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Finally, after years -- if not decades -- of fighting, peace in our time has seemingly been achieved at New York’s racetracks.

The beleaguered New York Racing Association, which had been mired in a long-running high stakes game of political poker with state officials, quite abruptly folded its hand on Tuesday.

In response to the state’s yanking on NYRA’s purse strings by withholding casino revenue, NYRA acquiesced to the demands of Governor Andrew Cuomo and agreed to a reorganization that will give the state the ability to re-shape the not-for-profit corporation.

The cornerstone of the peace treaty is the establishment of the NYRA Reorganization Board which for the next three years will control racing in New York through a board dominated by public appointees.

The new 17-person board will feature seven members named by Cuomo, two by the New York Senate and Assembly and five more will be selected by NYRA. Breeders and horsemen will be given an ex officio member, while the chairperson, who must be approved by the board, will be nominated by Cuomo.

The new board will also chose a CEO for NYRA.

"With the structure of the gaming industry changing here in New York, the state also needs to take a new approach to how it manages and governs racing,” Cuomo said in a press release, which added that NYRA will return to majority private control at the end of three years. “New Yorkers can be assured that the NYRA Reorganization Board will act in the interests of the members of the public who enjoy horse racing, the taxpayers who support it, and the horses themselves, to make racing in our state the strongest, safest and most enjoyable in the country."

The same press release contained equally supportive and optimistic comments from Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, NYRA chairman Steven Duncker, NYRA board member John Hendrickson, President of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders Barry Ostrager and NYRA board member and New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association president Rick Violette Jr., indicating the dawn of one big, happy family in New York racing.

Of course, only time will tell if Cuomo is a modern day Neville Chamberlain -- sans the moustache and wing collar -- with hollow promises or an admirable leader and statesman.

More will be known once the board is filled and a chairman is named. That’s when the state’s course for NYRA will finally become clear, and we’ll learn whether there can be a happy marriage between the Governor’s plans for racing and the hopes and needs of the fan base that supports the sport.

The past has shown us a mixed bag. New York City mayor Rudy Guiliani scored a touchdown in 1994 when he brought in Allie Sherman to run New York City OTB. Sherman did a much better job with NYC OTB than he did while coaching the New York Giants, which admittedly is not saying much. Prior to that, Mayor David Dinkins made an abysmal decision in putting NYC OTB under the control of a political crony, Hazel Dukes.

Yet as we wait for the new landscape to be developed, there will be one interesting change. For years, NYRA had been a convenient piñata for politicians and their minions, even though a share of NYRA’s problems stem from state regulations.

Now, when something goes wrong at the track, fingers cannot be pointed at Charlie Hayward or Barry Schwartz or anyone else who ran NYRA. The woes can be traced back to Albany.

It’s all on the Governor’s watch now, and a few years from now he’ll deserve either praise or shame for the state of New York racing. Politicians usually accept blame as freely as they would the flu, but in winning his poker game Cuomo now has the keys to the kingdom and he cannot castigate others for his mess.

It’s his people who will have the loudest say on matters like the use of Lasix, breeding incentives, customer rebates, improvements to the facilities and the backstretch areas and whether Aqueduct will be closed to make way for a new convention center. And their decisions will reflect on him, for better or worse.

At this point in time, as everything begins to evolve, there are some very fair questions to ask. Will the board take some business risks and allow the sport to thrive for the benefit of its fans and the thousands of industry workers in the state? Or will it simply follow a page out of the standard political playbook and squeeze every possible penny of the sport on the supposed behalf of the taxpayers?

Will the next Chairman of the Board and CEO have an allegiance to the sport or to saying “your wish is my command” to Cuomo?

In the end it all comes down to a question of fans or taxpayers. Who will New York racing belong to in the next few years? Clearly it should be fans because no one has to own a horse or even wager 10 cents on a race -- at least in New York anyway. All of that happens because people love the sport, and if that support erodes and fans and horsemen are driven away because political appointees drain the life out it, it will be the Governor’s fault. There’s no other way. To blame NYRA will be like a celebrity claiming they were misquoted in their autobiography. You can say it, but no one has to listen.

Yes, Governor Cuomo has won the war and soon he’ll control NYRA. What he does with it is the mystery that will ultimately decide whether he should be remembered for saving racing or merely hastening its decline.

When it rains, it pours and that had nothing at all to do with the cloudy skies that have hovered over the Big Apple for the last week or so.

For the New York Racing Association, 2012 has seemingly produced one tumultuous week after another, including last week’s news that President and CEO Charles Hayward and general counsel Patrick Kehoe had been fired in the aftermath of a State Racing and Wagering Board interim report on NYRA’s failure to properly lower the takeout rate on exotic wagers in 2010.

It was a dramatic move and in some ways it was inevitable. Hayward denied any intentional wrong-doing to the Albany Times Union, calling the report “flawed and admittedly incomplete.” And it’s completely plausible that the takeout debacle was more of a misunderstanding than deceit. Yet emails published in the report indicate someone at NYRA should have been aware of the problem, and when you’re talking about keeping more than $8 million out of the pocket of your customers, pleading ignorance while collecting a $475,000 salary has a hollow ring to it.

When that much money is involved, a boss like Hayward cannot just say “oops” and move on without consequence -- even if it was just an unintentional brain freeze. Confidence in someone’s business skills is difficult to rebuild after a 14-month-long goof.

Moreover Hayward’s cause wasn’t helped by the digs he took at some politicians in a published email to Daily Racing Form editor and publisher emeritus Steve Crist, which brings us to this week’s chapter of the ongoing NYRA soap opera.

As NYRA searches for a replacement for Hayward, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has the spin machine rocking like an old juke box. On Monday, according to the Associated Press, Cuomo said “he and lawmakers are considering legislation to end what he calls the troubled history of the New York Racing Association.”

