VERNON, N.Y. — The top official at Vernon Downs is seeking tax relief from New York State, citing “significant financial losses due to the added competition” from nearby casinos.
So, Jeff Gural, chairman of American Racing and Entertainment, is postponing the opening day of racing at the venue, according to a statement the company issued Thursday. The 64th season of live harness racing had been set for April 21. The company did not say when racing would resume. It also canceled its planned media night that had been set for Tuesday, April 18.
The competing casinos that have table games include the Oneida Indian Nation’s Yellow Brick Road Casino in Chittenango; del Lago Resort Casino in the town of Tyre in Seneca County; and Rivers Casino & Resort in Schenectady, Gural said.
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They’ve “taken revenue away,” Gural contends, noting that Vernon Downs is “losing on average about $150,000 per month since November.”
“It is extremely unfortunate but we have no other choice than to postpone the opening day of racing at Vernon Downs,” Gural said in the release. “The property loses money on racing so opening racing now only makes a bad situation worse. We have requested tax relief from New York State and, in meetings with the governor’s office, it seemed they understood the problem and were prepared to act. Unfortunately, the legislature did not give it the priority it deserved.”
Gural issued a second statement later Thursday, clarifying his position about the legislature’s inaction. “I want to clarify that while I was extremely disappointed that relief for Vernon Downs was not put in the budget, it was not for lack of effort on the part of many of our local politicians,” Gural said. “Senator [Joseph] Griffo led the fight to help have this included in the budget and the people I met with in the Governor’s office also seemed supportive. Unfortunately, with all of the other issues on the table, relief for Vernon was simply not included. I look forward to working with Senator Griffo and other local legislative leaders once the legislature returns from their Easter recess. I am highly optimistic that Vernon Downs can achieve a favorable outcome. All we are asking is for the State to recognize that they are collecting the same taxes that they formerly collected from Vernon Downs from our competitors now, and that any tax relief that we get will have no impact on monies going for education. Without tax relief, it is simply impossible for racinos to compete with casinos and I think everyone understands that.”
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
Photo credit: Vernon Downs website
