The press release yesterday of New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli saying the New York Racing Association was “on shaky ground” generated wide press coverage today, which presumably was its intent

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DiNapoli accused NYRA of operating “business as usual” in time of crisis, and said he was sending state auditors to begin real time auditing of NYRA’s books.

DiNapoli predicted that unless New York got moving quickly on a racino at Aqueduct, NYRA would run out of money and go bust by early June of next year.

He accused NYRA of continue spending more than it was taking in this year, instead of restructuring its operation, saying that since emerging from bankruptcy its overall payroll costs increased by $1.9 million to $69.2 million, and said that seven staff executives make between $255,000 and $460,000 a year.

He said NYRA spent more than $6 million on contracts for personal and miscellaneous services, “without justifying the need for or price of these contracts,” and he criticized the expenditure of $900,000 to transport horses between tracks, implying that it should either charge a fee for the service or discontinue it.

He promised that his auditors would be on-site in the near future, and would “routinely issue reports on NYRA’s real-time fiscal condition.”

NYRA, responding, said its expenses were below those projected in its bankruptcy reorganization.

(Harness Tracks of America)