Betting on future of OTBs

In less than 90 days, NYC OTB's responsibilities will shift to a public benefit corporation and a new operating relationship will need to be forged between this reworked OTB entity and New York's resurgent harness-racing industry. Exactly how that relationship will operate -- and whether this will be just one part of an overall re-evaluation of the harness industry and OTBs across the state -- is the $64,000 question. Actually, it's more like a $2 billion question, which is what the harness industry now means to New York.

Legislative leaders deserve credit for tackling the always thorny issue of OTBs and racing, and we in the industry are grateful that they've used the NYC OTB crisis as an opportunity to start a real dialogue about the future of horse racing.

A new task force is now charged with re-examining the entire racing and wagering industry over the coming months. We horsemen have a suggestion as to where they should start: By ensuring that OTBs in the state actually support harness racing in New York.

The sad truth behind NYC OTB's recent game of brinkmanship is that its problems were self-created and were, in a large part, the result of its poorly planned business decision to walk away from the New York harness industry.

The "payments to the racing industry" that NYC OTB complains about only exist because it presents out-of-state thoroughbred racing, rather than promote our own New York harness racing. These payments are simply a legislative response designed to hold the state's rapidly rebounding racing and horse breeding industries harmless in the face of OTB's counterproductive decision to replace New York racing with out-of-state racing.

The good news is that we now have an opportunity to develop new ways to both assist OTBs across New York and support the racing industry at the same time. Common sense dictates that if OTBs were to simply promote New York's homegrown harness racing -- supporting an industry that employs tens of thousands of our residents -- they would escape the now-necessary "hold harmless" provisions.

The most direct approach would be to mandate that all OTBs in New York feature New York harness racing at night, both in their parlors and on their cable programming. This would protect New York harness racing's market share in the evenings and reduce OTB's obligations to the harness industry.

Or perhaps a consolidation of all OTB operations is necessary, using rapidly emerging new wagering technologies and ultimately shifting responsibility for off-track betting to the New York racing industry it should be supporting.

As these proposals are considered, we urge the Paterson administration and state lawmakers to take the long view.

How do we create a long-term future for off-track betting in New York that also supports the state's critically important harness racing, breeding and agriculture industries?'

That's the real $2 billion question.

Joe Faraldo is president of the Standardbred Owners Association of New York. He represents more than 1,000 harness horsemen in New York.