His words about regulating and controlling NYRA were completely predictable, and hearing them should conjure up visions of the old Marx Brothers movie “Duck Soup.”

Just picture Gov. Cuomo as Groucho, with his grease paint moustache and cigar in hand, hunched over as Rufus T. Firefly singing “The last man nearly ruined this place, he didn’t know what to do with it. If you think this country’s bad off now, just wait ‘til I get through it!”

Yes, if you believe things are going badly with a management structure like NYRA’s in place, just wait until politicians and their hand-picked designees start calling the shots.

For examples, simply pay a visit to 515 Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, or 991 Second Avenue.

There you’ll find two shuttered New York City Off-Track Betting parlors that stand in testament of how the government can quite regally mess up a money-making racket.

The collapse of NYC OTB should be all any patron of the sport in the Big Apple needs to turn a deaf ear to Cuomo. In more cases than not, government agencies and leaders are simply ill-equipped and lack the business savvy to run or oversee a venture that provides entertainment.

The government is used to collecting money whether or not its taxpayers want to fork over their hard-earned dollars, and typically view the flow of money as a one-way street -- into its pockets.

Spend a dollar to make a dollar? That’s not the government way.

For an entity like NYRA to succeed it needs to have a long range plan that features building a loyal customer base and giving those people a reason to spend their entertainment dollars at a racetrack as opposed to a casino or movie theater. Money needs to be pumped into the business, not just out of it.

But in the eyes of the government, racing is just a cash cow. It’s necessary for its revenue stream, and nowhere in the mind of some political leaders is there an understanding that racing needs to be something people enjoy.

That’s why, for the fans, NYRA is necessary. Hayward made a big-time mistake, but he cared deeply about the sport and its fans. And right now those fans need someone else in charge who is concerned foremost about catering to them and insuring the future of the racing industry as opposed to focusing on much how much money will be turned over to the State of New York in the next few months.

Despite what some politicians might say, racing does not belong to the state or even the general public. It belongs to those people who follow racing, who wager on it, who buy horses, who spend their lives training, riding, breeding or caring for horses. Without them there would be no revenue stream for the state tax coffers.

To the head of a successful company, that type of business acumen is a no-brainer. Take care of the customer. It’s Rule One. To a politician, well, let’s not forget all those closed NYC OTB parlors. They best explain what government control can suck out of an entity like NYRA, especially at time when Cuomo wants to expand casino gaming.

So the next time, you hear Gov. Cuomo or another politician squawk about the state running NYRA, just think of Groucho. You will not want to see the place when they get through with it.

It’s finally time for a change of scenery.

After a winter that had far too many breakdowns, hardly any snow and illustrated how all that glitters isn’t gold, the New York Racing Association’s marathon six-month stay at Aqueduct comes to an end Sunday.
On Friday, April 27, Beautiful Belmont Park will open its doors, signaling that we’re just seven weeks away from the Belmont Stakes and only 13 weeks shy of Saratoga.

OK, we’re getting ahead of ourselves a bit, yet let’s just say it’s nice to envision racing somewhere else other than Ozone Park.

Looking back, the Big A’s inner and main track meets featured a surprising number of stars with horses like Gemologist, Hansen, Alpha, Jackson Bend, Caleb’s Posse and It’s Tricky in action.

The final weekend looms a bit anti-climactic after races such as the Wood and Carter, but at the very least Saturday’s $200,000 Jerome features a 3-year-old who might have an axe to grind later in the year in some of the more important middle distance graded stakes. The Lumber Guy was an easy winner of his first start at Aqueduct and the Miracle Wood Stakes at Laurel. Then he was cut down to size by Gemologist after setting the early pace in the mile-and-an-eighth Wood Memorial, as he faded to sixth.

While that loss hammered the final nail in the coffin as far as The Lumber Guy’s Triple Crown hopes go, trainer Mike Hushion apparently has no interest in allowing his colt to pick up splinters sitting on the bench. Returning on just two weeks rest, The Lumber Guy should find the one-turn mile and the competition -- which may include Adirondack King, Dan and Sheila, Guyana Star Dweej, Right to Vote and Sensor -- much more to his liking.

“It’s back quicker than I’d like, but I’m anxious to run him in a one-turn mile,” Hushion said. “I think that’s the key. A rider can just come out there real quietly, wherever he wants to take him, and make them sort it out for a half-mile down the backside.”

The Jerome closes out Aqueduct’s stakes schedule, and then after Sunday’s card, it’s off to Beautiful Belmont where racing will take place without slot machines to lure people to the grounds.

Won’t that be an interesting sight?

Aside from seeing an exciting renewal of the Wood Memorial, there was another nice aspect to last weekend’s visit to Aqueduct.

I picked up the 2012 edition of the New York Racing Association Media Guide.

The truth be told, on a dusty shelf here in the Shelton abode, there sits a copy of the 1980 NYRA Media Guide, which was my initial passport to all of the vital information about the many personalities, be they vibrant or dull, that gave New York racing its distinct flavor.

Back then, NYRA was a pioneer among racetracks in producing a publication with comprehensive biographical and historical information. And in those long ago days before Al Gore (or someone) invented the internet and put every trivial fact at our fingertips, it was cool as a racing fan to peruse through the pages of a book that gave horsemen the kind of star treatment that had been reserved for professional athletes.

Admittedly, 32 years later, the media guide has become somewhat old hat for me, yet another trip down memory lane uncovered some great information that once again informed, surprised and even humbled this longtime improver of the breed. There’s quite a cast of characters at NYRA.

Thanks to the internet, you can download a copy of the guide at www.nyra.com, but to save you some time, allow me, with tongue in cheek at times, to point out some of the many nuggets of information at your disposal.

For instance:

-- Owner Henry Terranova “spent 22 years working as a WWE referee and also was a baseball scout for the San Francisco Giants.”

It must have been quite an adjustment for him seeing a bat used to hit a ball instead of someone’s skull.

