The New York Racing Association, Inc. is the not-for-profit corporation that operates the three largest Thoroughbred horse racing tracks in the state of New York, United States: Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, Queens. Racing at NYRA tracks is year-round, operating at Belmont Park from May to mid-July and from September through October; the New York Racing Association is the successor to the Greater New York Association, a non-profit racing association created in 1955. NYRA is separate from the governing body that oversees racing in New York, the former New York State Racing and Wagering Board. In 1913, racing returned to New York after a hiatus due to the Hart–Agnew Law. Only four tracks had survived the hiatus; these were Belmont Park, Jamaica Racetrack and Saratoga Race Course. The tracks came under common ownership with the creation of a non-profit association known as the Greater New York Association in 1955; the association remodeled Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park, Saratoga Race Course and demolished Jamaica, now the Rochdale Village housing development.
The partnership became the New York Racing Association on April 10, 1958. Belmont Park was closed from 1963 to 1968 in order to construct a new grandstand. Off-track betting in New York was established in 1970, being offered by regional, government-owned corporations. OTB parlors began showing live video feeds of races in 1984. In 1995, NYRA launched a telephone advance-deposit wagering service. From December 2003 through September 2005, NYRA operated under a deferred prosecution agreement following a 2003 federal indictment; the charges related alleged income tax evasion and money laundering by mutuel clerks between 1980 and 1999 with the knowledge of NYRA middle managers. Under the agreement, NYRA paid $3 million to the government and its implementation of new cash-handling procedures designed to eliminate corruption and mismanagement was monitored by a New York law firm. After receiving a report from the monitor which concluded that NYRA was in compliance with the new guidelines, the Justice Department moved to dismiss the indictment and its motion was allowed by a federal judge.
NYRA, claiming that the state lottery division's failure to approve the installation of video-lottery terminal machines at Aqueduct Racetrack pushed it to insolvency, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on November 2, 2006. The association emerged from bankruptcy protection September 12, 2008 with incorporation of a successor corporation, New York Racing Association Inc. New York City's OTB Corporation shut down in 2010. In 2016, NYRA launched an online advance-deposit wagering platform under the brand NYRA Bets, which offers live bets and live simulcasts, is available on multiple states. NYRA was reorganized and its franchise to operate the three racetracks was extended through 2033 under legislation approved by the New York state legislature on February 13, 2008; the new authorization provided $105 million in direct state aid and forgave millions more in state loans to NYRA. The association gave up its claim to ownership of the land on which the three racetracks are situated. In return, the state gained expanded oversight responsibility.
The state comptroller won the power to audit NYRA's books. The conversion of NYRA from a non-profit association to a not-for-profit corporation gave the state attorney general enhanced oversight authority. In addition, the state now appoints 11 of the corporation's 25 directors. By changing from non-profit to not-for-profit status, NYRA gained flexibility in its financial management. On December 20, 2017, a development team led by the National Hockey League’s New York Islanders said that it will invest $1 billion in private funds to transform Belmont Park into a state-of-the-art sports and entertainment destination, including construction of an 18,000-seat arena that will bring the hockey club back to Long Island; the Islanders moved to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center in 2015 after playing more than 40 years at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale. The team plans to break ground on the year-round arena in the spring of 2018 and open the building in 2020. New York Arena Partners, the Islanders’ partners in the development—which includes Sterling Project Development, a real estate firm run by the New York Mets’ Wilpon family, Oak View Group, an arena development company funded in part by Madison Square Garden—will finance the project.
