2007 California Business and Professions Code Article 4. Licenses For Track Operators

CA Codes (bpc:19480-19497)

19480.  The board may issue to any person who makes application
therefor in writing, who has complied with the provisions of this
chapter, and who makes the deposit to secure payment of the license
fee imposed by this article, a license to conduct a horse racing
meeting in accordance with this chapter at the track specified in the
application; provided, the board determines that the issuance
thereof will be in the public interest and will subserve the purposes
of this chapter.



19481.  In performing its responsibilities, the board shall do all
of the following:
   (a) Establish safety standards governing the uniformity and
content of the track base and racing surface, inner and outer rails,
gates and gaps, turf, access and egress to the track, lighting for
night racing, equipment for horse and rider, drainage,
communications, veterinary services, medical and ambulance services,
and other track facilities in order to improve the safety of horses,
riders, and workers at the racetrack.
   (b) Designate a steward at all horse racing meetings to be
responsible for enforcing compliance with safety standards.




19481.3.  (a) Every racing association and racing fair licensed
pursuant to this article shall maintain, staff, and supply an
on-track first aid facility, that may be either permanent or mobile,
and which shall be staffed and equipped as directed by the board. A
qualified and licensed physician shall be on duty at all times during
live racing, except that this provision shall not apply to: (1) a
quarter horse racing association if there is a hospital situated no
more than 1.5 miles from the racetrack and the racetrack has an
agreement with the hospital to provide emergency medical services to
jockeys and riders, or (2) a harness racing association if there is a
hospital situated no more than 2.5 miles from the racetrack and the
harness racing association has an agreement with the hospital to
provide emergency medical services to injured drivers. An ambulance
licensed to operate on public highways provided by the track shall be
available at all times during live racing and shall be staffed by
two emergency medical technicians licensed in accordance with
Division 2.5 (commencing with Section 1797) of the Health and Safety
Code, one of whom may be an Emergency Medical Technician Paramedic,
as defined in Section 1797.84 of the Health and Safety Code.
   (b) Each racing association and racing fair shall adopt and
maintain an emergency medical plan detailing the procedures that
shall be used in the event of an on-track injury. The plan shall be
posted in each jockey room in English and Spanish.
   (c) Prior to every race meeting, the racing association or racing
fair shall contact area hospitals to coordinate procedures for the
rapid admittance and treatment of emergency injuries.
   (d) Each racing association or racing fair shall designate a
health and safety manager and assistant manager, who shall be
responsible for compliance with the provisions of this section and
one of whom shall be on duty at all times when live racing is
conducted. The health and safety manager may, at the discretion of
the racing association, be the person designated to perform risk
management duties on behalf of the association.
   (e) The stewards shall investigate and prepare a report with
respect to all on-track accidents involving jockeys that occur during
the performance of their duties. The report shall, at a minimum,
identify the circumstances of the accident, the likely causes, and
the extent of any injuries. The investigation shall be commenced no
later than the next live racing day and shall be completed
expeditiously. Upon completion of the report, it shall immediately be
sent by facsimile or electronic mail to the entity certified to
provide health and welfare for jockeys pursuant to Section 19612.9,
to the jockey or his or her representative, the racing association,
and the owner and trainer of the horse the jockey was riding at the
time of the accident.
   (f) The board shall adopt regulations to implement the provisions
of this section no later than July 1, 2007.



19481.5.  (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no license
shall be issued to conduct a horse racing meeting upon a track
unless the track has been inspected by the board within 30 days prior
to the date of application for a license and the track has been
approved by the board as conforming to the racetrack safety standards
set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 19481.
   (b) The board shall, within 120 days of the effective date of this
subdivision, adopt emergency regulations in accordance with the
Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code) to
establish standards governing the employee housing provided to
backstretch personnel at licensed racetracks.  These regulations
shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health and safety, or general
welfare, shall be commensurate with the housing standards established
in the Employee Housing Act (commencing with Section 17000 of
Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code), and shall consider the
following:
   (1) The health and safety of the human and equine population and
the necessity for humans and horses to live in close proximity.
   (2) The housing needs of state or county facilities with live
racing meeting of no more than 43 days in duration that do not
operate as year-round training facilities.  The board shall
specifically consider the different needs of these facilities
compared to permanent facilities or other state and county facilities
that function on a year-round basis, including state and county fair
facilities that operate as a year-round training facilities where
horses are stabled and workers live.
   (3) Compliance of facilities with racing meetings of 19 days or
less, even if they operate as a year-round training facility, with
this subdivision shall be contingent on funding in the 2002-03 Budget
Act.
   These emergency regulations shall be submitted to the Office of
Administrative Law for filing with the Secretary of State and
publication in the California Code of Regulations and shall be
replaced by final, permanent regulations within 18 months of their
adoption.  Every racing association shall be in compliance with these
housing standards by January 1, 2004.
   (c) Commencing January 1, 2004, the board, with assistance from
the California Department of Housing and Community Development or a
local building department or other local entity designated by  the
jurisdiction in which the racetrack is located, shall annually
inspect the living conditions of backstretch employee housing to
ensure compliance with the housing standards established by the
board, the findings or results of which shall be submitted to the
board.  No license shall be issued to a racing association to conduct
a horse race meeting unless the board has inspected the housing
conditions that exist on the racetrack's backstretch and determined
the living conditions to be in compliance with the standards
established by the board in subdivision (b).
   (d) The board may assess a reasonable fee upon racing associations
to defray the costs associated with the inspections provided for in
subdivision (c).


