Deadline nears to award new State horse racing franchise
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ALBANY -- Senate Republican leader Joseph Bruno called Assembly Democratic leader Sheldon Silver a wimp Monday.
"I asked him to show some leadership," Bruno said of Silver's refusal to offer a united front against Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer in negotiations. "He says I called him a wimp. And I did."
Such is the political discourse in Albany these days as a Dec. 31 deadline nears to award New York's thoroughbred racing franchise. Bruno held a news conference he said was intended to pressure agreement on a deal to award a 30-year franchise to operate Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga race tracks.
Silver spokesman Dan Weiller said there would be no response.
The insult is the latest among leaders over recent months in gridlocked Albany, and milder than most.
Still, staff members for Bruno, Silver and Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer continue to negotiate a racing deal that could extend or end the tenure of the New York Racing Association, which has held the franchise since 1955. NYRA has threatened to press claims it owns the tracks if it doesn't get a renewal. Spitzer and Silver favor a renewal under a reconstituted NYRA.
"We could live with almost anything," said Bruno, whose district includes Saratoga Race Course. "This isn't about people ... we're wide open."
Asked if that includes supporting Spitzer's plan, Bruno said: "That is a disaster ... we're not going to do that."
The Senate plans a special session Dec. 13.
The Assembly will convene if there is a deal, Weiller said.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
