- Friday's scheduled court hearing on Jeff Gural's attempted closing of Vernon Downs' barn area was postponed to early January. A local Assemblyman called for Governor Spitzer to get involved. "The governor ran for election saying that he would be a leader, and this calls for leadership to solve the problem at Vernon Downs." [Oneida Daily Dispatch] I would guess that this is not very high on Spitzer's priority list. He probably thinks that Vernon Downs is the host of a TV game show.
The Assembly version of the casino bill that Gural and Faraldo are battling over contains a cut of 8.75% for horsemen and 1.25% for breeders, instead of the 8.25% / 1% passed by the Senate. It also specifically carves out Aqueduct from any such requirement; and as I mentioned in this post, the contentious MOU has a cut of only 6.5% for the horsemen there.
Matt Hegarty reports in the Form that things ain't going so well with the franchise negotiations in Albany - "little progress" has been made.
"All of our focus right now is on moving the process forward," [Bruno spokesperson Scott] Reif said. "We hope to get at least a handshake agreement before the end of the year, and then address that legislatively in January." [Daily Racing Form]
Would Spitzer and Bruno actually have to shake hands in order to have a handshake agreement? That would be front page news in itself. We've certainly come a long ways from this poignant scene from Valentine's Day, haven't we? Joe may come with a bucket of horse manure next time.Steven Newman, Spitzer's handpicked new Oversight Board chairperson, is expected to work closely with NYRA on a temporary extension if a long-term agreement is not in place. [DRF]
4 Comments:
Alan,
I know you are a Rangers fan. How did you like Gaborik's performance Friday night?
Well, methinks we would have heard more by now if a deal was in the works.
I will have to spend New Years Day elsewhere. Can I buy the calendar on line?
>>I know you are a Rangers fan. How did you like Gaborik's performance Friday night?
After his third goal, the announcers noted that it seemed as if he could score a lot more, exactly my impression, as dominant as he looked, and as easy as his goals were. Pretty impressive indeed.
>>Well, methinks we would have heard more by now if a deal was in the works.
Yeah, I tend to agree, but let's see. I think it's the inevitable outcome in any event, especially with Spitzer's new guy in place.
>>I will have to spend New Years Day elsewhere. Can I buy the calendar on line?
Yup.
Per the notes they do not currently stock the calendar, it will be shipped on 1/2/08, so availability appears pending Big A opening on 1/1/08.
You would think NYRA would compete with these ebay people and sell for six bucks online, but of course they have bigger fish to fry right now.
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