The group will pay a total of $40 million in rent. The arena is expected to host up to 150 events including concerts; the plan calls for 435,000 square feet of space of restaurants and a movie theater. Concurrent with the project, Belmont’s Park’s Long Island Rail Road station would become a full-service station with the area enhanced by landscaping, public art and a bike path connecting the property to the residential community. NYRA plans to upgrade the track and heating systems. NYRA maintains its own law enforcement force comprising over 150 sworn law enforcement officers; the force consists of uniformed officers and supervisors, fire marshals, plain clothed investigators and inspectors, all of whom maintain New York State Peace Officer status, thus giving them arrest and investigatory powers, the authority to issue summonses, the ability to carry defensive weapons including a firearm, pepper spray, handcuffs. Uniforme
The manor of Hillersdon was a historic manor in the parish of Cullompton, England, held by the de Hillersdon family from the 13th century until the early 16th century. It was held by a number of different families including the Cockeram and Grant families. Hillersdon House is still in use; the name means Hildhere's hill - dun means hill in Old English. The name Hild is first found in the 7th century and the hill referred to may be the tumulus in Hillersdon Wood. In the time of Edward the Confessor, the manor was held by Sheerwold and the Domesday Book of 1086 lists the manor of HILESDONE as the 18th of the 24 Devonshire holdings of Odo FitzGamelin, one of the Devon Domesday Book tenants-in-chief of King William the Conqueror, he was the son-in-law of another of the Devon Domesday Book tenants-in-chief. The lands of both men formed part of the feudal barony of Great Torrington, his tenant at Hillersdon was Reginald. In the Book of Fees it is listed as held from the feudal barony of Great Torrington.
In 1166 Hillersdon was held by Daniel de Brailega from William de Toriton. The estate was the seat of the de Hillersdon family from the thirteenth century; as was common, they had taken their surname from their seat. For a time the manor was held in two parts - East and West Hillerson. In 1241 Roger de Hele and William de Hilderesdon were the tenants, in 1303 Roger de Hele and Roger de Hillesldon are returned as the tenants, while in 1346 Roger de Hillerysdon had both East and West Hillersdon. In 1456-57 Andrew Hillersdon was Sheriff of Devon. According to the Heraldic Visitations of Devon Andrew Hillersdon, married Anne Edgecombe, "daughter and heir of Sir Richard Edgecombe of Edgecombe" and widow of Sir William Trevanion of Caerhays; the Edgcumbe pedigree in the Heraldic Visitations of Devon however lists no "Sir Richard Edgecombe of Edgecombe" who left female heiresses at this date, the estate of Edgcumbe in the parish of Milton Abbot remained in the Edgcumbe family until at least 1725.) His son Roger Hillersdon, married into the prominent Fortescue family.
Following these favourable marriages, the Hillersdon's sold the manor and moved elsewhere in the early 16th-century. Pole states "beinge advanced by their matches in diverse howses they left their dwellinge heere & removed unto their other howses of better valewe & sold this land away"; the seat of Roger Hillersdon, was Membland in the parish of Holbeton, where his descendants remained for several generations. After the dissolution of the monasteries, the manors of Cullompton and Upton Weaver were granted to Sir George St. Leger, his son Sir John St. Leger sold them to Thomas Risdon and it was held by the Hillersdons; the manor of Cullompton seems to have belonged to the owners of the Hillersdon estate along with that of Ponsford. In the early seventeenth century, Risdon states that Hillersdon was the seat of "Mr Cockrane", whose father and grandfather had held it; the Cockeram family descended from George Cockeram of "Hunington" in Devon, one of the overseers of John Lane’s will. In 1573 he was identified as a merchant.
The son of George Cockeram was called George and was the first to be styled "George Cockeram of Cullompton". He died in 1586; therefore the Cockerams might have purchased the estate directly from the Hillersdons in the early sixteenth century. In Queen Elizabeth's reign George and John Cockram, supplied arms and armour for the defence of the realm; as well as being patrons of the church, the family were great benefactors of the church and George and Bathsheba, the children of David Cockeram each gave the church a communion cup. They gave a market cross to the town and lands for its upkeep. In 1620 the head of the family was Humprey Cockeram. Robert Cockeram was a Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford, his monument survives in Cullompton Church. After being released from his duties at Oxford he spent much of his time at his house in 10 acres or at Growen. In his will he bequeathed to the young scholars of Cullompton Grammar School, his "Cooper's Dictionary", to be kept chained to a desk, he left money for repairs to the church and almshouses.