-- Ed Bowen, who operates Drawing Away Stable, is the retired director of pensions for the New York City Transit Authority.

Guess he just can’t pry himself away from pensions.

-- I was eager to find out more about Funky Munky Stable, which seemed the creation of someone who, like me, devours Chunky Monkey ice cream or at the very least a guy who loves crazy dancing -- another passion of mine (I live to do the Disco Duck). Instead it’s owned by a guy named Richard Munk. Munk -- Munky, Funky, get it?

That’s pretty deflating. Sort of like finding out Madonna has actually been a librarian in Bayonne for all these years.

-- Was glad to read that Kiaran McLaughlin has been doing so well as a trainer. Previously, he was the “agent for the late Chris Antley in 1992-93.”

Now I know there are a few trainers out there who are not the brightest bulbs on Broadway, but I’m thinking it had to be hard to book mounts for a jockey who had passed away. Excellent career change, Kiaran.

-- Among the notable accomplishments of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum is “Responsible for the modern development of Dubai.”

Yeah, I’ll admit that tops the line in my resume reading “Participated in Times Mirror’s Frontline Leadership and Building Management Skills and Techniques seminars.”

-- Chester Broman owns Chestertown Farm which is located in Chestertown, N.Y.

Way to go, Chester. You own a farm AND a city. That’s neat. Don’t think the world is ready for Ehaltville, though.

-- Winning Move Stables is owned by Steven Sigler, whose daughter is Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who played Meadow Soprano on TV.

I’ll bet he knows if Tony got whacked.

-- Owner Landon Robbins III is the founder and chairman of Service Net, a leader in the extended warranty industry.

My 12-year-old toaster is in the mail, Mr. Robbins.

-- Jockey Maylan Studart, in her native Brazil, “Grew up around horses and rode jumpers.”

I got jumped walking home from school in 1967. Went with the territory when you grew up in Queens.

-- John Parisella has trained for actors James Caan, Jack Klugman and Telly Savalas.

That’s great, but he’s not the trainer of the stars in my book until he adds ALF to his client list.

-- Trainer Eoin Harty is a “die-hard New York Yankees fan.”

Eoin, 20 years from now, you have my Hall of Fame vote in your back pocket.

-- It was written that trainer Shug McGaughey has “childhood friend and former fellow Cub Scout ‘Buzz’ Tenney” as his longtime assistant.

Sorry, folks, I’m not buying that one. If Shug and Buzz ever wore Cub Scout uniforms a picture would have surfaced in the “Indian Charlie” newsletter by now.

-- Owner William S. Farish III is the Former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States to Great Britain.

Wow, that pretty much trumps me being the thrice-impeached past president of the Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance.

-- Jockey Rosie Napravnik is married to a gentleman named Joe Sharp.

You figured some Sharp guy would scoop her up.

-- Trainer David Donk, when he was 24 started working as an assistant to Woody Stephens.

Now I’m jealous. Woody was a hero of mine. Loved his personality and the way he brought out the very best in so many great racehorses. I won’t get into some of my old bosses, but let’s just say at the same age as when Donk had the good fortune to work with Woody I had the “steadily depressin’ lowdown mind messin’ working at the car wash blues.”

-- Jockey Jorge Chavez said he had never ridden a horse until he was 20 when a friend brought him to the races in Peru. “I started galloping horses the next year,” he said.

Ah, there’s still hope for my riding career. All I need is a trainer willing to accept 143 pounds of overweight and an agent to secure mounts for me. Wonder if Kiaran McLaughlin has some free time.

-- Billy Turner, the only trainer left on this earth with a Triple Crown sweep to his credit. His introduction to racing came from growing up with Burley Cocks’ son, Winky.

Not even I am going to touch that one.

Paul Ruchames has been involved in social work for nearly three decades, but he says it’s been the last two years that have been the most rewarding for him.

Since taking over as the executive director of the Backstretch Employee Service Team (B.E.S.T.) in March of 2010, Ruchames has been at the helm of an integral behind-the-scenes program that has helped to change lives on the backstretch of New York’s three racetracks. On a daily basis, the non-profit organization extends a helping hand to racetrack workers, providing them with essential services and goods such as free heath care and life insurance, drug counseling and mental health care as well as food and clothing.

“This is the most meaningful endeavor I’ve been involved in,” Ruchames said. “We’re helping people live better lives and there’s such a tremendous amount of satisfaction that comes from that as well as working with such an incredibly dedicated staff and a team of volunteers. There are so many generous people out there willing to help others.”

Ruchames says B.E.S.T. has a fulltime staff of about 15 and nearly 150 volunteers who work tirelessly on behalf of nearly 2,000 backstretch workers at Belmont Park, Aqueduct and Saratoga. Supported by an annual budget of $2.2 million, which comes mostly from the New York Racing Association and the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, B.E.S.T. operates an on-track clinic throughout the year at Cottage 28B on the Belmont Park backstretch, which is staffed by a fulltime physician, and services workers at Saratoga for seven months out of the year.

The clinic treats roughly 120 patients per month and approximately 20 more are taking advantage of the group’s drug and alcoholic counseling programs. For many of those workers, a large number of whom are immigrants, treatment by Dr. Frederic Cogan at the B.E.S.T. clinic will serve as their first visit to a doctor in years -- if not ever.

“So many of these workers come from poor rural areas that they’re never seen a doctor before,” says Ruchames, who has played a lead role in revitalizing B.E.S.T., which was plagued by cash flow troubles prior to his arrival. “And they are such hard-working people that even if they get hurt they will not stop for treatment; they just keep working. Through our program, we’ve been able to provide some help for these people and also get them vaccinations to keep them healthy.”

The many success stories arising out of the work by B.E.S.T. has caught the eye of several New York businesses, allowing the program to grow at a dramatic rate the last two years. Macy’s, for example, recently provided B.E.S.T. with a $10,000 grant for hepatitis testing.

