New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association | Horse Racing Free Tips

Interactive Map Showcases Horse Racing’s Economic Impact Across New York

Edited Press Release

We Are NY Horse Racing, a coalition of small businesses, labor unions, non-profits, and trade associations aligned to amplify the sport of horse racing's importance to the New York State economy, has released an interactive map visualizing the scope of horse racing's statewide economic impact. In addition to New York's 11 Thoroughbred and harness tracks, this new map displays 249 farms and businesses connected to the sport of horse racing.

“This new map clearly shows that upstate and downstate, New York is horse racing country through and through,” said Jack Sterne, We Are NY Horse Racing spokesperson. “Horse racing is at the core of hundreds of businesses across the state and is responsible for the livelihoods of thousands of New York families. As we head into the final stretch of budget negotiations, this map will help lawmakers understand that supporting a new Belmont is supporting their constituents–no matter what district they represent.”

According to an independent economic analysis previously released by We Are NY Horse Racing, the project to modernize Belmont Park would generate $1 billion in one-time construction-related economic impact and create 3,700 construction jobs. After the new Belmont Park is built, it will produce $155 million in new annual recurring economic output, sustain 740 new full-time jobs, and generate $10 million in new state and local taxes per year.

“Horse racing supports businesses large and small across the Empire State–from the nearly 100 trainers at Belmont that each employ dozens of New Yorkers, to those who transport horses, to the businesses that supply our sport,” said Joseph Appelbaum, President of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association. “As this map shows, building a new Belmont Park will boost local economies and help create good jobs in every corner of the state.”

The Belmont modernization project was included in Governor Kathy Hochul's Executive Budget Proposal as well as both the Senate and Assembly's One House budget resolutions.

“It's clear that the sport of horse racing is an economic force in New York State as strong as any Thoroughbred horse that races on our tracks,” said Najja Thompson, Executive Director of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders. “This sport sustains thousands of jobs for hardworking New Yorkers and a new Belmont Park would help keep New York's horse racing ecosystem strong and protect good jobs across the state.”

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Inaugural Big Data Derby Winner Announced

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) and the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NYTHA) announced that a team led by Brendan Kumagai has been selected as the winner of the inaugural Big Data Derby competition, beating out 105 other submissions for first prize. Kumagai, together with Gurashish Bagga, Kimberly Kroetch, Tyrel Stokes, and Liam Welsh, took the $20,000 first prize with the submission, “Bayesian Velocity Models for Horse Race Simulation.”

Kumagai's team created a dynamic model that focused on horses' forward versus lateral speed and examined the results of sustained momentum and velocity within races. The team also studied jockey performance and how that would impact a horse's running style in addition to biometric data, leading to the possibility of calculating a horse's welfare and injury probability.

“We're honored to be named the winners of the inaugural Big Data Derby competition,” Kumagai said. “Our team primarily works in financial analytics and hockey statistics, so working with horse racing data has been a unique challenge which allowed us to apply our skills to a relatively new and unexplored domain.”

The Big Data Derby was launched with the goal of analyzing the vast amounts of data available to racing organizations, and to understand how the results of those studies could impact traditional methods of racing and training. The competition was sponsored NYRA and the NYTHA in partnership with the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, Equibase, The Jockey Club, Breeders' Cup and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA).

Other models in the competition shed light on injury prevention, jockey decision making metrics, race tactics, track bias and more. Kumagai, a Data Science intern at Zelus Analytics, was previously part of a team that won the 2022 Big Data Bowl offered by the National Football League. The competition was judged by data analyst Rob Bingel, Rhodes College Economics Professor, horseplayer and thoroughbred owner Marshall Gramm, and Craig Milkowski of TimeformUS.

An open notebook of user-created content and data can be viewed at: https://www.kaggle.com/competitions/big-data-derby-2022/code.

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NYTHA Hires Marie Kizenko as Communications Manager

Marie Kizenko has joined the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association team as communications manager. A racing industry veteran, Kizenko served as a senior editor for 14 years at the Thoroughbred Daily News before working as a freelance writer and communications consultant. She returned to racing on a full-time basis in 2019 and most recently served as stakes coordinator for the Maryland Jockey Club.

“This is a fascinating time for the racing industry in New York,” Kizenko said. “NYTHA's core missions of benevolence, equine welfare, and safeguarding the interests of its members are vital to me. I have been involved in many facets of racing, and am thrilled to have this opportunity to ensure its future growth.”

“We are very excited to have Marie join us here at NYTHA,” NYTHA President Joe Appelbaum said. “Her industry knowledge is well-rounded, and she is able to offer a unique perspective as someone who has worked in journalism and publicity as well as a racing office.”

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NYRA, NYTHA and NYTB to Host Saratoga Aftercare Day

The New York Racing Association, New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and the New York Thoroughbred Breeders will host the second annual New York Thoroughbred Aftercare Day at Saratoga Race Course July 21. The day will include a variety of events and demonstrations to highlight the work of the New York State aftercare community.

The featured race will be the $125,000 Rick Violette, a 1 1/16-mile turf test for New York-bred sophomores named for the late trainer and NYTHA President who spearheaded the creation of the TAKE2 Second Career Thoroughbred Program and TAKE THE LEAD Retirement Program.

Violette was a founding member of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA), the non-profit organization that accredits, inspects, and awards grants to approved aftercare organizations to retire, retrain, and rehome Thoroughbreds. Based in Lexington, the TAA is supported by owners, trainers, breeders, racetracks, aftercare professionals, and other industry members

Representatives from TAA-accredited aftercare organizations will be on-site at Saratoga to educate racing fans about the importance of responsible aftercare efforts, including New Vocations, ReRun, Akindale Thoroughbred Rescue, Lucky Orphans, ACTT Naturally, Old Friends at Cabin Creek, Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and Therapeutic Horses of Saratoga.

Fans can visit the Community Booth behind the jockeys' quarters to learn more about the participating organizations.

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