To give you an idea just who was involved in the New York Racing Association agreement we reached on Wednesday, consider everybody who had a stake:

• Hundreds of employees who would've been out of a job if the tracks closed;

•  Track and racino owners, including Jeff Gural, who owns Tioga Downs in Nichols and Vernon Downs near Rome;

•  Jockeys, breeders and owners;

•  Executive branch oversight agencies;

•  Legislators – at least 18 in the Senate and Assembly represent the tracks; and

•  Municipal governments like the Town of Nichols and Tioga County, which 
benefit from the tax revenue of a track.

 That's dozens of people, each with a different need to be met. Negotiating with one person can be relatively simple. Negotiating with 40 or 50 is complicated. We took and made late-night calls and sat in offices through the middle of the night right up until the last minute to get this agreement done.

 The Senate passed a bill to restructure horse-racing in New York last year, but it didn't seem to get any traction in the Assembly. Gural threatened to close his racinos if talks didn't make progress – and he did close Vernon Downs briefly, temporarily laying off 200 people.

 Now that the agreement is done, here's what it does:

•  Allows Tioga Downs and other facilities to keep a bit more of their own income, so they can break even, and keep 300 people employed;

•  Lets the track spend up to $2.5 million for capital improvements like hotels, restaurants and fun parks that will create even more jobs, and draw more visitors. That's a cycle of investment that will help Nichols, Tioga County and our entire region; and

• Increases the business' marketing budget, so it can tell the world about the improvements it'll make, which will draw more visitors.

 None of that is a guarantee of Tioga Downs' success. That's up to you, and the friends you may take there, the owner, and the employees. But I hope what this agreement gives the track in Nichols a fair chance at more success.

 Because government isn't about the numbers. It's about the people.