American Racing and Entertainment, which runs Tioga Downs and Vernon Downs in Upstate New York, proudly announced today that total contributions to charities in 2012 reached in excess of $700,000.
A few of the highlights for charitable donations in 2012 included concerts at both properties where all ticket proceeds benefited local Veterans groups around the area. Tioga Downs was able to raise more than $39,000 for Veterans in the local area from the Oak Ridge Boys concert proceeds, while Vernon Downs raised more than $36,000 from their America Concert.
Tioga Downs, Vernon Downs, and Jeff Gural, Chairman of American Racing and Entertainment together donated $200,000 to aid in the Hurricane Sandy relief effort in New York and New Jersey.
Jeff Gural, Chairman of American Racing and Entertainment also donated 2,300 tickets to the Bruce Springsteen concert held at Vernon Downs in August to the USO. The tickets, which were valued at over $200,000, were distributed to soldiers at Fort Drum in the New York National Guard and Coast Guard. The donation was the largest, personal one-time donation to the USO in the last 15 years.
“Giving back to the surrounding communities is one of our main focuses for Tioga Downs and Vernon Downs. We host benefit concerts every year to support our Veterans, which I believe are often unappreciated for their efforts to all of us Americans. I am also proud of our customers, employees, and our company for being able to help raise $100,000 per property to aid in the Hurricane Sandy relief effort and help those families impacted by the destruction” said Jeff Gural, Chairman of American Racing and Entertainment.