Ruchames also notes a computer lab was recently opened at Saratoga and plans are in the works to introduce one at Belmont Park.

“The computers and components like Skype are great for workers who are disconnected from their families,” Ruchames says. “When workers can contact their families it helps to alleviate the emptiness that often leads to drug or alcohol use. As much [as] we provide treatment to those who need it, we are also focused on trying to eliminate the root cause of those problems.”

Clearly, a large and growing community of needy backstretch workers have guardian angels looking over them. And through all of that care and concern, something quite special has been taking place away from the bright spotlight of the circular dirt surfaces that have made New York racing so famous. Some dedicated individuals have taken the B.E.S.T. and made it better.

(Note: Anyone interested in supporting B.E.S.T. can reach Ruchames by email at paul@bestbackstretch.com or by phone at (516) 488-3434, ext. 103)

It may seem an odd source of inspiration, but New York racing can learn a thing or two from Little League baseball.

In dealing with fragile and developing throwing arms, there are restrictions on how many pitches per week a youngster can throw.

In light of some recent events, perhaps the New York Racing Association should institute its own version of the “pitch count” by restricting the amount of times a horse can race over a short period of time. How about mandatory a five-day gap between races? It seems pretty painless. It wouldn’t affect many horsemen and would have little to no impact the average number of daily starters.

It would also eliminate a frustrating problem for handicappers and the industry, while reducing strain on horses.

Is there really a downside to it?

All of this stems from this past Saturday’s Aqueduct card when trainer Linda Rice ran Lithe Legend in the fifth race. Some 48 hours earlier, on Thursday, Lithe Legend finished third in the fourth race. Because of the quick turnaround, the track program and Daily Racing Form editions lacked information on how Lithe Legend fared on Thursday, leaving some fans in the dark.

Compounding matters, NYRA did not declare Lithe Legend a non-wagering starter, and stipulate she run for purse money only. In a similar incident three months ago, when trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. raced Iron Lou on Nov. 6, two days after he ran on Nov. 4, the horse ran for purse money only.

Clearly, NYRA deserves a Big E on the Rheingold scoreboard (old Mets fans will recall that one) for that blunder as Lithe Legend finished fourth on Saturday, burning plenty of money as the 9-2 third choice in the wagering.

Establishing firm rules that would have mandated Lithe Legend run for purse only is a start, but in a game that’s propelled by wagering, the presence of non-wagering interests can create unnecessary headaches. Lithe Legend, for example, pressed the pace of the front-running Mad River, a 9-1 shot who finished fifth. Perhaps if Lithe Legend spent Saturday in the barn resting, Mad River gets brave on the front end and lands in the triple.

The presence of a Lithe Legend in a field can also be exasperating to a handicapper who studies a race the night before it’s run. The general expectation is that a horse like her would be scratched. Instead it runs and then in some way, shape or form affects the outcome.

A major part of the problem is that while it might be assumed that Thoroughbreds are too fragile to compete effectively when given less rest than a starting pitcher, they are usually competitive. More precisely, they tend to run back to that very last race.

The infamous Oscar Barrera would often run a horse on a couple of days rest and win at 3-5 odds. Just last week, Dutrow won a high-priced claiming race at Aqueduct on Friday with This Ones for Phil and then 72 hours later sent him out to finish second -- to a stablemate -- in a graded stakes, the $200,000 Grade 2 General George at Laurel.

A few years back, in discussing horses on short rest with Len Freidman, a partner with Ragozin Thoroughbred Data, which puts out The Sheets, a question was raised about the way he views a horse on 2 or 3 days rest. Keep in mind, the Ragozin -- and Thoro-graph, too -- philosophy revolves around a sufficient amount of rest after a taxing effort. His response is that they can sometimes duplicate or come close to their last-race figure, but then need an extended rest to recover from the strain of back-to-back races.

Which means, good luck wagering on Lithe Legend if she returns to the races in another week or so. It’s unlikely she’ll run faster than she did Saturday unless she gets a vacation until April, though there’s even no absolute guarantee of that for beleaguered handicappers. She could be an exception to the rule that runs huge next time, creating more angst for the wagering public.

And, in a worst case scenario, what happens when a horse running on two days rest breaks down? There might not be medical evidence linking short rest and breakdowns, but why should facts suddenly get in the way of public opinion.

So why risk it? Put a protective rule in place to end all of the confusion and uncertainty, and look like good, caring guys and gals. For the sake of a few starts a month, why not? It makes sense.

If we can be protective of a 10-year-old’s arm, is there really anything wrong with safeguarding the legs of 3-year-olds and the wallets of 21-year-olds and up?

And what are your thoughts on this? Is running for purse money only enough? Is a 4 or 5 or 6 day ban fine? Or should it be a case of “gambler beware” with no set policy?

If a national poll was taken on the nation’s best racetracks, it’s unlikely that Aqueduct would rank in the top 10.

From an aesthetic viewpoint, if you put the three New York Racing Association venues in a beauty contest, the Big A is the one that would finish up the track behind Saratoga and Belmont.

Aqueduct, quite frankly, is little more than a highly functional home for New York racing during its slowest parts of the year.

Yet if New York Governor Andrew Cuomo gets his way and Aqueduct is eventually closed to make room for a massive Convention Center, racing fans will learn the hard way that they’ve been taking the Big A for granted.

As much as the sport could survive by racing purely at Belmont and Saratoga, it will not thrive while spending 46 out of the year’s 52 weeks at Belmont.

Removing logistics from the equation -- it would cost hundreds of millions to winterize Belmont, where the grandstand is not even positioned properly to draw heat from the sun -- Belmont’s lack of a subway stop would make it a ghost town, especially during the winter.

A 10-month Belmont meet would also make the racing season mundane. While it may not match the excitement of opening day at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field, one of the cool things for fans in April is knowing the shifting of racing to Belmont, not to mention the arrival of spring and the Triple Crown that comes with it, is right around the corner.

