Spokesperson: Fields Has Nothing to Do With It

This morning, I suggested that Eliot Spitzer’s ties to the one of the main bidders for the state’s horse racing franchise, Richard Fields of Excelsior, is making the selection process complicated.

Just now, a spokeswoman for Fields, Katie Burke of the Glover Park Group, emailed me to say:

“Excelsior’s integrity, investment, and commitment to community partnerships is unmatched. Excelsior won the recommendation of the Ad-Hoc Committee on Racing, and we are hopeful that Mr. Rifkin and the State Panel will reach the same conclusion. With regard to the notion that any member of our team is responsible for the hold up in awarding the franchise, this is simply untrue. Our team has complied with every single component of the integrity review process, and will continue to cooperate fully and completely with the Governor’s office in this regard.”