Pole, records that Hillersdon was owned by "Mr Prous of Taunton", whose eldest son resided there. Pole, although a contemporary of Risdon, makes no mention of the Cockram tenure although he does state "The patrons of the church of Columpton are Willm Every, Esquier, & Henry Cokeram, of Columpton", it is possible that the estate was sold by the Cockerams to the Prowses in the early 17th century, in which case there would be no conflict between the account of Risdon and that of Pole. The Prouse family was branches of which were seated at Gidleigh Castle, they descended from the marriage of Peter Prouz of "Eastervale" to Mary de Redvers. She was the daughter and heiress of William de Redvers, 5th Earl of Devon of Tiverton Castle, widow of Sir Robert de Courtenay feudal baron of Okehampton; the ownership of Hillersdon in the rest of the seventeenth and early 18th century is unclear. In 1739, Joanna Burridge, widow of Samuel Burridge of Tiverton, her daughter Elizabeth sold Hilersdon to Henry Cruwys of New Inn, Middlesex for £3,750.
During his ownership of the estate he planted a number of oak trees in rows, both English Oaks and Turkey Oaks of a variety known as Iron Oaks which were from the nursery of W
Atrevido y Diferente is the debut studio album by Puerto Rican salsa singer Eddie Santiago. Released in 1986, it was cited as one of the turning points of the salsa genre into salsa romantica. Two singles were released from the album. Nadie Mejor Que Tu was the first single charted # 16 on Hot Latin Tracks. Que Locura de Enamorarme de Ti was the second single released from the album and charted #13 on the Hot Latin Tracks. "Tú Me Quemas" - 4:59 "Volcán de Amor" - 4:22 "Nadie Mejor Que Tú" - 3:49 "De Profesión... Tu Amante" - 4:28 "Que Locura Enamorarme de Ti" - 5:07 "Secretos" - 4:17 "Quiero Amarte en la Yerba" - 5:06 "Se Acabó" - 4:00 The album peaked #1 on the tropical album charts and remained #1 for 10 consecutive weeks. John Storm Roberts of Allmusic declared Atrevido y Diferente to be "the biggest name in the newish salsa-romantica vein" and pointed out the rise of salsa romantica. List of number-one Billboard Tropical Albums from the 1980s
Mistaken is a novel by the Irish novelist and filmmaker Neil Jordan published in 2011 by John Murray in the UK and Soft Skull Press in the US. It won both Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award; the novel is told from the viewpoint of Kevin Thunder who grows up in 1960s Dublin, next door to Bram Stoker's house. Kevin has an elusive double, Gerald for whom he is mistaken. Gerald lives in attends Belvedere College; the narrative begins at Gerald's funeral. The remainder of the novel takes the form of an explanation written for Emily on how his life and that of her father intertwined over the years. Patrick McGrath in The Guardian praises Jordans depiction of Dublin characters and places Kevin's parents "These familial scenes are deftly, warmly done, here the novel breathes with life" but he is less impressed by the more gothic aspects of the story "The problem with Mistaken is a doom-laden cloud of insinuation that hovers over the story and saps its vitality... In terms of its manipulation of gothic tropes, Mistaken fails to arouse the deep unease and sudden, horrified recognition we require of the genre" he concludes "There's a good slim Dublin novel trying to claw its way out of this book.
The pages feel clogged. Effects are strained after rather than happened upon; the best energies of the novel are smothered by gothic innuendo, where clarity and brevity would have served it better'. Caryn James of The New York Times however praises these same gothic elements: "Vampires, the mysteries of identity: the obsessions that run through the director Neil Jordan’s films are at the center of his beautifully enigmatic fifth novel...it is the vampire next door whose menacing presence runs most powerfully through the novel". Her only criticisms relate to the ending, "Most of this book is so good, so shimmering with mysteries, that it’s a disappointment when the explanations tumble in; the question of Kevin’s identity is resolved in a banal, practical way, what happens during his shattering trip to New York seems too lurid and over-the-top for a novel that holds such subtleties. If this were a movie, you might guess that some producer had pressured Jordan to add more drama and a neat clarification — an odd idea, because Jordan's films never underestimate the audience.
