when racing resumes this Friday. GSR launched its inaugural 26-day Thoroughbred meet at Pleasanton Saturday, Oct. 19. But punters hoping to wager on its product through Xpressbet and the New York Racing Association's NYRA Bets were shut out--a scenario stemming from a disagreement over the fees that form a key part of a track's purses and revenues. Similarly, Elite Turf Club players...

Timelines for the massive-scaled, $455-million rebuild of Belmont Park were brought more clearly into focus Wednesday during a construction update presented by the New York Racing Association (NYRA) at a meeting of the New York State Franchise Oversight Board (FOB). In chronological order: 1) Belmont's new one-mile Tapeta track could open for training as early as the spring of 2025. 2) NYRA is keeping open the option of running the 2026 GI Belmont Stakes back downstate at the new facility under a festival-meet scenario in which all four racing surfaces...

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) will partner with FOX Sports to present live coverage and analysis of Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe from ParisLongchamp, the track said in a release on Friday. Sunday's special broadcast will air on FS1 from 9:30-10:30 a.m. ET., with Greg Wolf offering stateside updates live in studio from Aqueduct Racetrack. Post time for the race, which is part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series and offers entry into the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Turf, is set for approximately 10:20 a.m....

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) mourns the passing of Pat Mahony, who spent more than 50 years in the racing industry, many leading NYRA's mutuels department, and was known nationally as a leading expert in wagering operations, protocols and rules, the track said in a Friday press release. "New York's racing community is deeply saddened by the passing of Pat Mahony, whose contributions to the fabric of NYRA and Thoroughbred racing will be long remembered," said NYRA President & CEO David O'Rourke. "As Vice President of Mutuels, Pat's...