by David Singer

Albany, NY — The state of racing, drugs in racing, the NYRA franchise, the status of OTB parlors and harness tracks in New York, and legislative and regulatory developments in New York. These issues, and many more, will be addressed at the eighth annual Saratoga Institute on Racing and Gaming Law, sponsored by the Government Law Center of Albany Law School on Tuesday, August 5, at the Gideon Putnam Hotel in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. A special pre-institute program — “Drug Use at the Race Track: Who Should Be Liable?” — begins at 8:00 a.m. The regular sessions run from 9:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.

The ensuing morning panel will include a presentation on the national state of racing by Alex Waldrop, Esq., president and CEO, National Thoroughbred Racing Association.

This will be followed by a panel on the future of the NYRA franchise with Steven Crist, chairman and publisher, Daily Racing Form; C. Steven Duncker, chairman, New York Racing Association; and Paul Francis, Esq., the former director of State Operations for Governors Paterson and Spitzer.

Additional conference presenters include the following prominent professionals in the horse racing industry: Dino Amoroso, Esq., president, Nassau County Off-Track Betting Corp.; Jerry Bilinski, DVM, former chairman, New York State Racing and Wagering Board; Ira Block, Esq., counsel, New York City Off-Track Betting Corp.; Stephen Bochnak, New York State Assembly; Patrick Connors, professor of law, Albany Law School; Garry Contessa, thoroughbred trainer; Alan Foreman, Esq., Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association; Jeffrey Gural, chairman, Newmark & Co.; Dan Hogan, chairman, New York State Racing and Wagering Board; Annette I. Kahler, Esq., Director, Science and Technology Law Center, Albany Law School; Mike Kane, communications officer, National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame; Elena DeFio Kean, Esq., Towne, Bartkowski & DeFio Kean, P.C.; Bennett Liebman, Esq., executive director, Government Law Center of Albany Law School; Ed Martin, president and CEO, Association of Racing Commissioners International; George Maylin, Director, Equine Drug Testing/Research Program, Cornell University; Jon McCloskey, New York State Senate; David Meyers, Esq., Meyers and Meyers; William Murray, Esq., deputy director and general counsel, New York State Division of Lottery; Robert Penchina, Esq., Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz L.L.P.; Dick Powell, racing consultant; Corey W. Roush, Esq., Hogan & Hartson; James Towne, Esq., Towne, Bartkowski & DeFio Kean, P.C.; and Scot Waterman, DVM, executive director, Racing Medication and Testing Consortium.

This seminar has been accredited as a source of continuing legal education credits for all attorneys in New York. For tuition information and to register, contact the Government Law Center at (518) 445-3287 or www.albanylaw.edu/glc.

To download a conference brochure, click on the following link.