Reports from New York state indicate that Gov. Andrew Cuomo will sign legislation this week to seize control of the New York Racing Association and return the organization to state-run control before seeking public bids to manage the beleaguered racetrack operator.
The story is getting coverage in multiple outlets, with The New York Post reporting that officials within government believe that operators of tracks such as Churchill Downs and Santa Anita Park would pay handsomely to operate Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga. Managers of major entertainment destinations could also enter the fray.
According to the Post, the state's Inspector General has concluded a five-month long investigation into the takeout scandal that cost bettors nearly $8.5 million over a 15-month period last year. Instead of lowering takeout on the exotic wagers by one per cent (to 24%), NYRA had actually increased the takeout by one per cent (to 26%), which, according to NYRA, was an "unintentional oversight." That oversight, which ended up costing punters millions of dollars, went on for more than 15 months. NYRA later went on to state that it could not trace all of the overcharged wagers.
Calling it "negligent oversight", acting Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott concluded that “virtually everyone...in a position of responsibility" including former NYRA CEO Charles Hayward and General Counsel Patrick Kehoe, failed to act on the legal requirement to reduce the takeout amount on bets but failed to act.
Hayward and Kehoe were fired by NYRA in May but the Inspector General’s report is expected to say that the New York State Racing & Wagering Board failed to act quickly enough.