New York Senate, General Assembly endorse loans to remodel Belmont Park
Majority leadership of both legislative houses of the New York government released proposed budget resolutions on Tuesday that include endorsements for a plan to loan the New York Racing Association hundreds of millions of dollars so that the association can remodel Belmont Park.
The support of the Senate and General Assembly for the plan is a strong indicator that the loan will be included in this year’s budget. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul included the plan in her own proposed budget released last month. By law, the legislature must pass a budget by April 1.
NYRA officials welcomed the inclusion of the proposal in the resolutions on Tuesday. The association has been lobbying for the plan for several years, which they contend is necessary to compete with sports and entertainment facilities that have more modern amenities.
“Horse racing means jobs and opportunities for thousands of New York families in every corner of the state,” said Patrick McKenna, the vice president of communications for NYRA. “That’s what a new Belmont Park is all about, and we’ll continue working with leaders in Albany to get this project across the finish line.”
The budget resolutions were released one day after a lobbying group called We Are New York Horse Racing held a rally on the capitol steps in Albany to support the plan. The coalition includes representatives of local government, labor groups, and New York racing constituencies.
Under the plan, NYRA would pay back the loan over a period of several decades, using money it receives from a casino located next to Aqueduct, a racetrack in Queens. The state, which holds the deeds to NYRA’s tracks, would be free to develop or sell Aqueduct when the Belmont project is complete.
The renovation of Belmont, which would include tearing down and rebuilding the current grandstand, is expected to take several years to complete. After the project is finished, downstate racing would be consolidated at Belmont.
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