OK, we’ll amend that. Looking over the Mets’ roster, there might be more of a buzz at Belmont Park than Citi Field this spring.

Yet, forgetting the Wilpons’ mess for a while, what’s more important than the way two tracks will impact the flow of the racing season, for its long-term good NYRA cannot afford to distance itself from the casino.

Cuomo’s interest in Aqueduct has nothing to do with racing or that Ozone Park is the ideal geographic spot to bring millions of visitors. At time when tax dollars are dwindling, his eyes are riveted on the dollar signs of the casino and the way it has become a magnet for visitors.

Right now, a king’s ransom of cash from the casino flows into NYRA’s coffers, but take away the umbilical cord that bonds Aqueduct and the Resorts World Casino New York City and one day another politician might start to question why so many dollars go to racing. With the obvious link between the track and casino erased, political leaders will no doubt point to the small crowds at Belmont and insist too much money goes to a sport that no one cares about.

That’s the way it goes with politicians. Give them the opportunity to divert revenue so it can suit their own needs, and they’ll take it.

Not helping matters is that as time goes on, Genting, which operates the casino, figures to have far more clout than NYRA because of the $10 million or more per week in profit it generates.

To prevent that imbalance of power from growing at a faster rate, the casino and the racetrack must remain a coupled entry. Even if the racetrack is dark for half the year, NYRA needs the crowds and activity that the casino brings, plus the revenue, and it cannot let its life preserver out of its sight.

Barely three months into the life of the casino, Gov. Cuomo has already showed casino cash means more to him than the racing industry by presenting a plan that would ultimately evict Aqueduct from the grounds.

Now just imagine the situation 10 years from now and the political pressures on the sport with the nearest track some 25 miles away from the casino. Believe it or not, you’ll miss Aqueduct.

Leave it to the New York Racing Association to take a piece of great news and turn it into a rip-off before the paragraph even ends.

What this centers around is NYRA’s announcement on Wednesday that it was lowering the takeout on trifecta, superfecta, grand slam, pick 3, pick 4, and pick 6 wagers by two percentage points, from 26 percent to 24 percent.

That might not seem like a big difference, but, as you should know from Jimmy Fallon’s credit card commercials, the extra dollars do add up fast, especially with wagers that can easily pay four figures or more. For someone who hits a $1,000 triple, for example, there will be an extra $20 in the payoff.

A $100 payoff will generate only an additional $2, but, again, for the regulars and high rollers, an extra 2 percent in their pocket as opposed to NYRA’s or the state’s can pay for a huge flat screen TV by year’s end.

That, though, was the nice part about a paragraph that ended with an explanation that the decrease was “to correct an unintentional oversight by which NYRA’s takeout for exotic wagers was one point above the statutory limit.”

That’s right. The TV you might get in 2012 was taken from you in 2011 because NYRA used the wrong takeout this year. Instead of a 25 percent takeout on the aforementioned exotic wagers, there was a 26 percent takeout, which incorrectly removed a dollar from every $100 worth of payoffs.

Sometimes when you win, you still wind up losing.

What happened was that in September 2010 NYRA’s takeout was mandated to drop from 26 percent on those bets to 25 percent. But for an unspecified and “unintentional” reason, NYRA failed to implement the lower rate and kept the 26 percent takeout in place.

To atone for the goof, NYRA is lowering the rate by an extra percentage point to 24 percent to make up for the additional percentage point it withheld for the last 15 months.

That solution would be fair, if everyone who cashed an exotic ticket this year hits for the same amount in 2012. That, guess what, will never happen, so some people are going to benefit from the new rate and others can kiss their lost cash bye-bye.

NYRA, in its own words, also said it would “address reimbursement for NYRA Rewards customers, holders of uncashed tickets, and other customers who can be identified through IRS reporting, within the time frames directed by the [State Racing & Wagering] Board.”

Again that seems fair, but if NYRA Rewards customers are reimbursed, what about customers at other large ADWs like XpressBet or Twinspires who have access to detailed account reports? They can list all of their NYRA wagers in 2011. Shouldn’t they be repaid, too? Giving back money to NYRA Rewards customers and not other ADW clients has the ring of a nice lawsuit to it, doesn’t it?

So while the legal eagles swoop in, there’s now an additional reason to bet on NYRA races that should offer larger fields and better value once casino revenue bumps up purses on Jan. 1.

That, on its own, is a very positive development.

Now if only NYRA can leave the news at that.

Think August, and it’s Saratoga.

Huge crowds. A buzz every day. Fabulous racing. Exhausting nightlife. A seemingly endless parade of stakes races.

Think September, and it’s Belmont Park.

Ghost town. Get your jacket and scarf out of the closet.

Yet the switch from picturesque Saratoga to still beautiful Belmont does not come at the expense of first-rate racing.

There are fewer stakes, but their importance is magnified by a proximity to the Breeders’ Cup. With stars like Tizway, Stay Thirsty, Harve de Grace, Cape Blanco, Uncle Mo, Trappe Shot, Big Drama and Currency Swap all expected to make their final pre-Breeders’ Cup start at the Elmont, N.Y., oval, Belmont will have no shortage of star power as the leaves begin to fall and the days grow shorter.

Though the Breeders’ Cup will be contested at Churchill Downs on Nov. 4 and 5, you can enjoy the next best thing on Oct. 1 when five of the meet’s nine Grade 1 stakes will be contested on one card.

The Jockey Club Gold Cup, with Tizway expected to face Stay Thirsty, is the main event, but with Harve de Grace a possibility for the Beldame, Uncle Mo targeting the Kelso, and Cape Blanco on course for the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic that day’s undercard promises to be a gem.

The following day’s card isn’t shabby, either, with four graded stakes for 2-year-olds.

But that’s next month.

