NYTHA

The position of New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NYTHA) president is up for grabs at a time of great upheaval for horse racing in the state. Belmont Park is poised to undergo a $455-million overhaul, after which Aqueduct is set to close its doors. Within a few years, horse racing in New York will look drastically different to what it looks like today. This is also a period of tremendous existential challenge for the sport, as evidenced by a recent 60 Minutes expose on the industry's doping problems. Among the...

Every summer, the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NYTHA) takes in a small gaggle of college-age interns--what for many of them proves a baptism of the turf. This year's batch--three Yale undergrads studying economics, electrical engineering and political science--were tasked with a data-driven analysis of the economics of the national horse racing biz over the past 20 years. Harboring no previous relationship with the industry, the three undergrads came in free of prejudice and preconceptions. The result is a 33-page paper weaving piercing and worrying insights into the state of...

The candidates for the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NYTHA) 2023 Board election were announced earlier last week. The NYTHA Board consists of the President, five Owner Directors and five Trainer or Trainer/Owner Directors. All seats on the Board come up for election every three years. This year, there are two candidates for President, twelve candidates for Owner/Director and nine candidates for Trainer/Trainer-Owner Director. The candidates are as follows: Tina Marie Bond (President), Chad Summers (President), Andrew Aaron (Owner/Director), Tom Bellhouse (Owner/Director), Kevin Brady (Owner/Director), Daniel Collins (Owner/Director), Matthew Cutair...

Edited Press Release A General Nominating Meeting will be held at Belmont Park Friday, Oct. 6, to announce candidates for the 2023 New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association Board election, NYTHA announced Saturday. The NYTHA Board consists of the President, five Owner Directors, and five Trainer or Owner/Trainer Directors. Nominations can be submitted in person at the meeting or via email to election2023@nytha.com. CANDIDATES FOR NOMINATION OR TO SERVE AS A NYTHA DIRECTOR MUST: (A) Be a voting member of NYTHA in good standing (licensed as an owner or trainer by...

A proposed change to claiming rules in New York would double the time that a claimed horse must refrain from racing outside the state, from 30 to 60 days. In addition, in an effort to make it easier to acquire Thoroughbreds via claims, another proposed change would extend time periods for owners to be eligible to claim horses. Those measures, plus several other tweaks to the "Who may make claim" rule 4038.1, were advanced by the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) at Thursday's monthly meeting. There was zero discussion...

The notice began appearing on the overnight in early January. "By order of the stewards. Pursuant to NYSGC RULE 4033.8. Effective February 1st, only equipment specifically approved by the stewards shall be worn or carried by a jockey or a horse in a race. No equipment change (including shoes) will be allowed once the overnight is published." "There is no new rule," wrote Brad Maoine, Director of Communications for the New York State Gaming Commission in response to TDN's request for information about the new posting on the overnight. "The...

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) and the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NYTHA) announced that a team led by Brendan Kumagai has been selected as the winner of the inaugural Big Data Derby competition, beating out 105 other submissions for first prize. Kumagai, together with Gurashish Bagga, Kimberly Kroetch, Tyrel Stokes, and Liam Welsh, took the $20,000 first prize with the submission, "Bayesian Velocity Models for Horse Race Simulation." Kumagai's team created a dynamic model that focused on horses' forward versus lateral speed and examined the results of...

The TAKE2 Second Career Thoroughbred Program will recognize the results and count the points earned by TAKE2 Thoroughbred League members competing in the rated Thoroughbred Hunter and Thoroughbred Jumper Divisions at all USEF horse shows. This rule change will be retroactive to the beginning of the current TAKE2 season, which kicked off Aug. 29, 2022, and runs through Aug. 27, 2023. "When we started TAKE2, we required the USEF-rated horse shows to complete an application to affiliate with our program," TAKE2 Executive Director Andy Belfiore explained. "Unfortunately, there were horse...

A total of 106 submissions were received for the inaugural Big Data Derby, a competition requiring entrants to provide a machine-learning model to analyze all manner of data regarding horse racing tactics, strategies and path efficiencies. Sponsored by the New York Racing Association and the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association in partnership with the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, Equibase, The Jockey Club, Breeders' Cup and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, the Big Data Derby launched with a goal of better understanding the vast data set at hand to racing organizations,...

Marie Kizenko has joined the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association team as communications manager. A racing industry veteran, Kizenko served as a senior editor for 14 years at the Thoroughbred Daily News before working as a freelance writer and communications consultant. She returned to racing on a full-time basis in 2019 and most recently served as stakes coordinator for the Maryland Jockey Club. "This is a fascinating time for the racing industry in New York," Kizenko said. "NYTHA's core missions of benevolence, equine welfare, and safeguarding the interests of its...

The traditional fall meet at Belmont will instead be held at Aqueduct and kick off Sept. 15, the New York Racing Association announced Thursday. It is anticipated that racing will return to Belmont for the 2023 spring meet. The switch to Aqueduct will allow NYRA to undertake the first phases of what could be a major renovation of Belmont Park. Tunnels have been constructed at Belmont that will give construction vehicles access to the infield. The tunnels will also pave the way for pedestrians to have access to the infield....

The New York Thoroughbred Breeders, in conjunction with the New York Racing Association, New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and the New York State Thoroughbred Breeding & Development Fund has introduced a lucrative new purse enhancement for owners of New York Stallion-sired New York-breds competing on the NYRA circuit. Effective immediately, the 'New York-Sired Bonus' will provide an additional $5,000 to the winning owner of a New York-sired New York-bred who finishes first in all open company and New York-bred restricted maiden special weight, allowance, and allowance optional claiming races. The...