ALBANY — A public hearing on New York horse racing held Wednesday took an enthusiastic tone, as testimonials touted the industry’s successful comeback this year after a pandemic-stifled 2020 and looked to potential future gains in online betting.
Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow, who chairs the chamber’s Racing and Wagering Committee, kicked off the session with a nod to a recently signed bill which will ban the slaughter of racehorses in New York beginning next year.
“That was something that really gave us in the racing industry a bad name, and that’s one thing that’s gone away,” Pretlow said of the practice. The bill, which Pretlow sponsored, had the backing of most major industry players, including the New York Racing Association (NYRA) and the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association.