NYRA officials to tout 143rd Saratoga season
June 27, 2011ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Officials from the New York Racing Association will be at a suburban Albany hotel to discuss the upcoming season at Saratoga Race Course.
Monday afternoon's news conference comes a week after the state Franchise Oversight Board asked New York's inspector general to examine NYRA's operations.
The board's chairman told NYRA President Charles Hayward there are ``significant and unacceptable gaps'' in the board's ability to obtain and analyze information about the racing organization's proposed budget.
The oversight board can recommend ending NYRA's state franchise agreement to operate Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga, which opens for its 143rd season July 22 and runs through Labor Day.
The first phase of a new racino under construction at Aqueduct in Queens is expected to open in September with 2,500 video lottery terminals and later expand to 4,500 betting machines.