High expectations for Drosselmeyer. NYRA gets a loan.
WinStar farm already has a win this Triple Crown Season, being the owner of Super Saver, the winner of the Kentucky Derby. Having fielded 3 horses at the Derby, they now only have one horse in the Belmont Stakes, Drosselmeyer.
Drosselmeyer, before the Derby, was considered to be the best horse coming out of WinStar Farm this year, however he did not run the Derby, both for qualification reasons, but also with the long term performance of the colt at stake. Drosselmeyer was not considered to be at the right fitness to run the Derby, so rather than risk it, they did not push him. In the races he has run, Drosselmeyer has put up some impressive stats sitting on 2-3-2 out of his last 8 starts. Usually jockeyed by Desormeaux, Mike Smith has accepted the mount for the Belmont.
Drosselmeyer worked 6 furlongs this Sunday in 1:14.10 at the Belmont. He will work one more time before posting at Belmont.
Yesterday New York State lawmakers floated a $25 million loan to the New York Racing Association (NYRA), keeping it from closing its doors after this year’s running of the Belmont Stakes. Citing the role that horse racing places in the New York economy, David Patterson lumped the loan in with an emergency appropriations bill, meaning that voting against it would have effectively shut down the government.
The loan is to be repaid by March 31st of next year. If it is not paid by that point, the government will start drawing from casino profits. The NYRA was originally supposed to get $17 from the New York City Off-Track Betting Corp (NYCOTB), but they have not paid that amount. The NYCOTB is plagued by poor management and needs to get their act together if they want there to be high level horse racing in New York State.
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