Del Giudice retires as NYRA chairman, will be replaced by Holliday

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Michael Del Giudice is retiring from his role as chairman of the New York Racing Association’s Board of Directors and will be replaced by Marc Holliday, the company announced in a press release Wednesday.

Holliday, 55, was appointed by the board’s executive committee to serve as an interim chairman before a full meeting of the NYRA board on Dec. 16 at which time it is expected the interim tag will be removed and Holliday will be voted the new chairman.

Holliday, a Thoroughbred owner who races under the banner Blue Devil Racing and campaigned the Grade 1 winner Come Dancing, joined the NYRA board in 2014. He has served as the chairman of NYRA’s Equine Safety Committee since 2015. Holliday is the chairman and CEO of SL Green Reality Corp., which is New York City’s largest owner of office properties.

Del Giudice, 78, joined the NYRA board in 2003 and in 2015 replaced Anthony Bonomo as the chair of what was then NYRA’s Reorganization Board of Directors following a state takeover of the company. Bonomo, who held the title for only two months, stepped down after his medical malpractice insurance company was linked to a scandal involving then state Senate Leader Dean Skelos.

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In 2017, when majority control of NYRA’s Board of Directors was returned back to the organization, Del Giudice took over as NYRA’s board chairman. Under Del Giudice, NYRA improved its financial footing and completed a number of significant capital improvement to modernize racing, training and backstretch facilities at the company’s three tracks – Aqueduct, Belmont Park, and Saratoga.

The retirement of Del Giudice and elevation of Holliday leaves one spot open on the NYRA board that will be filled at a later date.