Horse Racing

Board approves plan for Integrated Circuit at Belmont


A New York State governing board has empowered the New York Racing Association to build a new, one-mile synthetic track at Belmont Parkprovides the fourth track at the Long Island facility.

The Franchise Oversight Board on March 15 also approved the NYRA’s plan to completely renovate Belmont’s inner turf, as well as build new dormitories with backs at both the Belmont and Saratoga racetracks. to house hundreds of workers.

Two track projects at Belmont are expected to be completed in spring 2024. Work on the track, aided by new vehicle tunnels to access the track’s inner courtyard, will begin. after Belmont’s spring and summer meeting in July.

The new synthetic track will be located inside the inner turf. In support of the master plan to eventually move all races down the state to Belmont, NYRA officials said the new synthetic track will use winter and spring-specific materials.

After the state oversight committee approved the NYRA’s capital budget, Glen Kozak, NYRA senior vice president of capital operations and projects, said in a statement that the racing consortium had been studying the development of synthetic racetrack surfaces. “It’s time to add this option to use in both training and racing,” he said.

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The NYRA recently completed the installation of Tapeta Footings synthetic surfaces at Belmont’s Pony Track, which Kozak said, despite being smaller in size than the proposed new track, provided “practical knowledge.” , invaluable in the art and science of properly curing synthetic surfaces.”

The renovated racetrack at Belmont Park features a synthetic Tapeta surface.
Photo: Courtesy of the New York Racing Association

Renovated horse track at Belmont Park with synthetic Tapeta surface

Kozak added that the new synthetic track will “increase horse safety, support field size in inclement weather, and provide cavalry with another year-round training option.” He told supervisory board members that the synthetic track could be used to switch the race from a grass track on rainy days and other bad weather could damage the turf.

Top NYRA officials appear each year before the supervisory board, a state government panel that has overseen the racing corporation’s finances for more than 15 years. The board, headed by Robert Williams, executive director of the New York State Gaming Commission, has broad legal powers over the racing industry in the state.

Kozak said Belmont will enter another half-dozen races in the United States with synthetic courses.

The two-hour session with lots of numbers, as in most meetings when the annual budget is presented by the NYRA, focuses primarily on capital expenditure plans – everything from barn renovations to buy a tractor.

NYRA Capital Budget 2023-2024 focuses on construction projects in Belmont and Racecourse Saratoga. The meeting came a day after the state’s Congress and Senate released separate plans for the state to lend the NYRA $455 million to rebuild Belmont Park; Senate and Governor Kathy Hochul, as well as NYRA, envision closures Aqueduct race track in the coming years after Belmont’s major capital program is completed—if the financial plan is approved as part of state budget discussions in the coming weeks.

The NYRA says its new supportive housing commitments build on a $40 million effort for new housing and other supportive facilities in Belmont and Saratoga.

NYRA President and CEO David O’Rourke said in a statement that the three-year housing plans will lead to more new housing than at any point in NYRA history, which he called part of “an unwavering commitment to the backing community in New York.”

In Belmont, the NYRA plans to build a new dormitory near existing dormitories one and two.

In Saratoga, the NYRA is looking to build a new, 68-bed residence next to a lowland area on the Oklahoma Training Track portion of the facility. Training track operations have expanded in recent years, and the NYRA says the new residence will bring more workers to work near it. The NYRA says the residence is scheduled to open in the summer of 2024.

The plan must be approved by the Saratoga Springs Conservation Foundation, although Kozak said the group has provided approval letters for that project. The proposal is part of efforts to modernize existing housing, and the NYRA says new dorms will be built in Saratoga in 2024 and 2025. Two additional resident facilities have been erected. plans for Saratoga, although discussions are still underway between the NYRA and local historic preservation officials about those facilities. project.

The NYRA budget also changed the entry price structure in Saratoga starting this summer, setting similar prices for tickets to the stands and clubhouse. Last year, the general entrance fee for the day was $7, while the same-day entrance fee for the grandstand was $10. In 2024, patrons will be charged $10, allowing them to enter the clubhouse or grandstand. (Entrance ticket will be $7 when purchased at least 24 hours in advance.)

O’Rourke told the supervisory board of the NYRA’s plan to allow patrons to move between the clubhouse and the grandstand area through the use of an admission rack.

The NYRA capital plan approved Wednesday includes the refurbishment of the grandstand and clubhouse areas at Saratoga, including new concessions and mutuel bay and the renovation of the Jim Dandy Bar.

Other NYRA capital plans in Saratoga that were approved Wednesday include the construction of a new saddle stall to replace a makeshift tent currently used for saddles, additional units to be opened at “Spa Verandas” and a new hotel complex near Wilson Chute. The NYRA is also planning to begin restoration work on what is known as the Resident Manager’s House on Union Avenue; it has not been used as a residence for many years and Saratoga considers it a source of revenue as a bed and breakfast, hotel center or some other use.

In Belmont, NYRA also plans to upgrade the barn and quarantine barn, upgrade the fire alarm system in the barn area, and connect Wi-Fi throughout the logistics area.

The massive $455 million Belmont reconstruction plan was mentioned shortly. Its fate depends on government officials with more noble titles than the franchise supervisory board; Hochul, the Democratic governor, and the Democrats who control the state’s Congress and Senate will decide as part of the state’s 2023 budget process on whether that project should continue. .

The state budget is expected to be passed before the start of the new fiscal year on April 1, but the relationship between the Legislature and Hochul has been strained and therefore a timely budget is unlikely. sure.

In its new capital plan, the NYRA is proposing a number of hotel and other projects in the Belmont backyard. But Kozak said those are “placeholder” plans that won’t go ahead if the Belmont renovation is larger — including razing the existing 1.3 million square foot stand and replacing it with a new facility. modern, smaller — approved by Hochul and the Legislature.

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