Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced Friday he will name his choice for the license to operate the state's horse racing franchise at Aqueduct and two other tracks no later than Sept. 4 - and he may decide to pick more than one suitor.
The license, currently held by the New York Racing Association, expires at the end of the year and includes the rights to operate racing at Aqueduct Race Track in Ozone Park and Belmont Park in Elmont, L.I. The third track comprising the franchise is Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs upstate near the Adirondack Park.Although four bidders - NYRA, Excelsior Racing Associates, Empire Racing Associates and Capital Play Inc. - submitted proposals in April to a racing panel formed by Spitzer, the governor is allowing the potential suitors to update their bids or confirm there are no changes to their plans "because there have been significant changes in the structure, ownership and organization of some of the proposed operators," Spitzer said.
For instance, Excelsior was backed by the family of New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and headed by his son-in-law, Steve Swindal, but they left the group in April after Swindal's wife filed for divorce.
More recently, Capital Play added Connecticut casino Mohegan Sun to its group this month.
Spitzer may decide to pick one of the bidders to operate the racing component of the tracks while choosing another to control the gaming aspect, according to a statement released by his office Friday.
Aqueduct is slated to have video lottery terminals, gambling devices similar to slot machines, installed at the track after state law was amended in 2001 to allow the machines. Spitzer and the state Legislature would need to sign off on the VLTs for Belmont.
The bidders are being asked to say whether they are interested in controlling both gambling and racing at the tracks. They may also decide to seek a joint arrangement under which one suitor partners with another and one handles gambling and the other racing, according to the statement.
After Spitzer makes his recommendation on which suitor should win the bid, his choice would then be sent to the state Legislature, which would have to approve the governor's decision.
Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 173.
