NYRA’s New Commitment
There was a chill in the air but the sun was out and it felt like spring at Aqueduct on Saturday with Tom Durkin back calling and tulips blooming in paddock planters. Saratoga didn’t seem so far off. At least, until I headed to the third floor balcony to watch a couple races and found the usual scene of abandoned beer cans and bedraggled trash strewn about the boxes, the seats coated in gritty dust. Ah, Aqueduct.
Earlier in the day, I listened to president Charlie Hayward tell 50 or so horseplayers, assembled for a focus group in Equestris, that with the franchise matter (almost) settled, NYRA was looking forward to its next 25 years and that one area they hoped to improve was customer service. “We’re making a commitment to listening to fans,” he said, which is why we were there two hours before first post talking about our best racing experiences and what we expected of a trip to a great racetrack. Most of what was asked for in the focus group — wireless access, pleasant employees, comps, better food and drink, improved communications, signage, and information — will take some time to implement. But one thing, brought up again and again, could be done right away — clean up the grandstand.