19482.  No license to conduct a horse racing meeting shall be issued
to any of the following:
   (a) Any nonprofit corporation entitled to an exemption from any
tax imposed by this State.
   (b) Any applicant who proposes to conduct a horse racing meeting
for the benefit of any such nonprofit corporation or under any
arrangement pursuant to which such nonprofit corporation is to share
in the receipts of the licensee from the conduct of such meeting,
whether by rentals or otherwise.
   Nothing in this section prohibits the board, in its discretion,
from issuing a license to conduct a horse racing meeting to any
corporation to which it has, prior to September 7, 1955, issued a
license to conduct such a meeting.



19483.  Unless the board finds that the purpose of this chapter will
be better served thereby, no license to conduct a horseracing
meeting at any track shall be issued to any person or held by any
person having any financial interest in the conduct of any
horseracing meeting by any other person at any other track in this
State.
   Ownership of stock in one corporation by another corporation
constitutes a financial interest within the meaning of this section.



19484.  Unless the board finds that the purpose of this chapter will
be better served thereby, no person licensed under this article to
conduct a horseracing meeting at any place, track or inclosure shall
own or acquire any stock or hold or obtain any other financial
interest in any other track of another such licensee or in the
operation thereof, or in the operation of authorized wagering on the
results of horseraces at any such other track.



19485.  The board shall not issue a license to conduct a horse
racing meeting at any place, track or inclosure, not used for horse
racing meetings prior to July 1, 1941, unless prior to the beginning
of the construction or preparation of such track for horse racing
meetings, the board, upon application in such form as it may require,
has determined that the conduct of horse racing meetings at such
track will be in the public interest and will subserve the purposes
of this chapter.
   This section does not apply in respect to any track of not less
than five-eighths of one mile in circumference or length partially or
entirely in the infield of a mile track constructed and operated by
a thoroughbred licensee under this article provided that such infield
track is to be used solely for thoroughbred racing.



19487.  Notwithstanding Section 19485, any licensed racing
association operating a racetrack may construct another track of not
less than one-half mile in circumference or length partially or
entirely in the infield of such track, if prior to the beginning of
construction or preparation of such track for horse race meetings,
the board has determined upon application, in such form as it may
require, that the conduct of horse race meetings at such track will
be in the public interest and subserve the purposes of this chapter.
A license may be granted to any harness racing association to
conduct a harness racing meeting upon such a track of less than one
mile.



19488.  (a) Every license issued under this article shall specify
the following:
   (1) The name of the person to whom it is issued.
   (2) The track where the horse racing meeting to which it relates
is to be held or conducted.
   (3) The days and hours of the day when the meeting will be
permitted.
   (4) The number and types of races to be run on each day of the
meeting.
   (5) The number of useable stalls available for the meeting.
   (6) The name of the person responsible for supervising the
maintenance of racetrack safety standards.
   (b) The license shall also recite the payment to, and receipt by,
the board of the deposit to secure payment of the license fee
required by this article.


19489.  A license issued under this article is not transferable nor
does it permit the conduct of a horse racing meeting at any track not
specified therein.
   If, however, the track specified in a license becomes unsuitable
for racing because of fire, flood, or other catastrophe, the meeting
or any remaining portion thereof may be conducted at any other track
specified by the board in the same area.  The board may specify any
other track within the area for the conduct of the meeting, whether
or not such conduct would result in increasing the number of racing
days in the county or area in which such track is situated.  Before
any other track is so specified, the board shall obtain the consent
of the person licensed to conduct a meeting at the track which has
become unsuitable for racing and of the owners and operators licensed
to conduct a meeting at such other track.




19490.  Each application for a license to conduct a horse racing
meeting shall be accompanied by a deposit to secure the payment of
any license fee imposed by this article, in the form of a certified
check payable to the Treasurer of the State of California, in the
amount of ten thousand dollars (,000).



