BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 2201
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 21, 2010

                   ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
                                   Joe Coto, Chair
                     AB 2201 (Coto) - As Amended:  April 15, 2010
           
          SUBJECT  :   Horse racing

           SUMMARY  :  Authorizes the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) to  
          permit a California harness racing association to accept wagers  
          on the full card of races conducted by another racing  
          association on the day that other association conducts the Cane  
          Pace, as specified.

           EXISTING LAW  : 

          1)Provides that CHRB regulate the various forms of horse racing  
            authorized in this state.

          2)Authorizes a licensed harness racing association that is  
            conducting a live racing meeting in this state to accept  
            wagers on the full card of races conducted by another racing  
            association on the day that other association conducts the  
            Breeder's Crown Stakes, the Meadowlands Pace, Kentucky  
            Futurity the Hambletonian, or the North American Cup.

          3)Authorizes a licensed quarter horse racing association that is  
            conducting a live racing meeting in this state to accept  
            wagers on races conducted by the racing association that  
            conducts the American Quarter Horse Racing Challenge, if the  
            races are conducted on the same day as the American Quarter  
            horse Racing Challenge. 

          4)Authorizes the inclusion of wagers authorized pursuant to this  
            section in the pari-mutuel pools of the out-of-state  
            association that conducts the races on which the wagers are  
            placed.

           FISCAL EFFECT :   Unknown.

           COMMENTS  :


           Purpose of the bill  :  This bill will allow a harness racing  
          association in California to import all of the races conducted  








                                                                  AB 2201
                                                                  Page  2

          on Cane Pace day, irrespective of the six-race day limit.  The  
          Cane Pace is a harness horse race run annually since 1955.  In  
          1956 the race joined with the Little Brown Jug and the Messenger  
          Stakes to become the first leg in the Triple Crown of Harness  
          Racing for Pacers.  Since 1998, the race is held at the Freehold  
          Raceway in Freehold Borough, New Jersey.  Established in 1853,  
          Freehold Raceway is the oldest half-mile racetrack in the United  
          States.


          AB 2201 will give the California harness racing industry a  
          marketing tool to increase on-track and off-track attendance on  
          this specific day.  This bill will also provide the industry  
          with a mechanism to increase track commissions, purses, and  
          breeder's awards.

           Background  :  Harness racing is a form of horse-racing in which  
          standardbred horses race in a specified gait, either trotting or  
          a faster gait called pacing.  The driver sits in a two-wheeled  
          cart pulled by the horse.  In California, harness racing is held  
          exclusively at Cal Expo in Sacramento.  For 2010, the harness  
          racing meets are scheduled from December 26, 2009 to June 19,  
          2010 and from August 13, 2010 to December 18, 2010. 

           California horse racing in decline  :  California's horse racing  
          industry is struggling to generate new fans and horse owners.   
          The industry is also being threatened by the escalating costs of  
          doing business in California, including, but not limited to,  
          workers' compensation insurance costs and declining foal crops.   
          There has been a general decline in the number of people  
          attending and wagering at live horse racetracks in California  
          due to a number of factors, including increased competition from  
          other forms of gaming, unwillingness of customers to travel a  
          significant distance to racetracks and the availability of  
          off-track wagering and phone/Internet wagering.

          There are large questions that need to be answered in  
          California's racing industry relating to its future.  The  
          industry is in the process of identifying what the possibilities  
          are and deciding which ones are realistic and which ones are  
          unrealistic.

           Prior legislation  :  AB 3074 (Governmental Organization  
          Committee), Chapter 510, Statutes of 2008.  Allows a harness  
          racing association in California to import all of the races  








                                                                  AB 2201
                                                                  Page  3

          conducted on Kentucky Futurity day, irrespective of the six-race  
          day limit in law and increases, from 23 to 32, the limitation on  
          the total number of out-of-state Thoroughbred races that may be  
          imported per day by a Thoroughbred association or fair that is  
          conducting a live race meet.
           
          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          None on file

           Opposition 
           
          None on file
           

          Analysis Prepared by  :    Eric Johnson / G. O. / (916) 319-2531