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Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Trying to Discharge the Surcharge

Efforts are underway in the budget negotiations in Albany to lower or eliminate Governor Cuomo's proposed 2.75% surcharge on purses in the state. However, Tom Precious reports on Bloodhorse.com that the Assembly and the Senate can’t resolve how they want to make up the difference in revenues the plan needs to bring to the budget. That would be $7 million, the amount that the surcharge is expected to generate, ostensibly to fund the Racing and Wagering Board.

The Assembly Democrats, meanwhile, want to lower Cuomo’s proposed purse surcharge [to 0.75%] and replace the lost revenue by imposing a fee on racino operators. The Senate has instead offered what Bonacic called a “general assessment” on all racetracks in the state.
And in the 'beating a dead horse' category, Senate Republicans want to revive their plan to revive NYCOTB as a private corporation, albeit one which would still be overseen by the states; fail to satisfy the creditors, and pay less in statutory fees to harness tracks. The scheme mercifully died in committee on March 8, but has reappeared in the budget talks. However, Gary Pretlow, chairman of the Assembly Racing and Wagering Committee, says "We're not doing that." And, as much as many in the industry, tracks and horsemen alike (other than some amongst the harness horsemen) feared an OTB shutdown, I haven't heard any interest whatsoever for it to come back to life in any form.

Precious also writes of a Senate plan to to beef up fan interest in attending races; I don't know any specifics of that. Maybe it's a plan to provide free transportation to the tracks for the folks making over $1 million a year for whom the Senate Republicans insist on lowering income taxes from 2010 rates as teachers and other public employees lose their job.

22 Comments:

jk said...

NYC teachers get to retire at 55 with guaranteed pensions which exceed $1 million in value in many cases. Their pensions are also exempt from NYS and NYC income taxes. Funny to watch one group of millionaires go up against another to keep their tax perks.

Anonymous said...

We have becomes "Slaves of Government" to support Albany and the unions that put them in power. Over 50 % of my earnings is stolen from me by the government to pay for the pensions and benefits of the public class. I also support numerous welfare programs for those who vote democratic. Alan's idea is to tax the rich more until they all leave New York. New York - like the racing industry - is dying. Alan doesn't realize that his boy Shelly Silver is the most corrupt pile of sh*t in New York.

Anonymous said...

Big racing day tomorrow. In the Dubai World Cup, I think MUSIR might offer some value. I expect him to go off at high single digits.

The Louisiana Derby looks like a weak field. Macho Again should be right there, though I think Elite Alex will make a good showing, as FG might suit his style more than Oaklawn. I do expect him to get bet down from his 8-1 ML though.

I also think Sleepless Knight would be a good plat in the Muniz if allowed to go off at his ML of 6-1. But I suspect he goes lower as well. -jp

Anonymous said...

Yeah I meant mucho macho man. Not macho again. jp

alan said...

Does anyone care about the World Cup anymore?

Anonymous said...

I think the event lost a good deal of lustre when they moved it from Nad Al Sheba, which I thought was a really cool track, to Meydan. But it's still huge international fields, so I like to keep an eye on it. -jp

Anonymous said...

Honestly, if you're betting show money on $8,000 horses in the slop at Santa Anita that's what you fucking deserve.

Figless said...

Looking at Left (and no not a hunch bet) in the La Derby. Ran 4 lenghts faster than these on raw time, ignoring the figs. Why not?

Mucho Macho Man benefited from the pace last time, has a class edge but just get the feeling staring at the pp's he will settle for minor share.

steve in nc said...

I haven't handicapped that race, but I think just based on names that Mavericking and Pants on Fire should be a coupled entry, and they should lose to Left.

Figless said...

haha

Now thats a hunch bet.

steve in nc said...

My play-against in Dubai is Dangerous Midge in the 7th. Doesn't figure off the layoff and will be overbet because of the BC win. I think Dettori takes it with Rewilding.

More name hunch plays: Rewilding is like Wild Again, who beat out Gate Dancer in the first BC. So you have to include King Dancer in exotics, right?

