Harness: Profile of Yonkers Director of Racing Alex Dadoyan

What kind of car do you drive?

For most of my harness racing life, my car was a 2001 Honda Prelude. I had the car for 17 years and I just loved it. Unfortunately, all things must come to an end and I switched to an Accord a couple of years ago.

Favorite dinner meal? Snack?

Good sushi tops anything else for dinner. For snacks, I loved sour cream and onion chips as a guilty pleasure but I just stopped eating dairy so those have been eliminated. Not sure where to turn to next.

Outside of Yonkers, what is your favorite track to visit?

The old Meadowlands was the greatest track for everything. For simulcasting, live racing, seeing people and horses in the front paddock, the back paddock, the winner’s circle. It was a perfectly constructed facility. Today I enjoy occasional trips to Pocono Downs.

What is your favorite event in racing?

The $1 million MGM Yonkers International Trot.

How often is racing on your mind?

Now that I’m back working at the racetrack, it’s constant.

What is your favorite thing to do outside of racing?

My wife and I like to travel when possible. It’s always fun to see new places or revisit old favorites.

What is your favorite sport? Team?

Baseball is number one for me. I grew up a diehard Yankees fan. I actually got to meet George Steinbrenner my first year at the Meadowlands when he had a horse Rod’s Deal who would end up racing in the Meadowlands Pace; that was a huge thrill. I lived and breathed Yankees through the 80s and 90s. But as I got older, I gravitated away from some players and more towards others, regardless of their team uniform.

What is one thing about you most fans/bettors don’t know?

I won a $10,000 seat in the World Series of Poker Main Event in 2004, the last year it was held at Binion’s. Online poker was huge then and I won a satellite on Poker Stars late Saturday night after the races at Meadowlands. I had an amazing day one but got knocked out on day three.

What is one word that describes harness racing for you?

Exciting.

How did you get started in the sport?

I grew up ten minutes from the Meadowlands and went one day as a kid and just loved all of it. Loved the names, loved the place, loved the characters and loved trying to figure out the handicapping puzzle.

What was your favorite moment in harness racing?

I’d have to say Muscle Hill’s 2009 Hambletonian victory. I had become good friends with driver Brian Sears after he came to the Meadowlands and that year we’d spend a lot of time together after the races. There was such anticipation for Muscle Hill’s Hambo. I was so nervous myself just hoping everything would turn out ok and it really was an amazing day. A great horse, a great event, and just an unforgettable moment.

You’ve seen racing all over the world, is there an event still on your bucket list?

I would love to see a big race in Asia. My wife and I have been trying to plan a trip to Japan for some point in the not too distant future so maybe the Japan Cup.

Do you think there is any event in the U.S. that compares to the Prix d’Amerique or Elitloppet?

Certainly on the thoroughbred side with big races at Keeneland or Del Mar and of course the Triple Crown races, but not in harness racing.

If not, is it impossible to make that happen here?

The Hambletonians that used to be held at the old Meadowlands were close. They had huge crowds, pageantry, big excitement, and buzz. I’d like to think that could return at some time somewhere.

You took over as Director of Racing at Yonkers a few months ago. How’s it going so far?

It’s been some ups and downs. It has been a lot harder than I anticipated to get some things changed.

With the start of 2020 came a shift in post time from 6:50 P.M. to 7:05 P.M., why?

When you’re the big track on the calendar, like the Meadowlands on weekends and Woodbine Mohawk all nights nowadays, you go when you want to go and people find you and other tracks follow you. So Yonkers has to get slotted into spots to follow others.

What other changes are you planning at Yonkers?

There were some immediate changes I wanted to make, like allowing for carryovers in the pick 4s and superfectas and lowering the takeout on several wagers since that’s something Yonkers had never done. However, I hadn’t fully appreciated the regulations in New York that sort of limit the flexibility in these areas, so these will take some time. I’m working on trying to get approval on some nine-horse fields but that hasn’t happened yet. The production graphics are changing away from the green to the MGM black and gold with a full HD signal. And a split screen has finally been added.

Yonkers recently announced a stakes schedule that didn’t include the $300,000 Art Rooney. Why? Will this stakes purse money be reassigned?

You didn’t read all the commentary about it on social media? I’m sure everyone on Facebook is very well informed on this and all other racing matters really. Look, the bottom line is it’s a race that was not supported very well in recent years. There was a lot of money added for a race that did not have many entrants. Why do you have to continue something like that? People always say you need to change things, and then when you change something based on statistics and reason, people are outraged there was change. It’s comical really. Yonkers raced for more than $11 million in stakes races last year and nearly $50 million in overnights. Removing a race that represents a half a percent of that total has people crying that the sky is falling.

You have the distinction of having worked for both archrivals Joe Faraldo and Jeff Gural. Is there any chance that relationship could ever be repaired?

There is zero chance of that happening. It’s a shame harness racing isn’t far more popular with the general public, I could have quite the book deal with the stories I could tell about working for both men.

You played a large role in overseas commingling of pools. Do you foresee more of this in the future?

Yes and no. It’s inevitable that a huge region like Australia that is already wagering on tons of US content will eventually have that commingled. But the bigger part of that future is the fixed odds wagering which is a larger share of the pie each year. I was in Sydney, Australia a few years ago and I walked into a betting shop and placed fixed odds bets on races from Meadowlands and Yonkers. It was so cool. We’re just not used to that in the States yet but it’s a part of so many other regions and it will be coming here too sooner than later.

Could creating larger pools via commingling be the missing link for the sport?

No question bigger pools are needed. Money attracts more money and growing the pools should be everyone’s goal. But we can’t ignore how unattractive the current system is in America with price uncertainty and late odds changes. With the spread of legal sports wagering throughout America, we can’t pretend that having someone guess what their final odds are going to be on their horse is a viable product, particularly for tracks with smaller pools. So I would argue the missing link is fixed odds wagering supporting straight wagering and large commingled pools making exotic and super-exotic bets viable as well.

If you had the power to change one thing in the sport, what would it be?

Eliminate the negativity.

How do you view the future of harness racing?

It’s a challenging future no doubt. It’s a fight for relevance and importance, both in the gambling/entertainment space as well as the political world.

Has your career in the sport progressed as you expected?

I can’t say I ever had any expectations. I never really thought I’d be in racing for very long. I got some overpriced degrees having nothing to do with harness racing and when I graduated law school, I figured I’d eventually have to give the legal career a shot. But at every point along the way a different path came about in racing culminating with the move to the MGM family this year. MGM had no involvement in racing whatsoever prior to last year so that was completely unexpected, but a great opportunity I’m very excited about.

Time for the stretch drive. What’s the first thing that comes to your mind?

Best Horse Ever: I was so fortunate to see so many great horses in person at the Meadowlands, I can’t just pick one. But going with the ones that had a most memorable performance in victory (or defeat), for pacers Jenna’s Beach Boy & Somebeachsomewhere and for trotters Varenne & Muscle Hill.

Best Trainer: Brett Pelling

Best Driver: Brian Sears

Lasix – Yes or No?: Yes, but I understand the other side

Best bet in the sport: Pick 4