All roads lead back to CAWs. Or, at least, that’s how it feels these days.

A four-hour New York Assembly hearing meant to assess the future of racing in the state drifted repeatedly back to one familiar villain: computer-assisted wagering.

While the official agenda covered everything from purse structures to breeding incentives to the 2026 reopening of Belmont Park, CAWs — the high-speed, high-volume wagering programs that dominate modern tote systems — quietly took center stage.

Even when not mentioned by name, they hovered over the discussion like a low-pressure system everyone sees but no one wants to acknowledge directly.

Speakers from across the industry cited the usual concerns: short fields, declining foal crops, Kentucky’s booming Historical Horse Racing economy, and squeezed racing calendars.

But the undertone remained clear — part of the issue was that it’s hard to talk about the future of New York racing when the betting pools feel like a computer lab.

Horsemen and breeders voiced frustration over shrinking participation and rising competitive pressure from other states, yet the mood in the room suggested many see CAWs as a deeper structural issue — one that often erodes confidence among traditional bettors.

Even discussions about purse competitiveness and scheduling circled back to tote volatility and late-odds swings, the hallmark effects of heavy CAW activity.

Meanwhile, breeders expressed concerns about land values, shrinking foal crops, and long-term sustainability. Their grievances underscored the core anxiety shared across the industry — that racing’s foundation depends on wagering, and wagering depends on trust, and trust is hard to maintain when odds change dramatically in the final seconds.

By the end of the hearing, most topics had been discussed, debated, or complained about. But one theme remained unmistakably clear:

New York racing has many challenges.

CAWs just happen to touch almost all of them.

Shocker. Sign the petition, folks.