January 2018, it’s 11:30 p.m. and about -10 degrees, and the power was down on the Belmont Park backstretch—no electricity, no heat. I found myself walking barn to barn with a ragtag band of volunteers, New York Racing Association security and New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association board members, trying to make sure that all the workers housed at Belmont had a warm and safe place to sleep, not to mention that all the horses had unfrozen water and hay. I had just been elected president of NYTHA and if I’m being honest, was wondering what in the heck I got myself into.
I’m still not sure how I had gotten there, when only three years prior I didn’t even know what NYTHA did. Then I wrote an opinion piece in the TDN, and Joe Brocklebank’s tenacity did the rest. In the past nine years, I’ve learned volumes about NYTHA, the support services it offers, its advocacy work and, most importantly, its members. NYTHA is a unique organization; in nine years, we’ve distributed over $15 million in aid to backstretch workers and advocated for the sport in Albany, all while balancing the interests of owners and trainers who race at NYRA tracks.
NYTHA is a reflection of all that our sport has to offer—in the last six years, we’ve weathered indictments, a 90-day COVID-19 shutdown, a barn fire and, most recently, scrutiny of breakdowns and horse welfare. We’ve also rallied our community—being heard in Albany, resulting in $455 million from the state for a new racetrack, health insurance for our trainers, and a decline in workers’ compensation costs by nearly 60%.
The real joy of the role has been meeting so many of you, so many people in different roles—backstretch workers, the devoted caregivers at our backstretch charities like B.E.S.T. (Backstretch Employee Service Team), regulators, racing officials, security, trainers, exercise riders—learning your perspectives and occasionally even resolving an issue. On the very same day, I’ve met the governor and helped a backstretch worker find shelter—further reflecting the dichotomies of the sport and NYTHA’s role in balancing them. It’s been the education of a lifetime.
I have had the amazing fortune to work with many committed board members, staffers and volunteers, whether it’s handing out turkeys with the chaplaincy crew on Thanksgiving, signing dozens of scholarship checks for the children of backstretch workers, or raising money on Lustgarten Day and Aftercare Day—it doesn’t happen without broad participation.
In particular, our entire equine community owes a debt to retiring NYTHA board members Rick Schosberg and Pat Kelly—they have been stalwarts. Without Rick, our perception of equine aftercare would be far more modest. Pat has been a constant on the Belmont backstretch for my lifetime, a board meeting wouldn’t seem complete without one of his updates on Gate 8. Finally, nothing would happen at NYTHA without Dionne Johnson, she has been central to all we accomplish. She is our archivist, our conscience, our engine—truly indispensable.
Thank you all for entrusting me with the leadership of the organization. For a kid who first came to Belmont in 1987 and watched as Groovy wired them all in the True North, it’s hard to believe that for six years I got to participate in the workings of the track in such an intimate way.
This is an exciting time to be involved in racing at NYRA. Assuredly, the next few years will be a difficult transition, but the reopening of Belmont will be transformative—truly something to be hopeful for. I can’t wait!
Joe Appelbaum
Open letter to NYTHA members
