Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Odds On Racing's

Personality of the Month
for May 2008

Jeff Gural

Jeff Gural is one of the most successful horse owners in the Standardbred business today, and not only races horses, but also owns both Tioga and Vernon Downs in upstate New York. He was born on July 6, 1942 and is the current Chairman of Newmark & Company as well as the owner-operator of the aforementioned tracks.

Jeff Gural

Gural followed in his father's footsteps, working in the real estate industry. His first job in the business was as an elevator operator in a Newmark building in between semesters earning his degree in Civil Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. During those college years, Gural's interest in harness racing peaked as he visited Roosevelt and Yonker's raceways.

After graduation, Jeff left New York to work for the State of California as an engineer on public works. Two years later he was back in New York, spending the next six years as an executive at Morse-Diesel Construction Co., where he was responsible for the supervision and construction project management of more than a million square feet of new office space in such notable buildings as 437 and 645 Madison Avenue.

Jeff rejoined his father in 1971, and soon became noted for his skills in acquisition and development in such buildings as the Old McGraw Hill Building, 10 Astor Place, 55 Wall Street, 40 Worth Street and various other major properties.

His current responsibilities at Newmark include new acquisitions, as well as overseeing the management and leasing of the majority of Newmark's non-institutionally owned properties. He also supervises Newmark's Construction Division, which has been responsible for the interior construction of several million square feet in the past several years.

With Aaron Gural as Chairman of the Board, and Jeff Gural as President, Newmark & Company is truly a "family Business." In a short time, Newmark doubled the number of buildings it manages and leases to more than 100, and earned a reputation for accomplished tenant representation and stellar leasing on behalf of other owners and new developments, including Carnegie Hall Tower, and more recently, the Exxon Building and the new Barney's Building.

Throughout all of this, Gural's passion for harness racing remained a top priority in his life. He's also an active breeder, with over 31 horses and a breeding facility--Allerage Farm.

In 2005 Gural and Nevada Gold formed American Racing & Entertainment, which runs tracks and casinos at Vernon Downs and Tioga Downs near Binghamton. Gural successfully lobbied the state two years ago to give the tracks a bigger slice of the pie, then brought Vernon Downs out of bankruptcy early last year. Gural agreed to buy Vernon Downs only after the Legislature dropped the state's share from 70 percent to 60 percent.

Gural ended the racing season four nights early in 2007 to save money, a move that jeopardized the track's standing with the state Racing and Wagering Board and prompted a $250,000 compensation request from horsemen who said their contract was violated.

The matter with the horsemen went to arbitration. Gural said he offered to extend this season by four race nights so the horsemen could make up the money lost from last year. They rejected the offer, but an arbitrator makes the final decision.

The track and adjacent casino lost $10 million last year, according to Gural, but the state has since agreed to reduce its take from the casino. Owners anticipate that casino revenues will increase by up to $5 million this year.

Gural has won numerous awards--both within and outside the harness industry. In 2006 he won the Proximity Award and the Stan Bergstein Messenger Award, and was honored as the 2006 Man of the Year by the Real Estate Board of New York, the 2005 Lewis Rudin Award and the 2005 Kenneth R. Gerrety Humanitarian Award. In addition, Gural supports the arts and children's programs, sitting on many philanthropic boards.