Figless said...

I plan to TRI box those three in the La Derby with Mucho Macho Man, why tf not, wide open event with history of long shot winners.

Alan Mann said...

Don't care much for the La Derby...not inspired to try and beat Mucho Macho here. Elite Alex seems a promising type, but don't like the post...figures to be too far back again. Pretty uninspiring field over all IMO.

Anonymous said...

The winning lottery ticket worth $203 million was sold in Albany a couple of blocks from the state capital. I wonder if the winner has ever been mentioned on this blog?
RG

DiscreetPicks said...

Meydan - Race 8 (Dubai World Cup)

#12 Twice Over (4/1 ml)

I gave this horse out in the World Cup last year, and i still like him. He's been extremely effective at 1 1/4 miles throughout his career (while facing world-class competition), and has also looked very sharp on synthetic. Last year's World Cup was his lone "poor" effort, although he was bumped in the early going and reportedly didn't act like himself after that (though he was only beaten 3 lengths at the wire in a blanket finish). Beyond that, also note that he was coming into the race with no prep off a 5-month layoff, and this year they've done things a little differently, shipping him in early and running him in the course-and-distance prep that has produced several European-based winners over the years (though they all came at Nad Al Sheba). He has reportedly been thriving of late, both in the prep race and in his recent training, per his regular rider Queally. Figures quite formidable with a clean trip.

Also, be advised, when you bet to place in Dubai, you also get paid if your horse runs third.

Figless said...

Japan runs 1-2 in the World Cup you cant make this stuff up.

Good for them, glad I didnt wager.

Anonymous said...

Yeah it was a total crapshoot in Dubai, as it often is. With few stars this year, a wager would have amounted to flushing $ down the toilet (as is usually the case w/my pix). The winner of the sprint race was the most impressive horse on the card, at least visually.

Steve, nice call on Dangerous Midge, as the horse faded to a walk, though I'm not sure reducing the number of contenders to 13 probably helped, though the Golden Shaheen came back about as chalky as it could have...

Anonymous said...

Lol if you bet Nacho Business.

Anonymous said...

That Napravnik chick must be the best female jockey since Julie Krone, if not the best ever. -jp

Anonymous said...

Alan's motto: "Tax The Rich"

There's no more devastating commentary on how badly New York has been run for decades - and how urgent it is for Gov. Cuomo to turn things around - than the slow-motion evacuation of upstate as documented by the 2010 census.

Virtually every burg west or north of Albany either lost population over the past decade or barely held steady.

Hardest hit was Buffalo, which saw fully 11% of its population shuffle off since 2000. What was once among the major metropolises in the United States is down to 261,000 holdouts.

Also hemorrhaging people were Binghamton, Syracuse, Rochester, Niagara Falls and scores of other once-thriving cities, towns and villages.

The families who used to live in those places voted with their feet against the Vampire State's highest-in-the-nation tax burden, bloated government bureaucracy and dismal business climate.

Assembly Democrats under Speaker Sheldon Silver are rejecting Cuomo's caps on medical malpractice suits and demanding taxes on the rich.

steve in nc said...

Anon 5:41 - are you rich and selfish or not rich and foolish?

The last decade has seen a tremendous shift of wealth to the richest people in the country and the money came directly from the rest of us. Ordinary people's income and assets have dropped relative to inflation.

And you want them to have to pay less tax?

With income dropping for most people and expenses rising, few people have much money to spend. So people with money to invest would be foolish to invest it here. Rich people are taking our money and creating horrible paying jobs overseas, taking jobs away from American workers.

steve in nc said...

Anon 4:57:

That 1 1/2 turf race was the one I did nail in the desert, since Rewilding looked really solid on Sheets. I didn't love the price, but I still made a substantial win bet.

I thought Dangerous Midge would take more money, and he was the favorite in the Pick 3.

Unfortunately, that win bet was the only bet I cashed on Dubai. Fortunately, Rewilding was the only big bet I made.