I want to make it clear that the recent decision BloodHorse wrote about (DOWNEY: Portion of Thoro-Graph Suit Against NYRA Dismissed) concerned our additional cause of action because of NYRA's termination of the deal, not the contract case.
When we tried to get NYRA to pay us the money they owed, they threatened several times to terminate the joint venture, and when eventually we told them we would sue them unless they paid us, they terminated. Our legal position was that they were not acting in good faith when they did that; the judge essentially said their motive didn't matter.
I would note that the NYRA/Thoro-Graph joint venture they ended made the horsemen over $2 million for purses, and over $3 million for NYRA. The latter effectively went to New York State, since NYRA is a not-for-profit quasi state agency.
Meanwhile, the contract case goes on. Thoro-Graph is entitled to 50% of the net revenue from the joint venture from each of NYRABets and NYRA. As we explain in detail in our complaint, NYRA has not paid its share, and when we first raised the issue told us the reason is that host fees they RECEIVE from the joint venture count as an expense, not revenue. (You read that right).
We sued NYRA a year ago, and to date they have not offered an identifiable defense, instead (NYRA) used money that could otherwise go to the state to drag things out through the legal system. Maybe BloodHorse can get them to articulate what their defense is, if so we would love to hear it.
Jerry Brown
President, Thoro-Graph Inc.