The meet kicks off Saturday with the Bowling Green heading a 10-race card. Sanagas, winner of the John’s Call at Saratoga, and Grassy are the standouts in a mile and three-eighths route on the turf.

After that, it’s the $100,000 Ashley T. Cole on the turf for state-breds on Sunday.

Welcome to September.

Welcome back to Belmont Park.

A day after citing concerns about a lack of fiscal transparency, a New York state panel has called for an investigation of the New York Racing Association.

Robert Megna, who is the budget director for New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and chairman of the Franchise Oversight Board, released a stinging letter to NYRA President Charles Hayward saying that the lack of cooperation with state officials looking into the racing group’s finances “will be treated with the utmost seriousness.”

The June 21 letter came a day after NYRA officials declined to provide detailed information on a number of fronts, including management raises and an out-of-state simulcasting contract with a Churchill Downs-owned entity.

“I continue to have substantial concerns about NYRA’s ability to bring racing operations into the black,” Megna said in a letter to Hayward.

Hayward declined comment, saying he had not yet received the letter from Megna.

The state Inspector General’s office, which has far-reaching investigatory powers, will be looking into the concerns by Megna.

Megna, who also expressed his “disappointment” with Hayward’s failure to personally appear before the fiscal oversight panel this week, said he has forwarded his concerns to the inspector general “for appropriate examination of NYRA’s operation.”

Megna noted that the NYRA meeting this week had already been rescheduled to take into account NYRA's schedule. Franchise board members openly grumbled about Hayward's failure to personally appear. “Being the body that is statutorily authorized to oversee your organization's operations, we trust that in the future you will make yourself available for questions,” Megna wrote Hayward.

The oversight panel, created to monitor NYRA’s finances, has limited fiscal authority over NYRA. Its members openly complained June 20 during a meeting with NYRA officials at the Capitol that annual budget information from NYRA is late and incomplete with details.

Megna complained that NYRA’s budget submission to the oversight panel included no information about management raises, even though its wages are projected to increase 5% this year. “Given current fiscal realities, and with NYRA projecting an $11 million deficit, the board believes that your actions in this area warrant justification,” Megna wrote Hayward.

Megna noted that NYRA’s overall handle on NYRA races is projected to drop 1.4% this year, with operating expenses rising 7%. “Even with VLT revenues beginning to flow, it is not clear after extrapolating current trends that racing operations are sustainable without significant restructuring,” Megna warned.

Megna called on NYRA to submit a long-term plan “to bring racing operations into long-term solvency.”

NYRA for decades has had a hot and cold relationship with state officials. Regulators have long complained of secrecy by the operator of Aqueduct, Belmont, and Saratoga racetracks.

The sharp criticism of NYRA, and calls for a formal state probe, come as efforts are stalled at the Capitol on a number of racing-related matters, including some lawmakers’ push to let off-track betting entities enter the New York City market to re-start parlor business shut off when the New York City Off-Track Betting Corp. closed late last year.

The call by Megna for an investigation also came the same day the Legislature gave final approal to a measure requiring betting call centers by New York racing groups to be located within New York state. The bill is in response to a decision by NYRA to award its call center business to Oregon-based TwinSpires.com, which is owned by Churchill Downs.

“Our state has invested a tremendous amount of money in NYRA over the years and it is ridiculous that the new jobs created by the call center contract will be going out-of-state instead of benefitting New Yorkers. This bill prevents such a decision from occurring in the future, so that the jobs these call centers generate will be kept in-state,'' said Sen. Andrew Lanza, a Staten Island Republican.

If you need a reminder that the Belmont Stakes is not that far off on the horizon, check out Saturday’s card at Beautiful Belmont Park.

After a year hiatus, the $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes is back, returning to the New York Racing Association stakes schedule like an ailing TV sitcom hoping to find a new audience.

As much as the Peter Pan is billed as a major prep for the Belmont, the race’s importance has diminished in recent years. A Peter Pan winner has not gone on to capture the Belmont since A.P. Indy in 1992 and from 1994-2009 only one horse who ran in the Peter Pan prevailed in the famed Test of the Champion.

A more compelling stat is that 10 of the last 11 Belmont Stakes winners last raced at either Churchill Downs or Pimlico.

Yet if there’s renewed interest in the Peter Pan, it’s most likely taken wing because of what happened last year when the Dwyer was moved up into the May lineup to pinch-hit for the Peter Pan as a Belmont Stakes prep.

Drosselmeyer and Fly Down, who were second and first, respectively, in the Dwyer returned four weeks later and crossed the wire 1-2 in the Belmont Stakes.

The chances of that happening this year seem slim because only five of the eleven starters in the Peter Pan are nominated to the Triple Crown, yet when you have something unusual happen in the Kentucky Derby -- like a winner who never raced on dirt before -- the unexpected is always in the realm of possibility.

From the starting five of Triple Crown eligibles, Prime Cut (9-2) is the one to watch. He was second last time out in the Lexington on Polytrack at Keeneland, and before that beat the heavily hyped Bind in an allowance race over a dirt course at Fair Grounds. At this point he’s a cut below the top candidates, but that impression could change with a solid performance in the mile-and-an-eighth contest.

Alternation (6-1) is also eligible for the Belmont and will be looking to improve off his stakes debut in the Arkansas Derby when he rallied from 13th to finish fifth. He’s improved in each of his three 2011 starts and after a couple of recent bullet works on Arlington Park’s synthetic surface could turn in an effort that would enhance his Belmont Stakes stock.

Isn’t He Perfect (30-1), Beer Meister (20-1) and Monzon (15-1) are the other nominees.

Among the rest of the field, Adios Charlie (3-1) figures to be the favorite off a 2 ½-length score in the Jerome over a sloppy track last month. Prior to that, the son of Indian Charlie broke his maiden by 6 ¾ lengths at Gulfstream Park.

