2005 California Business and Professions Code Sections 19510-19518 Article 5. Stewards and Racing Officials

19510.  (a) Every steward and racing official not required to be
licensed under Article 4 (commencing with Section 19480) shall be
licensed by the board pursuant to this article.  Any license issued
pursuant to this article shall include a current photograph of the
licensed person.
   (b) No person required to be licensed pursuant to this article may
participate in any capacity in any horse race meeting without a
valid and unrevoked license.  The board shall determine the fixed
license fee which shall be paid in order to receive a license
pursuant to this article.
   (c) As used in this section, "racing official" means the starter,
timer, paddock judge, horseshoe inspector, horse identifier, official
veterinarian, racing veterinarian, associate judge, placing judge,
patrol judge, clerk of scales, clerk of the course, and any other
person acting as an official at any horse racing meeting.
19512.  (a) The board shall require applicants for license as a
steward to pass both a written and an oral examination.
   (b) The board may admit to examination any person who meets all of
the following qualifications:
   (1) Has not been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude or
of a felony.
   (2) Has been given a physical examination by a licensed physician
and surgeon within 60 days prior to the date of application for the
steward's examination, indicating at least 20-20 vision or vision
corrected to at least 20-20, and normal hearing ability.
   (3) Possesses at least one of the following qualifications:
   (A) Has at least five years of experience in the parimutuel horse
racing industry as a licensed trainer, jockey, or driver.
   (B) Has at least 10 years of experience in the California
parimutuel horse racing industry as a licensed owner whose
experience, knowledge, ability, and integrity relative to the
industry are known to the board.
   (C) Has at least three years of experience as a licensed racing
official, racing secretary, assistant racing secretary, or director
of racing.
   (D) Has experience in the horse racing industry of a character and
for a length of time sufficient, as determined by the board, to
qualify the person as having experience substantially equivalent to
the experience described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C).
19513.  (a) The board shall prepare both written and oral
examinations.  All examinations shall be standardized and, in the
case of oral examinations, tape recorded.  Written examinations may
be administered by members of the board staff.  Oral examinations
shall be conducted by a panel of not less than three board members.
   (b) The board shall provide a detailed outline of the subjects to
be covered by the oral and written examinations for a license to
every person who requests the outline.
   (c) The results of the oral and written examinations for stewards
licenses shall be a public record.
19514.  Racing officials shall be licensed by the board pursuant to
rules and regulations that the board may adopt, and upon payment of a
license fee fixed and determined by the board.
19515.  An original license issued under this article shall be
issued for a period of the calendar year in which it is issued, and
shall be renewable for a period, not to exceed three years, which the
board may, by regulation, establish.  The board may establish a
license fee schedule consistent with the different period for which
these licenses may be granted.
   The license shall be valid at all horse racing meetings in this
state during the period for which it is issued, unless it is
suspended or revoked prior to the expiration of the period.
19516.  The board may, at any time, require the removal of any
racing official or employee in any case where it has reason to
believe that the official or employee has been guilty of any
dishonest practice in connection with horse racing, has failed to
comply with any condition of the licensee's license, or has violated
any law or any rule or regulation of the board.
19517.  (a) The board, upon due consideration, may overrule any
steward's decision other than a decision to disqualify a horse due to
a foul or a riding or a driving infraction in a race, if a
preponderance of the evidence indicates any of the following:
   (1) The steward mistakenly interpreted the law.
   (2) New evidence of a convincing nature is produced.
   (3) The best interests of racing and the state may be better
served.
   (b) However, any decision pertaining to the finish of a race, as
used for purposes of parimutuel fund distribution to winning
ticketholders, may not be overruled.  Furthermore, any decision
pertaining to the distribution of purses may be changed only if a
claim is made in writing to the board by one of the involved owners
or trainers, and a preponderance of the evidence clearly indicates to
the board that one or more of the grounds for protest, as outlined
in regulations adopted by the board, has been substantiated.  The
chairperson of the board may issue a stay of execution pending appeal
from a steward's decision if the facts justify the action.
19517.5.  (a) Enforcement proceedings that allege the use of a
prohibited substance, as defined under class I, class II, or class
III of the board's schedule of prohibited substances, shall be
referred directly to the Office of Administrative Hearings for
administrative adjudication and preparation of a proposed decision
for action by the board, unless both the licensee and the board waive
that referral.
   (b) The hearing before an administrative law judge shall commence
no later than 90 days after the filing of the accusation.  The
administrative law judge may extend the hearing date only upon a
showing of good cause to the earliest possible hearing date beyond
the 90-day period, provided a written order and the reasons for the
continuance are filed with the board.
   (c) No later than 20 days before the hearing, the licensee shall
post a bond with the paymaster of purses for the amount of the purse
or purses in question and received by the licensee.  The bond shall
be in cash, or a surety bond that meets the requirements of the
board.
   (d) (1) The board shall neither modify nor amend a proposed
decision by the administrative law judge so as to increase any
sanction or penalty contemplated in the proposed decision.
   (2) The board may, by means of a written decision that includes
the reasons for its decision, modify or amend a proposed decision by
the administrative law judge so as to decrease, mitigate, or suspend
a sanction or penalty contemplated in the proposed decision.
19518.  (a) (1) The board shall contract with persons licensed as
stewards pursuant to this article to perform the duties of stewards
at horse racing meets.  Contracts shall be upon any terms that the
board and the stewards may mutually agree upon and may contain
different rates of compensation based upon the experience of the
steward.
   (2) The board shall establish a committee of at least two board
members to meet at least quarterly with representatives of the
stewards, so that recommendations of the stewards can be discussed as
necessary.  These meetings may be scheduled the same day as regular
board meetings or at the convenience of the board.  Representatives
of associations may attend and participate in these meetings, or
portions thereof, when items directly affecting the associations are
discussed.
   (3) The board shall provide remuneration, including any fringe
benefits, to stewards, to the official veterinarian, and for the
costs of laboratory testing relating to horse racing.
   (b) Stewards and other racing officials appointed or approved by
the board, and while performing duties required by this chapter or by
the board, shall be entitled to the same rights and immunities
granted public employees by Article 3 (commencing with Section 820)
of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 3.6 of Title 1 of the Government
Code.
   (c) The Legislature finds and declares that the services performed
by stewards at horse racing meetings are unique and cannot be
performed adequately, competently, or satisfactorily by civil service
personnel, and that the services cannot be adequately rendered by an
existing public agency and do not duplicate the function of an
existing public agency.  Stewards shall be personal service
contractors of the board and shall not be civil service employees.