NYC OTB shutdown will yield improvements

A prominent horseman says the state’s racing industry has enough positives to offset the short-term pain of New York City Off Track Betting’s recent closure.

This fall, five high-profile stallions and numerous mares moved into McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds LLC, a leading area breeding farm, when Aqueduct’s racino deal was finalized.

Farm owner Joseph McMahon said horses are still coming to New York, despite OTB’s failure this month.

“Horse people by and large view the OTB thing as something that’s been inefficient, poorly run and desperately needing fixing for 30 years,” he said. “We’re going to go through some pain in the short run. But whatever replaces it is going to be better. The short-term pain is worth the long-term solution.”