NYRA, horsemen's association agree on compensation for canceled March 30 card at Aqueduct

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - The New York Racing Association has agreed to a compensation package with the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association for the horsemen impacted by the cancellation of the March 30 Aqueduct card due to unhealthy noise levels stemming from an auto and bike show in a nearby parking lot.

The managing owner of each horse that would have raced will receive $2,500, while the trainer of each horse that would have raced will receive $1,000. There were 61 horses entered on the eight-race card. There were nine horses who were announced as scratched before the cancellation was announced. All eight races scheduled for the March 30 card were put back up as extras.

“Over the last week, NYRA has engaged in a productive dialogue with NYTHA to arrive at a reimbursement level designed to alleviate the impact of last Sunday’s incredibly unusual cancellation,” Andrew Offerman, NYRA senior vice president/racing operations said in a statement. “While the disruption to racing was certainly outside of NYRA’s control, we recognize the value of every racing opportunity and are pleased to support horsemen and women with these payments from the purse account.”

NYRA has said it was not notified by Resort World, the casino next door to the track, that an event was being held in the parking lot that is just outside the quarter pole of the track. The decision was made to cancel due to the loud noises, a combination of music and car engines, that could have affected horses during the running of a race.

Regarding the compensation package, NYTHA president Tina Bond said. “Our board voted this was going to be the minimum we would accept for this compensation package and that’s what we got.”

In addition to the compensation, NYRA will submit an application to the New York State Gaming Commission to add a day of racing in April. Presumably, that date will be April 23, a Wednesday that was scheduled as a dark day, according to Bond.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.