New York relaxes rules for coupled entries

The New York State Gaming Commission on Monday unanimously adopted two rules supported by the New York Racing Association that are designed to increase wagering on races with horses that share ownership.

The first rule will allow stewards to uncouple horses with shared ownership in stakes races of $50,000 or more. Prior to the rule passing, horses with shared ownership could only be uncoupled in stakes races of $1 million or more.

The second rule passed Monday will allow racetracks to offer superfecta wagering in races with coupled interests. Previously, New York racetracks could not offer superfectas in any race with a coupled entry, regardless of the size of the field.

Both rules, which will go into effect at the start of the Saratoga meeting July 24, are now aligned with model rules recommended by the Association of Racing Commissioners International, an umbrella group of state racing commissions. The rules had been approved for public comment in a meeting in late April, and since being posted for public comment, the commission received only one response, from NYRA, which wrote in support of the changes, commission officials said.

Wagering restrictions on races with coupled entries have been relaxed in racing jurisdictions across the U.S. over the past decade as regulators began to warm to industry arguments that the lure of large purses generally served as a disincentive for owners to seek to use one part of the entry to benefit the other. Racetracks also have supported less restrictive rules because uncoupling entries typically leads to higher handle on races.

The rule that had barred superfecta wagering in races with coupled entries had most prominently affected a race at NYRA’s Belmont Park during its Belmont Stakes card June 6. On that card, a race with 10 betting interests, the $400,000 Brooklyn Invitational, did not offer a superfecta because of a coupled entry. The superfecta for the following race, with a 12-horse field, had a superfecta pool of $474,571.

In published comments in support of the superfecta rule, the gambling commission cited competition from racetracks in other states where superfecta wagering is allowed on races with coupled entries. “New York Thoroughbred racetrack operators and those who prefer to wager on New York racing should have the enhanced opportunities to offer or wager on New York superfecta races,” the commission wrote.

In separate comments describing the rule change regarding coupled entries in stakes races, the gambling commission said the change “would result in increased revenues for Thoroughbred racetracks in New York and generate more revenue for state and local government.” The commission also wrote that the panel had considered eliminating the rule for coupled entries in all races but had “concluded that it would be prudent to take an intermediate first step before considering a complete elimination of this rule.”

Also at the meeting, the gambling commission announced that it will hold a forum to discuss the race-day use of the regulated anti-bleeding medication Lasix on Aug. 25 at Empire State College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.