The New York Racing Association would rely on state-backed bonds to help fund the redevelopment of Belmont Park, which would include a new, smaller building, a renovation of the three current racing surfaces and the potential for the installation of a synthetic surface that will allow it to consolidate downstate racing at one facility. With NYRA’s franchise due to expire in 2033, company representatives told state legislators Wednesday that while it would use money from capital improvement funds - most of which is derived from VLT revenue at the Aqueduct racino - it would also need state-backed bonds to go ahead with major renovations to Belmont. “We are going to fund the redevelopment of Belmont,” said Jeff Cannizzo, NYRA’s senior director of government affairs. “In order to do that, we need the state’s backing of bonds because it will go past 30 years, which is past the franchise of NYRA. “We’ve been in dialogue for over a year with the appropriate agencies and the governor’s office and everyone in between, all the way down to the communities on how we can go forward. Once we receive that backing to utilize our own capital funds over the course of the next 30 years, we can completely redo Belmont Park.” Dave O’Rourke, NYRA's CEO and president, said a redevelopment of Belmont Park would include a “much smaller” building. :: Join DRF Bets and play the races with a $250 First Deposit Bonus. Click to learn more. Belmont Park “was built for a different era in racing,” O’Rourke said. “It’s literally just too big. What we would like to create is more park at Belmont Park.” Cannizzo and O’Rourke, the latter via Zoom, spoke at a hearing held by the State Assembly Standing Committee on Racing and Wagering to examine New York’s horse racing industry and the businesses that support it. Representatives of Thoroughbred and Standardbred interests, and those involved with Thoroughbred aftercare, all spoke at the 3 1/2-hour hearing held in Albany. O’Rourke said that by creating more green space at Belmont, it will enable NYRA to perhaps get involved with joint projects with the recently opened UBS Arena, built in Belmont Park’s backyard, which is the new home for the New York Islanders as well as concerts, college basketball, and wrestling events. O’Rourke believes NYRA’s plans offer “a multitude of opportunities to create synergistic entertainment and food and beverage offerings to allow concertgoers to catch a few races before they head off to the main event,” he said. The actual size and scope of a new Belmont building was not made clear at Wednesday’s hearing. NYRA’s board of directors is scheduled to meet on Dec. 16 at which time plans are expected to be discussed. Regardless of the size of the new building, Cannizzo said that a renovation of Belmont’s 1 1/2-mile main track and its two turf courses must go forward. Toward that end, NYRA is seeking approval to build a tunnel that would allow it to move construction vehicles into the infield to start those renovations. Ultimately, the infield could be utilized by fans. The addition of a synthetic surface would allow Belmont to conduct racing on a year-round basis, moving out of Aqueduct and allowing the state to seek economic opportunities for that property in Queens. The construction of a synthetic track was met with consternation by Assemblyman Gary Pretlow, the chair of this committee, who believes artificial surfaces are “dangerous or hazardous to horses.” Mick Peterson, executive director of the Racing Surfaces and Testing Laboratory, testified while synthetic surfaces reduce catastrophic injuries “what we don’t know is if it extends the career of the horse,” he said. “Our goal has to be to keep the horses sound and even prepare them to go into a second career. We have a lot we don’t understand at this point.” :: Get Daily Racing Form Past Performances – the exclusive home of Beyer Speed Figures.  O’Rourke and Cannizzo also spoke about the prospects of marrying mobile sports wagering - expected to come on line in New York in early 2022 - and racing. NYRA wants its NYRA Bets advance deposit wagering on the same platform as mobile sports wagering. NYRA also wants to offer fixed-odds wagering and supports a bill introduced by State Sen. Joseph Addabo, that by allowing NYRA Bets to be alongside mobile sports wagering, would allow for fixed-odds to be offered on horse racing. “If our strategy, which it is, is to introduce our product to the casual sports fan that’s used to sports wagering, proposition bets; fixed odds would help that transition as an entry product,” said O’Rourke. “We believe these can live side by side.” Wednesday’s hearing came three weeks after a bill was introduced in the Senate that would redirect approximately $230 million in annual revenue from slot machines that go to the racing industry and redirect it to schools and social programs. Representatives from the Thoroughbred and Standardbred industry testified that the loss of that money would be devastating to a racing industry that is responsible for 19,000 jobs and has an annual $3 billion economic impact in the state. Thoroughbred aftercare was also a topic discussed at the hearing, with Susan Kayne, president of Unbridled Thoroughbred Foundation, and trainer Rick Schosberg, president of Take2/Take the Lead Thoroughbred Retirement program, testifying that aftercare provides economic impact to the state as well. “That’s commerce, that’s jobs, that help facilitate and rehabilitate these racehorses that come off the racetrack,” Schosberg said.