VLT Revenues for Purses and Awards Constitutional, New York Court Rules

NEW YORK -- AS reported by the Thoroughbred Times: "The New York State Court of Appeals on Tuesday officially approved video lottery terminals at the state's racetracks, ruling in Albany that not only are the VLTs constitutional, but also that using VLT revenue to pay horsemen and breeders is constitutional.

"...By reversing that decision, the Court of Appeals cleared the way for the much anticipated construction and operation of as many as 4,500 VLTs at Aqueduct in Queens.

"...Richard Bomze, president of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, was also pleased with the ruling. 'We won everything, which is great,' he said Tuesday. 'The horsemen spent a lot of money…to defeat the earlier court's ruling.'

"Bomze said he hoped the ruling would accelerate contract negotiations with NYRA. "I'm waiting for NYRA to come to the table," he said.

"Nader is confident that will not be a problem, even though NYRA and the horsemen's group have never had a contract, relying instead on statutory provisions and/or amendments to the state racing law..."