On January 24, Nicole and I (with other HW volunteers) lobbied for the subsidy bill at the NYS Capitol. We visited all 213 legislative offices, dropping off educational materials (below) and engaging in many constructive conversations. Wednesday, Governor Hochul’s budget proposal was unveiled, and it included a massive ($455 million) bond package that the New York Racing Association (NYRA) would use to renovate Belmont Park. The money, as previously reported, would be repaid with the subsidies NYRA is already receiving. Talk about a sweetheart deal. So, we will head back down in the next couple weeks. Because this lobby day will be squarely focused on the bond proposal, follows is an ugly, inconvenient truth on Belmont and Aqueduct (the new Belmont would absorb all of Aqueduct’s racedays).
From 2009 through 2022, 854 horses died at Belmont/Aqueduct – an average of 61 per year. With history as our guide – and why shouldn’t it be – we can reasonably expect another 1,800 or so horses to perish at the new Belmont over the life of the bonds (30 years). Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds more beautiful, intelligent, and sensitive beings sacrificed for $2 bets – and all of it coming on the public’s dime.
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