In a good many ways, what happens in the days after the Belmont Stakes is far more important to the future of the thoroughbred horse racing industry in New York than whether Big Brown won the Triple Crown. These are busy times for the New York Racing Association (NYRA), the holder of the racing franchises at Aqueduct, Belmont, and Saratoga, as the organization finishes emerging from bankruptcy by the end of June. It will also possibly get a partner in building a “racino” at the Aqueduct track in Queens.

The president and chief executive officer of NYRA, Charles Hayward, expects that the company will get “video lottery terminals” (VLT) or slot machines into Aqueduct no later than January 2010 (once the bankruptcy is behind them, that is). The installation of these machines will significantly push up revenues that will end up in the thoroughbred business end.

“There are a couple of steps. We have gotten our bankruptcy plan and reorganization approved by the bankruptcy court,” Hayward said. “It is subject to a feasibility plan that was a part of it. We had to get an independent financial analyst [to] say yes, this plan is feasible.”

In 2002, the state legislature and Governor Pataki authorized the opening of slots gaming at nine racetracks throughout New York. Aqueduct was supposed to have had slots about four years ago, but the MGM Mirage was never able to complete its deal with NYRA and walked away from the deal in May 2007. There are now three bidders for the license and the right to place 4,500 VLTs at Aqueduct: Delaware North, SL Green, and the Capital Play group.

“Their bids are in,” Hayward said. “The deal requires an agreement between the governor’s office, the Senate, and the Assembly. They are working hard on that, and I am told they would like to get that done before the end of the legislative session, which is a couple weeks away. I think the reason they are working hard at it is that it would yield $400 million annually to the state. There are not many places you can go and get $400 million without making any significant capital investment.

“We are hopeful of getting that done,” he said.

Aqueduct would be the only one of the three NYRA tracks getting slots, although Hayward is hoping that state-elected officials will give Belmont and Saratoga another look in terms of putting slots in those facilities.

There have been some whispers among industry people that the Triple Crown — the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes — might not have much of a future without slots. The Kentucky Derby seems to be very safe in Louisville, but there are some concerns about the future of the Preakness at Pimlico in Maryland if voters say no to slots in November. As well, there are some questions about the viability of the Belmont Stakes.

The racetrack is getting older and doesn’t have all of the amenities that sports operators want, such as luxury suites and club seats. In the New York area, every major league team is either getting a new stadium or an arena or has renovation plans (the Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum, for instance). The USTA Tennis Center underwent extensive renovations in the mid-1990s. On the other hand, Belmont’s grandstand was rebuilt and opened in 1968 and is in need of major upgrading.

“We have not had the capital funds to really make the appropriate improvements both on the front side, which is the facility itself, and the backside,” Hayward said. “We put a little bit of money, a couple of million dollars, in the infrastructure here at Belmont since we were here last fall. Part of the plan of the VLTs is that we are to get roughly 4% of the net win, which would go to capital improvements, and that would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $20-$25 million a year. Three percent would go towards racing operations.

“So, once the VLTs are up and operating, we can probably monetize that, and we will be making some significant investments in all three of our tracks. Even the VLTs would only be at Aqueduct; the capital monies will be spent across Saratoga, Belmont, and Aqueduct,” he said.

Despite the bankruptcy problems, New York is doing reasonably well without the VLTs at the thoroughbred tracks.

“We don’t have VLTs, but even without that New York still has the largest purses in the country,” Hayward said. “At Saratoga last year, we were the first racing association that broke $800,000 a day. Here at Belmont Park this year, we will probably run at $570,000 a day, which will probably put us third in the nation.” Hayward says that totals add up to about $117 million.

If the Aqueduct “racino” does open, NYRA expects to raise purses by about $30 million.

The American thoroughbred industry has been consistent over the past few years — it is a $15 billion-a-year business — but there has not been much growth. The big events, including the Triple Crown and the Breeders’ Cup, do well enough. But the industry operates day-to-day, and it is becoming increasingly clear that thoroughbred racing needs slot machines if it is to grow.

evanjweiner@yahoo.com