Riggio, Megna replaced on NYRA board

Leonard Riggio and Robert Megna have been removed from the board of the New York Racing Association to make room for two voting members guaranteed seats under legislation signed this year, according to NYRA.

Riggio, a longtime NYRA board member and Thoroughbred owner and breeder, and Megna, a government official with ties to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, will have their seats filled by Richard Violette, the president of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, and Jeffrey Cannizzo, the executive director of New York Thoroughbred Breeders Inc. NYTHA and NYTB were guaranteed voting seats in legislation passed this year giving control of the majority of the board’s appointments to NYRA.

The legislation returned control of the board to NYRA five years after Cuomo, citing dissatisfaction with NYRA’s management, pushed through a plan to give the state government greater oversight of the association. At the time, Cuomo was in discussions with gambling companies and real-estate developers over an expansion of casinos in the state. The state owns the deeds to NYRA’s three tracks.

Cuomo’s plan had put in place a 15-member board with two non-voting seats for NYTHA and NYTB. The new legislation provides for a 17-member board, but because of a shift in the allotment of appointments, it was necessary for two board members appointed by the state to step down for the new voting seats guaranteed to the two horsemen’s organizations.

Megna and Riggio were both appointed by Cuomo, though Riggio previously had been on the board.

The rest of the new board consists of members from the previous board, according to NYRA.