Sabini confirmed as top racing czar

BY VICTOR G. MIMONI

Wednesday, August 13, 2008 9:48 PM EDT

Former State Senator John Sabini, whose political career went lame after a drunk driving arrest last year, has been confirmed by the Senate as the new Chair of the state’s Racing and Wagering Board.

He was nominated at a press conference on Friday, June 13, when Governor David Paterson also announced the state’s takeover of New York City’s Off Track Betting operation.

Sabini, who had been the ranking Democrat on the Senate Racing Committee, testified before his colleagues at a hearing on Friday, August 8, after which his nomination was confirmed unanimously. He then resigned his senate seat.

“It’s bittersweet to leave the State Senate,” said the lifelong resident of Jackson Heights, who represented his neighborhood, Corona and East Elmhurst in Albany for six years. “I will always be proud of what we accomplished for our state,” he added.

“I will bring the same passionate and dedicated service to my new role, and I will do all I can to make racing and wagering a growth industry in New York,” Sabini said.

“I look forward to helping the Paterson administration find new ways to maximize revenue for taxpayers,” Sabini said of his position as the state’s overseer of racing, Native American gaming and off-track betting.

He pledged to ensure “the integrity of an industry that is so important to our state.”

Noting the major investment the state has in the horseracing industry, he declared, “We don’t run races so horse owners can watch their horses.”

Sabini was tough on the industry during his confirmation hearing, saying that physical conditions at some tracks have turned off potential patrons, criticized owners who retire their horses to stud before they can excite the wider public’s imagination and criticized the New York Racing Association’s (NYRA) marketing of the sport.

“It’s not just a private club,” Sabini said of NYRA. “They need to be pushed a little. They’re not just doing this for the benefit of their own board,” he commented.

In response to numerous questions, Sabini said that any plans to expand activities at Belmont Park would have to wait until the contract to operate a casino operation at Aqueduct race track had been awarded. He called the decision “imminent.”

Plans to bring Video Lottery Terminals to Belmont have been blocked by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

With Sabini’s resignation, term-limited City Councilmember Hiram Monserrate, who would have faced him in a primary election in September, becomes the heir-apparent for the seat.

Champion Fencer, Keeth Smart takes a break from his workout as he gets ready for the Beijing Olympic Games on Monday afternoon July 28th at the Manhattan Fencing Club.