And to the end neither does Mistaken, which shines with a darkly luminous glow". The Irish Independent is full of praise, concluding "This is the best novel I've read about Dublin in many years -- beautifully written and touching in its remembered details and haunting in its suggestiveness about who we are, might have been or might yet be as we make our befuddled yet hopeful way through life." The Scotsman is very positive, "Two things make this tale a stand-out read: First, Jordan's restraint. The other coup is the novel's structure - it is an intimate revelation, by Kevin to Emily, Gerald's daughter, after the two have become acquainted at Gerald's graveside in the story's opening gambit. Emily learns about the dead father's other life while discovering new and deep affinity with a man she scarcely knows yet has known forever. How they are linked - by more than mere words - is told; the ploy gives the novel perspective, the words evolve into a spell that makes the story unputdownable." 2011, UK, John Murray, ISBN 1-84854-418-9, Pub date 06 Jan 2011, Hardback 2011, UK, John Murray, ISBN 1-84854-420-0, Pub date 06 Jan 2011, Paperback 2011, UK, John Murray, ISBN 1-84854-419-7, Pub date 23 Jun 2011, Paperback 2011, US, Soft Skull Press, ISBN 1-59376-433-2, Pub date 20 Dec 2011, Paperback Helen Brown interviews Irish filmaker and novelist Neil Jordan about his new novel concerning doppelgangers, Mistaken
Watkin's Tower was a completed iron lattice tower in Wembley Park, England. Its construction was an ambitious project to create a 358-metre -high visitor attraction in Wembley Park to the north of the city, led by the railway entrepreneur Sir Edward Watkin. Marketed as the "Great Tower of London", it was designed to surpass the height of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, it was part of Wembley Park's emergence as a recreational place; the tower was never completed and it was demolished in 1907. The site of the tower is now occupied by Wembley Stadium. Numerous names and nicknames were given to the tower during its planning and legacy; these include Watkin's Tower, Watkin's Folly, the Wembley Park Tower, the Wembley Tower, the Metropolitan Tower, the London Stump. Sir Edward Watkin was a British Member of Parliament and railway entrepreneur, noted for being chairman of nine different British railway companies, he was an ambitious visionary, presided over large-scale railway engineering projects to fulfil his business aspirations.
He began work on the construction of a channel tunnel under the English Channel, with the aim of connecting his lines to the railway network in France, opened the Great Central Main Line, designed to accommodate the larger continental European trains which would cross into Britain from France. Although the channel tunnel project failed in 1881, Watkin remained a driven innovator, inspired by grand schemes which could augment his railway empire. Among his numerous railway executive appointments, Watkin was chairman of the Metropolitan Railway, an expanding London transport company, to become the Metropolitan line of the present-day London Underground system. Watkin was keen to attract more passengers onto his trains and was aggressively extending his railway into Buckinghamshire, he considered transporting Londoners out into the countryside as a business opportunity and needed a major attraction to lure the crowds out of the city and onto his trains. To this end, Watkin purchased a tract of land near a rural Middlesex hamlet called Wembley, adjacent to the route of the Metropolitan Railway, with the goal of building an amusement park laid out with boating lakes, a waterfall, ornamental gardens in the 18th century), cricket and football pitches.
The crowning glory of Watkin's amusement park was to be a soaring metal tower which would be centrepiece of the pleasure park and would offer panoramic views of the surrounding countryside, just 12 minutes from Baker Street station. The paying public was to gain access to Wembley Park and its tower by train, arriving at the new Wembley Park station which the Metropolitan Railway constructed specially for the attraction, incorporating additional platforms to handle the large crowds which Watkin confidently anticipated would flock to the park; the station opened in 1893–4. Inspired by the construction of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Watkin invited Gustave Eiffel himself to design the tower, but the Frenchman declined – replying that if he designed the tower, the French people "would not think me so good a Frenchman as I hope I am."An architectural design competition was held in 1890, a total of 68 designs were submitted. Some of the more exotic proposals included a £1m tower inspired by the Tower of Pisa.
One design included a 1/12-scale model of the Great Pyramid of Giza, envisioned as a "colony of aerial vegetarians, who would grow their own food in hanging gardens". The winning entry, number 37, was submitted by MacLaren and Dunn of London, they proposed an eight-legged 1,200-foot metal tower – 45.8 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower, 312.2 metres at the time. It was to have two observation decks – each with restaurants, dancing rooms and exhibitions – winter gardens, Turkish baths and a 90-bedroom hotel; the top of the tower, reached by a system of lifts, was to provide a fresh-air sanatorium and an astronomical observatory, taking advantage of the clearer air offered by the altitude. The entire structure was to be illuminated by electric light. Watkin formed a company to manage the project, the International Tower Construction Company and to oversee construction he appointed Benjamin Baker, a civil engineer, involved in the design of the Forth Bridge and the Aswan Dam. After an unsuccessful appeal for public subscription, the company could only proceed with the project with its own funds.
