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Renovations Ahead For Oklahoma Training Track, Patron Area At Saratoga

The Oklahoma Training Track at Saratoga could be getting a much-needed rework this year, according to reports presented by NYRA officials at a meeting of the Franchise Oversight Board on Monday. The board gave its approval to NYRA's budget for 2021 and anticipated maintenance projects, including the updating of the Oklahoma.

According to NYRA, the training track hasn't had significant work done on it since the 1960s. Investigation by the association after the close of training in 2020 found there were spots in the track's sand base that were inconsistent. The horsemen voiced approval for a plan to take up the entire track cushion and replace the base with a limestone material similar to that on the main track. The railing will also be replaced with a safety rail and the track will be widened 10 to 12 feet through the stretch and backstretch. Officials also hope to improve the pitch and elevations throughout the track surface. In one spot there's as much as a three foot difference between the 3/4 pole and 7/8 pole, which was put in to direct water drainage. One challenge to this process will likely be the pine trees that border the backstretch, as their proximity and root systems could make them barriers to the update process. The association is in touch with a landscape architect to determine the best resolution.

Saratoga could also see an upgrade to the popular Post Bar, next to the walking ring and the Shake Shack. The area, which is currently covered by a tent, could be replaced by a two-story structure with a permanent enclosed structure ideal for group sales. A deck on top of the structure would offer a unique view of the paddock, and NYRA officials said they're hopeful the removal of the tent could improve visibility/available space to some general admission patrons.

Monday's meeting also included a financial report from NYRA, highlighted by improved figures for its NYRA Bets platform in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The shift from in-person wagering to online only created an increase in activity for all ADW companies and NYRA CEO/president David O'Rourke estimated NYRA Bets is “about in the middle of the pack in terms of growth, which is good.”

O'Rourke guessed that about 60 percent of new wagering activity to the NYRA Bets platform was coming from existing customers who just didn't have an account before. The remainder however, he attributes to casual sports fans who had not previously spent much wagering on horse racing but began doing so while racing had extra coverage from FOX Sports and NBC in the spring and summer when other sports were halted. He also said those customers seem to have stuck around from summer to the Breeders' Cup, when other live sports had resumed.

For 2021, NYRA does not anticipate having fans on-site through at least spring and made its budgets based on a 25% attendance reduction for the Belmont Stakes and a 12% reduction at Saratoga to allow for social distancing.

Based on the increased activity from NYRA Bets, the association predicts an increase of $1.1 million in net income for 2021 over its 2019 net income. A reduction in operating expenses, both from not having fans on-site as well as corporate restructuring is the other factor in the predicted increase.

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Fed Biz Sold To Highfield Stock Farm In Alberta

Multiple Grade 2 winner Fed Biz has been sold to stand at Highfield Stock Farm in Calgary, Alberta, Canada for an advertised fee of $4,000 Canadian, BloodHorse reports.

The 12-year-old son of Giant's Causeway previously stood at WinStar Farm in Kentucky, where he entered stud in 2015. His oldest runners are 5-year-olds of 2021.

Fed Biz has sired 124 winners, with combined progeny earnings in excess of $7.3 million. His most notable runner to date is Inthemidstofbiz, who established herself in the national scene with a victory in the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes at Keeneland.

Bred in Kentucky by Colts Neck Stables, Fed Biz is out of the stakes-winning Wild Again mare Spunoutacontrol. He's a half-brother to stakes winner Spun Silk, who is the dam of Grade 1 winner Joking. Notable stallions Pulpit, Johannesburg, and Tale of the Cat are in his extended family.

Fed Biz won six of 19 starts for earnings of $770,496, highlighted by victories in the G2 Pat O'Brien Stakes, San Fernando Stakes, and San Diego Handicap.

NJ Horsemen Settle With Sports Leagues for $3.4M, Far Below Sought-After $150M

The years-long bid by New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (NJTHA) to seek $150 million in alleged damages from the four major team sports leagues and the college sports regulatory body (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and NCAA) ended Jan. 11 with a far lesser settlement approved by a federal judge, who wrote that the case has been “amicably resolved” among the parties.

According to the three-page “stipulation and order” signed Monday by United States District Court (New Jersey) Chief Judge Freda Wolfson, in exchange for ending its legal pursuit for more money, the NJTHA will be entitled to collect on a $3.4-million escrow bond posted by the leagues back in 2014 when the leagues first tried to block Monmouth Park’s initial attempt at getting sports betting up and running.

That was four years before the May 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down the federal law that had prohibited sports betting in all but a few grandfathered states.

Soon after that 2018 Supreme Court ruling, the NJTHA-run Monmouth opened for legalized sports betting. But the NJTHA continued to chase after the money that had been placed in escrow back in 2014 to cover a one-month period when the case was first being adjudicated.

That pursuit for damages above the bond amount seemed to be emboldened when a September 2019 decision by a U.S. Court of Appeals (Third Circuit) panel of judges ruled that because Monmouth had initially been unlawfully subjected to a no-sports-betting injunction for 28 days in 2014, it had been “wrongfully enjoined” because it “had a right all along to do what was enjoined when the leagues first tried to block sports betting.”

The NJTHA then claimed in court filings that it was entitled to damages of $150 million, far higher than the amount that had been escrowed. The association’s argument was that it got wrongfully shut out of sports betting for four years, not the original four weeks that the escrow period covered.

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France Galop to Redistribute Purses for Some 2020 Races

All races in France since May 11, 2020 which carried a reduced purse due to the COVID-19 pandemic will receive part of their original prizemoney back in the second half of January, France Galop announced on Monday. At the end of 2020, France Galop’s funding budget was €185 million instead of €248 million, a 25% decrease due to the two-month period racing ceased in France during the first French lockdown. In August, the France Galop Board of Directors determined that a positive funding result-if there was one–at the end of the year should be redistributed in the form of incentives to partially compensate for the decrease applied from May 11. The expected amount of excess funding is supposed to be greater than €8 million, but France Galop and the PMU are still confirming the amount. The prize money that will be available for each race will increase exactly the same amount in any race, with premiums to owners and breeders also increased. The annual closing of the professional accounts is scheduled for Jan. 12 and then France Galop must proceed to invalidate more than 3200 races before recalculating the allowance and bonuses on all of the affected events. This revaluation of all race winnings will replace the annual revaluation of the owner premium. For more information, please visit www.france-galop.com.

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