by Paul Post

Preserving integrity and enhancing state revenue streams are John Sabini’s top priorities heading into his first meeting as chairman of the New York State Racing and Wagering Board.

The three-member panel, which regulates all racing and gaming in the state, is scheduled to meet on Thursday at its Schenectady headquarters.

Governor David Paterson nominated Sabini, a former Democratic state senator from Queens, to the $120,800 post in June. His appointment was ratified on August 8 and he took over on August 11.

“I don’t propose to be the person who solves the nation’s Thoroughbred ills, but I want to help it along,” he said. “We need to get people who are sports fans more interested in horse racing.”

Sabini, 51, was ranking Democrat on the Republican-controlled Senate Racing Committee on Racing, Gaming, and Wagering. He and Paterson were colleagues together in the Senate before the latter became lieutenant governor and then governor in March.

“The governor had mentioned the job to me when he first took office,” Sabini said. “He wanted someone within government to coordinate issues on all sorts of gaming. He wants to see how we can make all these entities produce revenue for the state.”

Board members serve for six years with the chairman named by the governor. Sabini replaces Daniel Hogan, who remains on the board, as chairman and fills the vacancy of Michael Hoblock, whose term has expired. John Simoni of Saratoga County is the board’s other member.

Sabini, a self-described “casual handicapper,” has never owned horses but gained an intimate knowledge of New York’s Thoroughbred industry during the recently concluded franchise selection process that saw the New York Racing Association obtain a new 25-year contract to run Saratoga Race Course, Belmont Park, and Aqueduct.

Racing nationwide has been impacted by several negative developments, from steroids to the death of Eight Belles in this year’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1), he said. Also, top horses should be promoted and marketed more to generate fan followings, which can be achieved by having them race longer, such as Curlin, instead of retiring them after their three-year-old campaigns.

“It’s not just New York,” Sabini. “The same things are needed in California and Florida, too. You want to make people feel some confidence in the sport.”

Sabini takes over during a turbulent time in New York. This spring, New York City Off-Track Betting Corp., the nation’s largest wagering entity that handles more than $1-billion annually, threatened to close because of cash-flow problems. The state has since taken it over.

NYRA, although given a new franchise, is still in bankruptcy and operating with the latest in a series of temporary extensions while waiting for its new contract to become official.

New York has six regional off-track betting corporations that many people believe suffer from duplication of services. Sabini said he believes that short-term efficiencies can be achieved while preserving each group’s individuality.

“The governor indicated that the new chairman will have a lot of say about where we’re heading as a state with regard to all of these revenue streams,” Sabini said.

Paul Post is a New York-based Thoroughbred Times correspondent