The foundations were laid in 1892 and construction work commenced in June 1893. At the same time, the surrounding park began to be laid out with a cricket pitch and a boating lake, in readiness for the first visitors. Wembley Park opened to the public in May 1894, although construction of the tower was still underway and the first stage had not yet been completed; the park attracted 12,000 visitors during 1895 and was proving to be a popular attraction for Londoners. In September 1895 the first stage of the tower was completed, standing at 47 metres high. At this time, work was behind schedule, it was soon discovered that the structure's foundations were unsteady — the reduction in the number of the tower's legs, carried out to reduce costs, had resulted in increased pressure on each leg and this was causing subsidence. Over the next few years, the con
Ōno Castle was a Japanese castle located in the city of Ōno Fukui Prefecture, in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Built in the Sengoku period, it was occupied by a succession of daimyō of Ōno Domain under the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate. Ōno Castle is located in northeastern Echizen Province on the main highway connecting Echizen with Mino Province. The castle is sited on the ridgeline of Kameyama Hill, extending east-to-west for 300 meters; the inner bailey is located at the peak of the hill and is reinforced by stone ramparts made of unmodified natural boulders. Secondary enclosures were located at lower levels and were protected by water moats. During the early Sengoku period, the area around Ōno was under the control of the Asakura clan. After both the Asakura and the Ikkō-ikki were destroyed by Oda Nobunaga in 1575, he assigned the area to his general Kanamori Nagachika under the regional control of Shibata Katsuie. Kanamori began the construction of Ōno Castle using the latest contemporary designs, the castle was completed by 1580.
Kanamori was subsequently promoted to governor of Hida Province in 1586, the area was assigned to Aoki Kazunori followed by Oda Hidekatsu by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. After the Battle of Sekigahara, the entire province of Echizen was assigned by Tokugawa Ieyasu to his second son, Yūki Hideyasu in 1601 as Fukui Domain. In 1624, Fukui Domain was divided, with Yūki Hideyasu's third son, Matsudaira Naomasa being awarded a 55,000 koku fief centered at Ōno; this became Ōno Domain. Naomasa was transferred to Matsumoto Domain in 1633 and was replaced by his younger brother Matsudaira Naomoto in 1635. Naomoto was transferred to Yamagata Domain in 1644, was replaced by his younger brother, Matsudaira Naoyoshi. Naoyoshi's son Matsudaira Naoakira was in turn transferred to Himeji Domain in 1682; the domain was assigned to a cadet branch of the Doi clan under Doi Toshifusa. The Doi clan would rule Ōno for the next eight generations until the Meiji restoration; the castle burned down in 1775, but with the exception of the donjon was reconstructed by 1795.
Throughout its history, Ōno suffered from severe financial problems. Although a small domain, Ōno was noted in the Bakumatsu period for its westernised army and its han school. Following the Meiji restoration, the castle was pulled down, with the exception of a couple of gates which were given to nearby Buddhist temples, the area was used for government buildings; some remnants of the original stone ramparts remain, parts of the old jōkamachi with traditional samurai houses and merchant houses remain. In 1968, a faux-donjon was built for use as a local history museum; the castle was listed as one of the Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles in 2017. Ōno Castle Ōno Castle Schmorleitz, Morton S.. Castles in Japan. Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Co. pp. 144–145. ISBN 0-8048-1102-4. Motoo, Hinago. Japanese Castles. Tokyo: Kodansha. P. 200 pages. ISBN 0-87011-766-1. Mitchelhill, Jennifer. Castles of the Samurai: Power and Beauty. Tokyo: Kodansha. P. 112 pages. ISBN 4-7700-2954-3. Turnbull, Stephen. Japanese Castles 1540-1640.
Osprey Publishing. P. 64 pages. ISBN 1-84176-429-9. Official website JNTO