Funding to boost Finger Lakes Casino and Racetrack

Finger Lakes Casino and Racetrack will get $492,000 to increase purses and to attract larger fields for races, officials announced.The funding was approved Thursday by board members of the New York State Thoroughbred Breeding & Development Fund Corp., officials said. Finger Lakes will get 60 percent of $820,000 in approved funding. The remaining $328,000 will go to the New York Racing Association, which operates Saratoga Race Course, Belmont Park and Aqueduct Racetrack.The purse enrichment is the result of revisions to the fund’s 2011 budget, because of increased revenues from NYRA and lower payouts than anticipated for Breeder and Stallion awards, officials said.“This contribution is a positive sign for New York’s thoroughbred racing industry,” fund chairman John Sabini said in a statement. “Our state’s racetracks are world-renowned and should continue to attract world-renowned participants.”