Faraldo: Gural just has to keep it going

Jeff Gural has no filter and cannot get over his obsession with me for standing in the way of his taking advantage of horsemen in New York. Once again, Mr. Gural, in the HRU edition 10-10-25 (see pg. 18), rants as the poor person people don’t do enough for.

First, he starts with lamenting that he cannot race his horses in overnight events at the two New York tracks he owns. The fact is that effective Sept. 5, 1974 – that’s right, 1974 – NYS Rule 4116.3 was enacted because a track operator at a NYS track — specifically, Saratoga — was racing his own horses in overnights and was found to be using his race office to write favorable conditions or to open classes to accommodate the boss’s horses. That prompted the rule, 52 years ago that still reads as follows;

Section 4116.3 Officials may not drive or enter horses.

a. No officer, director, or executive, or spouse thereof, of a track shall drive a horse at such track, except that limited pari-mutuel meetings or in non-betting races; nor may a horse be entered in which he has any beneficial interest in any overnight event that said track.

The rule was enacted to prevent track owners or executives from taking advantage of horsemen by the power that the track owner has to structure overnight races in such a way as to gain an advantage over the very horsemen competing at his track.

Mr. Gural purchased Vernon apparently unaware of this rule that effected the likes of Tim Rooney the owner of Yonkers and others. I brought this rule to Gural’s attention. The SOA of New York, other New York horsemen’s organizations and at least one, if not more, OTBs, fought against the repeal of the rule and its repeal was defeated.

Second, and out of the blue, Mr. Gural asserts that the SOA of NY refused to pay for a portion of the cost of relighting Vernon Downs. Such a request was never made to SOA of NY, and if it were no horsemen’s money would ever be diverted from Yonkers into Mr. Gural’s pocket in order for him to comply with the NYS Gaming Commission’s order to improve the track lighting conditions at Vernon.

I counseled Mr. Gural against the purchase at Vernon, since there were a number of other suitors who wanted to buy the racetrack. Gural would have none of it and wanted to have a place for his own horses to train and make money on the VLT option. The horsemen did ask something and it was not, ‘Please buy Vernon,’ it was a plea to the bankruptcy judge, in a “contempt proceeding,” to order Gural to turn over purse money due those Vernon horsemen. Monies that he had not turned over.

Forgetting his obsession with me, no one in harness racing should disregard his quote widely circulated, “the tracks – including me, if I’m just wearing my ‘track hat’ – all want harness racing to disappear as quickly as possible” and “so they are going to do whatever to make that happen.”

Nuff said. Count me out as your helping hand.

Joe Faraldo / SOA of New York

More thoughts on Gural

Let’s get this out of the way first. I love The Meadowlands and hope it doesn’t join Freehold, Garden State, etc. The track still has the best racing and best handle by a long shot. However, it was tough to read the HRU “Letter to the Industry” from Big M head honcho, Jeff Gural. For over a decade now, Mr. Gural has harped on the same issues over and over again that it’s actually become tiring. I’m all for cleaning the sport up and he’s absolutely right to try and excluded cheaters.

However, complaining about Vernon Downs losing money was absurd because it was obvious that track couldn’t turn a profit. It had failed under several different owners and as Mr. Gural mentioned was five minutes away from a full-fledged Indian casino. That’s not the industry’s fault. If Mr. Gural saved Vernon to help the horsemen upstate and preserve a large oval for the breeding industry that was his choice. Given the caliber of horses and remote location, I’m not sure what he could’ve expected from that investment. As for help from Joe Faraldo, Mr. Gural should have known that wouldn’t happen as the two hate each other.

As for The Big M, the issues about the lack of support, cheaters, the grandstand cost, losing money has been well chronicled. I appreciate all the work Mr. Gural did in saving the track years ago. However, rehashing the same complaints over and over is fruitless.

Although I agree whole heartily that the Hambletonian should run at The Big M in 2027, I can see the Society’s point, unfortunately, in relocating. Let’s just say the obvious: Mr. Gural has pegged the future of the track solely on a November 2027 casino referendum. Mr. Gural has stated that he can’t commit past 2027. Thus, he should announce the obvious: The Big M will join Freehold and Garden State should the referendum fail. Otherwise, Mr. Gural would’ve exercised his exclusive right to keep the most important race in the industry.

Personally, I will be floored if the referendum succeeds. The amount of money that will be thrown at stopping the casino along with who-knows-what local opposition (see all the failed New York City casino bids) seems insurmountable.

Finally, a Google search pegs Mr. Gural’s net worth at a mere $320 to $340 million. At 83 years old, not to sound callous, but losing a few million a year doesn’t sound too horrible at this point in his life, especially if you enjoy watching your horses grow, run and win. He may not be rewarded financially, but his legacy for helping keep the sport going is a positive one that should give him pause to keep harping on the financial issues.

May we all enjoy the final years of The Big M if the worst happens.