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