2021 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 60 - Business Licenses
Article 1A - Horse Racing Act
Section 60-1A-28.1 - Racetrack licensees; power to eject or exclude. (Repealed effective July 1, 2022.)

A. A racetrack licensee may eject or exclude from the association grounds any person whose occupational license has been suspended or revoked by the commission for administering a performance-altering substance as provided in Subsection A of Section 60-1A-28 NMSA 1978.

B. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit a racetrack licensee's power to eject or exclude a person from the association grounds for any other lawful reason.

C. For the purposes of this section, "association grounds" means all real property used during a race meeting by a person holding a license from the commission to conduct racing with pari-mutuel wagering, including the racetrack, grandstand, casino, concession stands, offices, barns, stable area, employee housing facilities and parking lots.

History: Laws 2014, ch. 6, § 1.

Emergency clauses. — Laws 2014, ch. 6, § 2 contained an emergency clause and was approved March 3, 2014.

Delayed repeals. — For delayed repeal of this section, see 60-1A-29 NMSA 1978.

Statute, authorizing racetrack licensees to exclude any person from its racetrack, enacted after case filed cannot be applied to pending case. — Where plaintiff, a racehorse owner and trainer, filed a complaint in 2013 against several private racetracks for excluding plaintiff from entering the racetracks and the races held at the racetracks, alleging that his rights as a licensee were violated, 60-1A-28.1 NMSA 1978, which was enacted in 2014 and gives racetrack licensees the power to exclude any person from its racetrack for any lawful reason, could not be applied to plaintiff's pending case, because statutes are presumed to operate prospectively only and will not be given a retroactive effect unless such intention on the part of the legislature is clearly apparent. Carrillo v. My Way Holdings, LLC, 2017-NMCA-024.

Limitations on common law right to exclude. — A privately owned racetrack possesses a common law right to exclude individuals, both patrons and licensees, from its racetracks, but the exclusion must be for a lawful reason and may not be based on race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, spousal affiliation or physical or mental handicap. Carrillo v. My Way Holdings, LLC, 2017-NMCA-024.

Privately owned racetracks have a common law right to exclude any person, patron or licensee, from races held at their racetracks. — Where plaintiff, a racehorse owner and trainer, filed a complaint against several private racetracks for excluding plaintiff from entering the racetracks and the races held at the racetracks based on incidents that had occurred involving the death and injury of plaintiff's horses at certain racetracks, the district court did not err in granting summary judgment in favor of the racetracks because under the common law, a privately owned racetrack possesses a right to exclude any person for any lawful reason, and plaintiff did not meet his burden of proving that exclusion was not a reasonable discretionary business judgment. Carrillo v. My Way Holdings, LLC, 2017-NMCA-024.