New York bidder disqualified

A committee evaluating the bids for the franchise held by the New York Racing Association disqualified one of the four bidders at a meeting on Thursday, a spokesman for the committee said.

The Ad Hoc Committee on the Future of Racing voted unanimously to disqualify the bid of Capital Play Pty Ltd., an Australian bookmaking company, because the company did not comply with a requirement to post a $1 million bond with its bid, according to Scott Reif, the spokesman.

The groups whose bids are still being evaluated are those of NYRA, Empire Racing Associates, and Excelsior Racing Associates. Both Empire and Excelsior are partnerships that include a number of diverse companies and businessmen.

Reif said that the committee has scheduled its next meeting for Wednesday.