NYRA

The New York Racing Association will once again conduct the Under 20's Claiming Challenge for its upcoming winter and spring meets at Aqueduct Racetrack. Introduced in 2018, the challenge is open to local conditioners with 20 or fewer trainees nationwide. Trainers will earn points based on their horses' performances in all winners' claiming races at Aqueduct from the start of the winter meet Dec. 9 through the end of the spring meet Apr. 24. The top eight trainers in the contest will split a price pool of $80,000, with the...

The 31-day Belmont Park fall meet concluded with the oval's average daily handle totaling $10,346,669 from all sources and $320,746,749-a 19.7% increase from 2019--in total handle from all sources. Average daily handle at the Belmont fall meet increased over 2019, when the 37-day fall meet generated $7,430,533 in average daily handle from all sources. The 2020 Belmont fall meet, which was contested over 27 live race days, generated $9,923,813 in average daily handle from all sources, a 33.6% increase over 2019. With this year's 4.3% increase over 2020, average daily...

In an attempt to rein in an already cumbersome litigation process in the Bob Baffert vs. New York Racing Association (NYRA) lawsuit, the federal judge in charge of the case ordered Tuesday that the Hall of Fame trainer will be allowed to amend his initial June 14 civil complaint that alleged NYRA violated his constitutional right to due process by trying to bar him over his history of equine medication violations. Baffert's desire to amend his complaint stems from NYRA summoning him to a hearing back in September to adjudicate...

The New York Racing Association has released the 2021-22 Aqueduct winter stakes schedule, which includes 46 stakes races on offer worth nearly $6 million in purses. The 56-day Aqueduct winter meet begins Thursday, Dec. 9 and runs through Sunday, Mar. 27. Live racing will generally be conducted Thursday through Sunday through the end of February with a holiday break set for Dec. 20-29 and the addition of a special Presidents' Day card Monday, Feb. 21. March will then feature a Friday-Sunday schedule of live racing through the conclusion of the...

Aqueduct Racetrack will re-open to the public on Thursday, Nov. 11, opening day of the 2021 fall meet. Originally closed to fans during the height of the COVID-19 emergency in March of 2020, Aqueduct then became the site of a New York State mass vaccination center in January 2021. The vaccination center, which has distributed more than 300,000 COVID-19 inoculations to date, was a critical piece in the New York State led effort to quickly and efficiently vaccinate New Yorkers. The size and scope of the center, which occupied the...

In collaboration with Northwell Health, the New York Racing Association and the Backstretch Employee Service Team, a new health clinic will open for Belmont Park workers, it was announced Wednesday. The $200,000, 1,000-square-foot health clinic will provide a continuum of care and offer wellness programs for the thousands of backstretch workers at Belmont Park. The free program is part of Northwell's commitment to providing equitable care to all New Yorkers. "Clinics like this one are important because they allow quick access to care, before health issues become health care emergencies,"...

Edited Press Release The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) announced Saturday that NYRA Bets, LLC (NYRA Bets), is now available in the state of Michigan for residents ages 21 and older. "NYRA Bets is the best way to bet the races, and we are thrilled that horseplayers in Michigan can download the app today to access NYRA Bets," said Matt Feig, General Manager of NYRA Bets. New users who sign up for NYRA Bets today are eligible to earn up to $200 in a deposit match with a $25...

The New York Racing Association released its 2022 racing calendar with 202 live race days at Belmont Park, Aqueduct Racetrack and Saratoga Race Course. The 2021-22 Aqueduct winter meet will run from Thursday, Dec. 9 through Sunday, Mar. 27 with live racing generally conducted four days per week in January and February and three days per week in March. The 15-day Aqueduct spring meet will open Thursday Mar. 31 and conclude on Sunday, Apr. 24. Live racing will be conducted Thursday-Sunday. Highlighted by the 154th running of the GI Belmont...

Joi L. Garner has been named Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of the New York Racing Association, NYRA announced Wednesday. Garner succeeds Joe Lambert, who is retiring, and will assume her responsibilities on Oct. 15. Garner previously served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel at THINK450, the marketing and licensing subsidiary of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA). At THINK450, Garner was the lead negotiator in several of the NBPA's most significant licensing deals, including agreements with Take-Two Interactive (NBA2K), Fanatics and Dapper Labs. Garner was...

Both plaintiff Bob Baffert and defendant the New York Racing Association (NYRA) traded volleys of legal filings that were posted electronically just before 6 p.m. Tuesday. They all relate to Baffert's ongoing quest to fight NYRA's attempts to either banish him outright or to give him a hearing that would adjudicate the "detrimental conduct" charges NYRA has levied against Baffert over the repeated equine drug positives in his trainees. NYRA on Oct. 12 filed a memorandum of law in support of its earlier motion to dismiss Counts I, III, IV...

The Belmont fall meet, originally scheduled to conclude Oct. 31, will be extended to include three additional dates from Friday, Nov. 5 through Sunday, Nov. 7, it was announced Saturday. These dates were originally scheduled to be run at Aqueduct Racetrack as opening weekend of the Aqueduct fall meet. New York State is continuing to operate a COVID-19 mass vaccination site throughout the first floor of Aqueduct. As a result, the facility remains closed to the public. "NYRA is committed to supporting the ongoing effort to vaccinate New York, and...

BROOKLYN, NY--Judge Carol Bagley Amon dismissed Bob Baffert's charge of contempt against the New York Racing Association Tuesday morning in federal court, saying that her previous injunction of NYRA's attempted suspension of Baffert in May applied only to enforcing that suspension, and not the issue at hand of NYRA scheduling a hearing and issuing official charges against Baffert in a Sept. 10 statement. The ruling clears the way for NYRA to proceed with its proposed hearing process, which is scheduled to begin Oct. 11 and may result in Baffert once...