According to a report, Empire Resorts executives have said that a proposed bailout plan for the bankrupt New York City Off-Track Betting would lead to layoffs at
state racetracks and annually cost horsemen and Monticello Raceway a combined loss of $2 million.
An article by the Times Herald-Record explains that part of a proposed plan by the Governor and State Assembly would see a percentage of payments the NYCOTB makes to the racing industry waived for one year.
Empire Resorts' senior vice president in charge of governmental affairs, Charlie Degliomini, has been cited as saying that the proposed plan does not address the $5 million which is currently owed to the company. Empire Resorts operates Monticello Raceway.
Racinos at Monticello and Yonkers Raceway would be hurt the most by the proposed plan because they receive a greater percentage from the NYCOTB than other racinos do.
"Obviously, it is something that is out of our control," horseman Bruce Aldrich, Jr. was quoted as saying. "The people around the barn are concerned about not knowing what is going on."
(With files from Times Herald-Record)