19491.  (a) Subject to Sections 19491.5 and 19491.6, and except as
provided in Section 19491.7, every association which conducts a
racing meeting shall pay as an additional license fee one-half of the
breakage deducted pursuant to Section 19597 on the first twenty-four
million dollars (,000,000) or less, excluding wagering at a
satellite wagering facility, of the total amount handled in the
parimutuel pools relating to its meeting and all of the breakage
deducted on amounts so handled in excess of twenty-four million
dollars (,000,000), excluding wagering at a satellite wagering
facility.
   (b) Every association which conducts a racing meeting shall
distribute the remaining one-half of the breakage deducted pursuant
to Section 19597 on the first twenty-four million dollars
(,000,000) or less, excluding wagering at a satellite wagering
facility, of the total amount handled in the parimutuel pools
relating to the meeting as additional purses and for additional
commissions in the same proportion, as between purses and
commissions, as provided in Sections 19611, 19612, 19612.6, and
19614.
   (c) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), one-half of all the breakage
deducted pursuant to Section 19597 at fair racing meetings shall be
retained and distributed as additional commissions.
   Payment of the fee shall be made weekly on account during each
meeting, and the amount attributable to breakage shall be reported as
a separate item.



19491.5.  Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a) of
Section 19491, an association, including the California Exposition
and State Fair or a county or district agricultural association fair,
which conducts, or whose predecessor association has conducted, a
horseracing meeting during the preceding year at which the total
amount handled in the parimutuel pools operated by the association,
or by such predecessor association, is not more than two hundred
fifty million dollars (0,000,000), excluding wagering at a
satellite wagering facility, shall be exempt from payment of that
portion of the license fee provided in subdivision (a) of Section
19491 on the amount handled by it under one hundred twenty-five
million dollars (5,000,000), excluding wagering at a satellite
wagering facility.  All the money accruing pursuant to this section
shall be distributed as purses.  In addition, an association which
conducts, or whose predecessor association has conducted, a
horseracing meeting during the preceding year at which the total
amount handled in the parimutuel pools operated by the association or
predecessor association is more than two hundred fifty million
dollars (0,000,000), excluding wagering at a satellite wagering
facility, shall be exempt from the payment of that portion of the
license fee provided in subdivision (a) of Section 19491 on the
amount handled in excess of twenty-four million dollars (,000,000)
but not in excess of fifty million dollars (,000,000).
   "Predecessor association," as used in this section, means a person
who was previously licensed to conduct racing of the same kind and
at the same racing facility as the presently existing association.
   It is the intent of the Legislature that the amendment to this
section at its 1970 Regular Session shall be deemed to be a
clarification of the effect of this section, and that such amendment
does not constitute a substantive change.



19491.6.  Except as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 19612,
the exempt amount retained by the association shall be regularly
deposited in a separate account with a depository approved by the
board.  The funds deposited shall be distributed  as purses.




19491.7.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all breakage
deducted pursuant to Section 19597 by an association licensed to
conduct harness racing shall be used to fund the California
Standardbred Sires Stakes Program as set forth in subdivision (f) of
Section 19619.



19493.  Upon the termination of the horse racing meeting for which a
license has been granted:
   (a) If the licensee has fully paid the license fee imposed by this
article, the sum deposited with the application for the license
shall be returned to the licensee.
   (b) If the licensee fails, refuses, or neglects to pay such fee,
the amount thereof shall be deducted from the sum deposited and the
balance, if any, shall be returned to the licensee.



19494.  If by reason off any cause beyond control, and through no
fault or neglect of any licensee, and when the licensee is not in
default, it becomes impossible for the licensee to hold or conduct
racing upon any day authorized by the board, the board, in its
discretion and at the request of the licensee, may either return any
fee paid by the licensee for racing on that day or, as a substitute
for such day, may specify any other day for the holding or conducting
of racing by the licensee.



19495.  Except as provided in this chapter, no license or excise tax
or fee in excess of one hundred dollars (0) for each racing day
shall be assessed against or collected from any licensee by the State
or by any county, city, district, or any other body having the power
to assess or collect any license, tax, or fee.




19497.  Any person who is licensed to conduct a horse racing meeting
at any place, track or inclosure which is leased by him from the
state, shall not transfer any such property to any other person,
whether licensed under this chapter or not, for the purpose of
furnishing such other person a place, track or inclosure at which it
may conduct a horse racing meeting, unless such transfer is first
submitted to the Department of General Services and the department
finds that its terms and provisions are just and reasonable and
approves of it.
   As used in this section, "transfer" includes any sublease, permit
to use, license to use, and any other transaction or arrangement of
any kind or nature whereby any right to the use or possession of
property, or any part thereof, for the purpose of conducting a horse
racing meeting is conferred upon any person.
   The provisions of this section which are applicable to a person
licensed under this chapter to conduct a horse racing meeting shall
also apply to any person to whom a transfer is made by such a
licensee in accordance with this section.