While negotiating the final details of the budget, state lawmakers are also going to have to consider how to help out the state's billion dollar horse racing industry. It's an industry that has been hurt by the lack of revenue from video lottery terminals at Aqueduct Race course and is now on the edge of collapse because of the financial problems facing the New York City OTB. Capital Tonight's Kaitlyn Ross reports.

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Since 2001, the state has been trying, unsuccessfully, to find a vendor to operate VLTs at Aqueduct. Under both the Paterson and Spitzer administrations, bidders were selected and then disqualified, costing the state a million dollars a day in revenue.

Now Governor Paterson says it's time to change the process and finally get the slot machine casino built.

"With Aqueduct, we're shifting from the sort of three men in a room principals to a standard portfolio where each bidder will get a certain number of points for satisfying certain areas and whoever comes out with the most points comes out a winner," said Governor Paterson.

Using state procurement laws, Paterson says the new procedure may not be popular, but it will be a more fair and efficient way to pick a VLT operator.

"We should have a winner within the month or June at the latest," said Paterson. "It can be incorporated into this year's state budget and I think it will ameliorate the problem."

The procurement plan will place more power in the Governor to make the final decision.

"In the end, decisions have to be made by one person. And we go up or down that way. You find that government operates a lot better when an individual has to take responsibility rather than by committee," said Paterson.

That state may also have to take responsibility for another key source of revenue for NYRA and for the horse racing industry.

In 2008, the state took over Off Track Betting in New York City before it went bankrupt. Now it is teetering on bankruptcy and failing to bring in revenue to sustain itself.

"How you can lose money on gambling in the City of New York is beyond me and most of my colleagues here," said Assemblyman Jack McEneny.

Assembly Democrats have come up with a number of reforms that would streamline the system, cutting back jobs and operating costs. They say it is necessary to prevent a domino effect that could cost the state thousands of jobs.

"You're making nothing now. And you have an endangered and very important industry in New York State, so it's extremely important that somebody makes a decision," said McEneny.

Without revenue from VLTs or OTB, there is concern that the summer meet at Saratoga could be in jeopardy.

In upstate New York in particular, the big question is racing in Saratoga. As the weeks drag on without a new deal in place, there is concern that the summer season may be canceled all together, but racing experts say they don't expect it to come to that.