Joe Vann, trained by Todd Pletcher, is also dangerous after winning the Illinois Derby by 4 ¼ lengths in his last start. New York fans might recall a younger and more combustible Joe Vann from when he raced as a 2-year-old in New York. An effort like his last appearance at Belmont Park -- a 56 ½ length loss as a 6-5 favorite on Oct. 30 -- does sort of stick with a person.

Uncle Brent (4-1) is another threat off a speedy mile victory at Oaklawn Park in the ungraded Northern Spur, while the Bill Mott-trained Newsdad (8-1), whose last four races have either been on turf or Polytrack, will try to emulate Animal Kingdom’s fondness for dirt. One difference -- and it’s a fairly big one -- between Animal Kingdom, who had never raced on dirt, and the upstart Newsdad is that Mott’s horse has run on dirt -- if that’s what you call losing by 21 ¼ lengths.

For me, the pick is Prime Cut, who is in excellent form and is attractively priced at 9-2.

Monzon, at 15-1, gets the nod for second. He launched a strong late rally to take the Count Fleet on New Year’s Day at the Big A, beating Pants on Fire, the second-choice in the Kentucky Derby, by 4 ½ lengths. He was then a dull fifth in the Sam F. Davis at Tampa Bay Downs, a quirky surface that can often bring out the worst in a shipper. He’s had three months to recover from that Feb. 12 debacle and could be ready for a top effort in Saturday’s Grade 2 stakes.

For third, I’ll try a longshot, Bold Deed. Listed at 20-1 in the morning line, the New York Stakes-bred is coming off a gate-to-wire win in a restricted stakes and might improve in his first start over his home track at Belmont.

Unlike the top two selections, he’s not nominated to the Triple Crown, which may not be a bad thing if the Peter Pan doesn’t fly and simply picks up where it left off in 2009.

And what are your thoughts? Any selections in the Peter Pan?

It was a day late and Saturday was officially Caribbean Day at Aqueduct, not April Fools' Day. Nor was this intended to be a joke with horseplayers in the accidental role of brunt.

The Northeastern winter has been particularly harsh and the spring slow to arrive, but this, on a weekend in New York, capital of the world, defined, in the racing and betting sense, brutal.

Four -- count 'em -- $7,500 claiming races, two restricted to non-winners of two, provided ballast for the New York Racing Association's first Saturday offering on the main track -- 40 percent of the 10-race program on April 2. Three races for state-bred maidens for sale at $50,000, $16,000 and $12,500 were interesting in no sense to the majority of bettors not counted among the clinically compulsive. The theme of the day, which seemed to be "cheap is good and cheaper is better," was interrupted by an allowance race run for non-winners of three. A $25,000 claimer moved off the turf course and run on the main track provided the nightcap of a program that would have been awful were it run over the inner track in January or anytime at a New England fair.

The feature -- an unintended but sublimely perfect turn of black humor -- was the Excelsior, a longstanding fixture at Aqueduct. Excelsior is the state motto and the word means, in Latin, ever higher. It drew a field of five, two of which are trained by Todd Pletcher. Inherit the Gold, not trained by Pletcher but fast becoming a favorite of the New York fans and indeed moving ever higher, won the feature with stylish aplomb, his fifth straight. If rooting for the almost-white, 5-year-old gelding was the point of a trip to Aqueduct on Saturday, the afternoon was a success. If the point was a day of sport and wagering, the afternoon was better spent concentrating on the races simulcast from Florida.

This was, one bettor observed, the worst Saturday card ever offered in New York. This was, another disagreed, the worst Saturday card in New York since last Saturday.

NYRA's recent efforts in other areas outside the racing office have proven quite effective, particularly a proactive, multifaceted response to the sudden interruption of off-site wagering in New York City. Attendance at Aqueduct since New York City OTB was shuttered in December is up by 57 percent and betting both on and off site is also up sharply, a development that would -- or should -- inspire the racing department to offer players something more palatable than what has become the norm. New York is, or was, the gold standard of American racing. But the fashioning of an interesting racing menu in New York appears to be beyond NYRA these days.

A long memory is not required to recall the days when $7,500 claiming horses were refused stalls in New York east of Finger Lakes. The bottom claiming price was $12,500 at Aqueduct and even in the coldest days of winter, no opportunity was offered for maiden claiming horses. Once upon a time, the condition book, the publication of which has become something of a wasteful joke at the tracks operated by the New York Racing Association, meant something.

Racing programs are nowadays whittled from dozens of extra races written during a typical week. The policy has become, "whatever fills or comes close." There is no longer concern for the quality of the product from racing officials firmly following the path of least resistance.

Horsemen -- some in the Hall of Fame -- complain that it is no longer possible to train a horse toward a specific race in New York because that race in unlikely to be run -- if at all -- on the prescribed date or at the originally stated distance. Designing a progression of races for a developing horse is impossible in what has become a "catch as catch can" environment that provides ample opportunity only for the cheapest classes of animal. Often, when the season affords choice, horsemen have come to rely on races in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware as more reliable alternatives to what has become a chaotic situation in New York. The end product, aside from many discontent trainers and owners, can be illustrated no better than it was by Saturday's vapid race card at Aqueduct.

Sunday was no better, though only one opportunity for $7,500 claimers in search of their second career victories was provided on a card topped by an overnight stakes for New York-breds that included a preliminary-level allowance. The remainder of the supporting cast consisted of maidens offered for $25,000, $12,500 and $10,000, a field for sale at $25,000 and another at $16,000. Only the last race on the card had more than seven entrants, four fields numbered just six and another listed five -- before scratches. After scratches, the first race was reduced to four starters and none of the other eight races was contested by more than six. Again, brutal.

