New York Racing Association

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) announced Friday that it is collaborating with Quest Diagnostics to provide COVID-19 testing this Saturday and Sunday at Belmont Park, where a limited number of spectators will return to the track for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Quest Diagnostics Mobile Testing Unit will offer COVID-19 antigen tests, which return a result within 30 minutes. On both Saturday and Sunday, tests will be offered to spectators for $30. The Quest Diagnostics Mobile Testing Unit will be located near...

The New York Racing Association (NYRA) has announced a collaboration with the New York Institute of Technology's Center for Sports Medicine that establishes the CSM as the official concussion management team for NYRA. The CSM will play a leading role in continuing to develop concussion protocols for jockeys at Belmont, Saratoga and Aqueduct. "NYRA clearly prioritizes the health and safety of the world class athletes riding at their racetracks," said Hallie Zwibel, D.O., medical director and director of the Center for Sports Medicine at New York Institute of Technology. "This...

Edited press release The 2021 Aqueduct winter meet, which ran from December 10, 2020 through March 28, 2021, generated all-sources handle of $349,962,356 a 4.3 percent increase over the 2018-19 winter meet, The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) announced Tuesday. Originally scheduled for 56 days of live racing, adverse weather conditions forced the cancellation of four cards during the 2021 winter meet. NYRA subsequently added two live race days to account for the cancellations, resulting in a 54-day meet. Average daily handle over the 54 days of live racing...

Edited Press Release FOX Sports and the New York Racing Association, Inc. have announced an expanded partnership agreement that establishes FOX Sports as the official wagering partner of NYRA Bets and the leading media provider for elite Thoroughbred racing through the next decade. The prior FOX Sports/NYRA media rights agreement provided a FOX Sports subsidiary with an option to acquire a 25% stake in NYRA Bets, LLC, a leading Advance Deposit Wagering platform launched in 2016 and available to customers in 30 states across the country. The FOX Sports subsidiary...

The New York Racing Association issued a statement Wednesday regarding it ongoing efforts to welcome fans back for the upcoming Belmont Park and Saratoga Racecourse meets. Horse and auto racing were omitted from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's guidance last week relating to reopening sporting events to the public in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic. "Governor Cuomo's decision to expand capacity limits for sports fans beginning this April is incredibly positive news as we look toward the spring and summer," said NYRA's Pat McKEnna. "NYRA will work closely with...

James (Jimmy) Tsitsiragos, a longtime assistant starter at the New York Racing Association, passed away Tuesday, Feb. 16 at the age of 71. Born Aug. 6, 1949 in Leonia, New Jersey, Tsitsiragos graduated from Leonia High School in 1967 where he was a beloved football legend nicknamed by his classmates as "Zorba the Greek." He then attended Texas A&M University as a walk-on for the football team and quickly earned a full scholarship under Head Coach Gene Stallings. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics in 1972, he...

The Under 20's Claiming Challenge, which allows smaller stables the chance to compete for cash prizes, will return to Belmont Park for the spring/summer meet. The program, launched in 2018, is open to all trainers stabled at New York Racing Association facilities with 20 or fewer horses in their care nationwide. The top eight trainers in the contest will share a prize pool of $80,000, with the winner receiving $16,000. Stall allotments for the Belmont spring/summer will be used to determine eligible trainers. Trainers earn points based on their horses'...

Bill Finley's report (Week In Review) in the Feb. 9 edition of TDN on NYRA's action to restrict wagering on its Pick 5 and Pick 6 wagers by computer-assisted wagering (CAW) players caught my attention, as does any article written on this form of wagering, which I call computer robotic wagering or bots for short. My experience with the bots and their very smart and well- capitalized owner managers goes back 20 years or so. Then, as now, my opinion on wagering by the bots is that over the long...

The New York Racing Association (NYRA) announced Saturday that it will once again offer "Ship and Win" incentives for horses coming from Fair Hill Training Center or Oaklawn Park to race at Aqueduct or Belmont. Owners of horses stabled at Fair Hill, in Elkton, Maryland who register an official start during the Aqueduct spring meet (Apr. 1 through Apr. 18), or during the Belmont spring/summer meet (Apr. 22 through July 11), will be credited with an $800 shipping stipend, excluding stakes races. First-time starters must have their three prior works...

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that sports arenas and stadiums with a capacity of better than 10,000 can re-open with limited spectators. The first event open to spectators in the state will be the National Basketball Association contest between the Sacramento Kings and Brooklyn Nets at the Barclay Center Feb. 23. The opening of venues will follow the Buffalo Bills pilot program, deemed an "unparalleled success" by Cuomo, following guidelines including Department of Health approval for venues and events, capacity limitations, testing requirements, mandatory face coverings, temperature checks and...

The Week in Review by Bill Finley It's not often in this sport that John Q. Horseplayer gets a break, but that's exactly what happened last week when it was revealed that NYRA was no longer accepting bets from the so-called computer-assisted wagering (CAW) players on its Empire Six wager. The Empire Six wager joined the Cross Country Pick 5 and the late Pick 5 as NYRA wagers that are no longer available to the CAW players. The computer players use algorithms that predict the probability of a particular outcome....

Marshall Cassidy, the announcer at the New York tracks from 1979 through 1990, passed away Sunday at his home in Saratoga Springs, NY. He was 75. According to friends of Cassidy, he died in his sleep. The cause of death was not immediately known. Cassidy began his announcing career as the backup caller to Dave Johnson and then Chic Anderson. After Anderson passed away in 1979, Cassidy was promoted to the job of head announcer. In 1990, after the Saratoga meet concluded, he was replaced by Tom Durkin. Over his...