- Mr. Williams of the Ad Hoc Commmittee was kind enough to send along the following information regarding the statute that requires the committee to make a formal presentation of its findings to the Governor and the Legislature:
The recommendation, by statute, requires the committee to "report its findings to the legislature, the governor and the racing and wagering board with recommendations for such actions as it deems necessary to implement its determinations regarding the corporation or corporations, association or associations to which such grants of authority and/or franchises should be made or granted, the legislation which should be enacted governing such grants of authority or franchises, and the responsibilities related thereto which should be assigned to the racing and wagering board and to such other state agencies or officers as it deems appropriate." See, N.Y. Rac. Pari-Mut. Wag. & Breed. L. §208.f.Thus, by law, the above procedure is what constitutes the formal recommendation, which the Committee is presently working on. That is the event which will then prompt the release of the information to the public.
3 Comments:
Mr. Williams comments are helpful. He didn't mention if the actual proposals will be shared or just the information the committee forwards on up. I heard that the bidders have the ability to redact parts or all of their proposals before they are to actually made public. I guess that's because some of the information may be sensitive. It will be interesting to see exactly how much of the proposals actually come to light.
According to AHC member Gary Pretlow, it's a pretty much done deal anyhow. He likens the next step in the process to a steward's inquiry where the winner is usually vindicated. I'm not sure what the statistics are on such matters, but it seems to me every time one of these folks makes a horse racing analogy, it reveals something else.
How about an analogy for "non-binding?" Like an early nomination to a stakes race where the actual field will not be determined until the draw?
Also, it seems the FBI probe is widening to Mr. Bilinski's records of the Mr. Bruno's horse partnerships. I bet Excelsior didn't see this coming when they leaked the probe.
>>I heard that the bidders have the ability to redact parts or all of their proposals before they are to actually made public. I guess that's because some of the information may be sensitive.
What is this, the CIA?
>>Also, it seems the FBI probe is widening to Mr. Bilinski's records of the Mr. Bruno's horse partnerships. I bet Excelsior didn't see this coming when they leaked the probe.
Indeed. Unfortunately, I won't have time to post about these latest developments until later - I have to actually do work that earns money once in a while. But it seems to me that the more important development is the increasing involvement of Friends of New York Racing in the probe. Since many of its officials went on to become involved with Empire, it raises questions of what its true intentions really were; a point made loudly by Charlie Hayward to Smith at a forum over the summer. More later.
Alan, must confess that I am one of the Friends of NY Racing "du-pees" since I made a small contribution shortly after it's formation. Looks like some of the big contributors are pretty upset about being used. Is a lawsuit against Friends, and by extension, Empire, about to be thrown into the mix? NYRA could certainly be a plaintiff in that one, too. Wonder if Empire fully disclosed it's relationship to Friends in it's bid submission? And perhaps Excelsior has disclosure issues as well? Message to Charlie Hayward: Don't get mad, get even. One by one, NYRA seems to be settling old scores, or at least drawing blood on their enemies, if only to remind them that NYRA is not going quietly. The NYRA competitors seem to be doing a pretty good job of self-destructing lately, and as they say in politics, when your opponent is self-destructing the best policy is to sit back and let it happen! Looking forward to your continued sitreps on the franchise.
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