The pinpoint of light at the end of the tunnel that has been a long and steady decline in the quality of the racing in New York is provided by the promise enveloped in construction of what will be an expansive video lottery terminal casino that is in progress. By year's end, it will be operational, providing funds to purses and every other segment of the racing business. If you pay them, they will come -- is an immutable truth. The purses forecast in the VLT era will pave the way for better racing, even among New York-breds as the state's breeders upgrade bloodstock of both sexes. None of this will have anything to do with NYRA's efforts in pursuit of a high standard of racing.

Still, the VLTs will not begin to generate substantial purse increases for many months, improved quality of state-breds is years from fruition and there is no sign of effort on the part of NYRA's racing officials that would produce a product appropriate to the association's more prestigious venues -- Belmont Park and Saratoga. After providing in April the level of racing more appropriate to February, what lies ahead?

Eventually, sometime in June, there will be a large population of 2-year-olds in residence, grass racing will help bolster the product and Saratoga propels itself, lately fueled by an inordinate number of turf sprints, which fill readily regardless of conditions and are therefore congruous with the current organizational philosophy.

In the near term there are alternatives: The weekend at Gulfstream was very strong. The product at Tampa Bay Downs is quite straightforward and popular with bettors. With a pair of Grade 1s, the Wood Memorial and Carter, on next Saturday's Aqueduct card, the supporting program will likely be ignored no matter how anemic. For those who don't mind betting on races run over synthetic surfaces, the spring meeting at Keeneland is at hand and soon the high-profile outfits absent since November will begin the return migration and occupy vacant barns at Belmont and Saratoga. If they are provided opportunity, their horses will turn up in the entries.

Racing in New York, though still a shadow of what it once was, will improve with the weather in spite of, not for the efforts of those at the helm, who remain well short of excelsior.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. -- The New York Racing Association on Thursday found a pot of gold from Genting New York, which announced it will sponsor this year’s Wood Memorial and raise the purse to $1 million from $750,000. The Wood, scheduled to feature the undefeated 2-year-old champion Uncle Mo, will be run on April 9 over Aqueduct’s main track.

“Mo was going there whether it was $500,000, $750,000 or a million,” said Mike Repole, owner of Uncle Mo.

Genting New York is the company that is constructing a 4,525 slots-only casino at Aqueduct, which will be called Resorts World New York. The Wood, New York’s final prep for the May 7 Kentucky Derby, has been renamed the Resorts World New York Casino Wood Memorial.

Also on Thursday, Genting announced that the first phase of the casino – which will include 2,500 slot machines – will open in late summer, presumably late August or early September, with the remaining 2,025 machines being installed by year’s end.

The Wood Memorial’s purse is now on par with that of the Louisiana Derby, Florida Derby, Santa Anita Derby, and Arkansas Derby – which were all previously announced at $1 million.

“We are honored to be a part of this historic race that has been a staple of Queens for decades,” Mike Speller, president of Genting New York, said in a press release. “From the beginning, one of our goals in building the new casino facility at Aqueduct has been to strengthen and support New York’s storied horse racing industry. Through this partnership with NYRA, we have taken a significant step in that direction.”

“We’re thrilled with Genting’s participation to bring the Wood Memorial to the same purse level as the prestigious Travers Stakes, and this should reaffirm its position as one of the leading steppingstones to the Triple Crown,” said Charles Hayward, NYRA’s president and CEO.

Earlier in the day, Genting announced an accelerated schedule for the opening of Resorts World New York, completing the project in two phases instead of three. Though the grand opening is later than originally hoped – the initial target date was having 1,600 machines installed by Memorial Day – the completion of the installation of all the machines is ahead of schedule.

In addition to being able to operate 2,500 machines, the first phase of the project will include the completion of a new main entry, the porte cochere, an international buffet, and a parking garage. Also expected to be completed in phase 1 is the building of a skybridge connecting the subway station to the casino entrance. Other elements to be completed in phase 1 include a seven-outlet food court, a new bar and entertainment space, and a grab-and-go food outlet.

Phase 2 of the project, which is slated to be completed in spring 2012, will include the other 2,000 slots, two fine dining restaurants, an additional grab-and-go food outlet, a new lounge, and the VIP Crockfords Casino.

“We’re just pleased with the progress that they’re making,” Hayward said. “This has been a complicated project, as you know. We’re very encouraged by the progress that they’re making. We’re encouraged that they’re informing the public what they’re doing. It confirms we can hold our purse structure at the same level as last year and hopefully we have some optimism for a purse increase next year.”

Aqueduct’s main track will open for racing March 30, and officials hope to be able to open the turf course on or around that date. The process of readying the turf for use has already begun with the placement of tarps over most of the course.

According to Glen Kozak, NYRA’s director of racing surfaces, the purpose of the tarps is to keep the soil warm, which facilitates growth. Kozak said he would have liked to have gotten the tarps on earlier than he was able to, but had to wait for the all the snow to melt first.

Kozak said before the tarps went down, the course underwent a thorough sweeping process “to fan the grass up that had been matted down from the prolonged snow build up.” Kozak said the course has been fertilized and that another product has been put on the course to prevent any potential mold on the course.

Kozak said it is too early to say when the course would be ready. Last year, NYRA made it to the turf on April 3 (Wood Memorial Day) and ran 38 turf races before the meet ended.

The New York Racing Association has hired Andrew DiNovo for its newly created position as director of account wagering.

DiNovo, 46, will develop, implement and oversee all aspects of NYRA's account wagering programs, including its telephone, online, mobile, and ontrack platforms, along with customer acquisition, development and analysis for NYRA Rewards.

DiNovo, a native of Albany, N.Y. comes to NYRA from Capital District Off-Track Betting Corp. where he was most recently the director of sales and marketing. Before that, DiNovo led the commercial services division of Time Warner Cable in Albany.

"I am extremely excited to join NYRA and be a part of the best Thoroughbred racing in the country, if not the world," DiNovo said. "NYRA is taking great strides as a leader in quality of services and with the creation of this position, demonstrates its commitment to future technologies."