GOP Pressures Spitzer Over Racing Plan

Senate Republicans are putting increasing pressure on Governor Spitzer to abandon his plan for the troubled New York Racing Association to retain control over the state's three premier racetracks. Shoving aside the governor's recommendations, Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and his Senate Republican conference yesterday proposed a new state corporation be formed that would select vendors to manage the Saratoga, Belmont, and Aqueduct racetracks and video gambling machines at one or more of the locations.

The independent agency, which would be called the Racing, Gaming, and Equine Sports Development Corp., would be composed of 11 people, including five members of a racing oversight board led by an appointee of Governor Pataki, Carole Stone, and various representatives of the horse racing industry.

With NYRA's franchise set to expire, Albany leaders have until the end of the year to agree on who will take over the racing industry and its casino offshoots.

In September, Mr. Spitzer recommended that NYRA, which has run racing in New York for more than 50 years amid scandal and financial debt, manage the tracks for another 30 years under a restructured leadership.

The governor proposed that a separate franchise be awarded to a gaming operator to run thousands of video lottery terminals at Aqueduct. So far, seven companies, including Delaware North and Mohegan Sun, have expressed interest in the franchise.

Senate Republicans and others questioned why the governor would favor a bankrupt group that only recently dealt with a money laundering and tax evasion scandal, and has been sharply criticized for the conditions of its facilities. The governor's move prompted a number of potential private investors, including Churchill Downs and Magna Entertainment, to drop out of a chaotic bidding process amid growing doubts about the possibility of profit.

Republicans also criticized the governor's plan to forgive $250 million of NYRA debt in exchange for it giving up its claims to the racetrack land.

While skeptical of the Republican proposal, Mr. Spitzer was surprisingly muted in his critique, suggesting he may be open to negotiations.

"The plan appears to raise as many questions as it answers, including which entities would actually operate racing and the VLT facility at Aqueduct," Mr. Spitzer said in a statement.

Republicans said they could strike a deal with the governor and the Assembly, despite the current poisonous atmosphere between the Senate and the executive chamber.

"Some people think he's willing to negotiate with us," the Republican chairman of the Senate's racing committee, William Larkin, said in an interview, referring to the governor. "They feel we have to get something done and work together."