NYRA trustee resigns position

A member of the New York Racing Association's board of trustees, Wayne Barr, resigned his position on the board last week because of his business relationship with a principal in a group that intends to bid on NYRA's franchise.

Barr is the president of Capital and Technology Advisers, a New York-based consulting company. He co-founded the company with Jared Abbruzzese Sr., who is a principal in Empire Racing Associates. Empire was launched earlier this year in order to raise money to lobby for changes to New York's racing law and bid on NYRA's franchise.

Barr said Thursday that he voluntarily resigned to eliminate any appearance of a conflict of interest. He said he had not decided yet whether he would invest in Empire, which is currently soliciting contributions from trainers and owners.