I first became involved with the New York State pari-mutual industry in 1974 when, as an Assistant Attorney General assigned to the New York State Organized Crime Task Force, I was involved in conducting investigations into allegations of race fixing at various tracks throughout New York State.

Since then I was privileged to serve as executive director, then chairman of the New York State Racing and Wagering Board from 1979 to 1986. I also served as an executive of Hialiah Racetrack and acted as its chief counsel and lobbyist in Tallahassee, Fla. I was also an executive of the New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation (NYC OTB).

Throughout my career as regulator, lobbyist, executive and attorney, I have frequently heard the expressions: New York Racing is at a crossroad, or in a crisis.

It seems as though New York is perpetually at this point. As chairman of the Governor’s Task Force, my colleagues and I were given the task of coming up with a solution to off-track’s betting problems in New York State.

The two biggest players in the State are obviously the New York Racing Association and the NYC OTB. Together they handle over $3 billion worth of bets each year, yet both have severe financial problems that impact a number of other entities including horsemen, breeders, bettors and citizens of New York. While $3 billion seems like a large number, it cannot compare with the over $11 billion that is bet yearly at the various video lottery outlets in New York, including $1.5 billion bet at Saratoga and $6 billion bet at Yonkers.

The task force is trying to address the problems confronted by the various entities by conducting a number of hearings throughout the State and having hundreds of witnesses testify. The task force submitted its report in January. In it we recommended NYC OTB and other off-track betting corporations located in New York. The task force has also made a number of practical recommendations, such as consolidating many of the tasks done by both the off-track betting corporations and the tracks. The task force did not make recommendations, which, while noble, were probably politically impractical. It is agreed by everyone that if we were starting over, the current model is not the one to follow, yet it is the one we have.

Not that long ago, horseracing was the number-one spectator sport in America. Both the thoroughbred and the harness tracks frequently had capacity crowds. Those days are probably gone for good, but racing is still an exciting pastime that is ingrained in our history. New York has always been the leader of racing in America (with all due apologies to Kentucky). This is not the time to give up on the great sport. This is not the time to throw our hands up and walk away. The problems of both the tracks and the off-track betting corporations are quite solvable. Selfish or parochial approaches will only lead us further down the road to perdition. If we come together as New Yorkers and do what is best for everyone in this great industry, these issues can be addressed and solved.

My fellow members of the task force and I sincerely believe that the recommendations we made will go a long way in alleviating many of the current problems. However, these recommendations are only a first step and by no means a universal panacea for racing problems. Racing, like every other major sport and indeed every other major industry, must continuously review and addresses its problems, not wait until we are at the famous crossroad, or worse, in the middle of the perpetual crisis.

The time for unbridled self-interest is over. We must enact serious legislation to solve a serious problem and we must revisit these issues continuously. We must all hang together—and you all know the rest of the quote.


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John Van Lindt chairs the Task Force on the Future of Off-Track Betting in New York State.