BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 280
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Date of Hearing: May 11, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Isadore Hall, Chair
AB 280 (Silva) - As Amended: March 14, 2011
SUBJECT : Horse racing: California-bred horses and parimutuel
tickets.
SUMMARY : Changes the definition of a California-bred
standardbred horse to delete the requirement that the
standardbred foal be conceived in California, as specified.
Specifically, this bill :
1) Revises the definition of a California-bred standardbred
horse to delete the requirement that the standardbred foal be
conceived in California, in order to qualify for the California
Standardbred Sires Stakes Program (CSSSP)
2) Deletes the requirement that base purses for each set of
races be equal for all two-year-old and three-year-old races
regardless of sex and gait, including the exception described
above requiring a minimum base purse of 75% of the original base
purse if divisions are raced, and instead require that all base
purses for each set of races conducted during any given year at
any race meeting be determined by the California Standardbred
Sires Stakes Committee (CSSSC).
3) Makes a technical, non-substantive change to a provision
relating to altering or counterfeiting, or attempting to alter
or counterfeit, any pari-mutuel ticket.
EXISTING LAW :
1) Provides the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) is
responsible for adopting rules and regulations for the
protection of the public and the control of horse racing and
pari-mutuel wagering, as well as enforcing all laws, rules, and
regulations dealing with horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering.
2) Establishes a CSSSP for standardbred horses, including
harness horses, bred in this state.
3) Defines a "California-bred standardbred horse" as a
standardbred foal conceived in California by a stallion
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registered with the CSSSP.
4) Requires that CSSP races be scheduled for 2-year-old and
3-year-old trotters and 2-year-old and 3-year-old pacers at the
discretion of the CSSSC, except as specified.
5) Requires that base purses for each set of races, as defined,
conducted during any given year at any race meeting be
determined by the committee and requires that those purses be
equal for all 2-year-old and 3-year-old races regardless of sex
and gait, except that, if divisions are raced, the base purse
for each division shall be no less than 75% of the original base
purse and, if elimination heats are raced, the base purse shall
be determined by the CSSSC.
6) Prohibits any person from altering or counterfeiting, or
attempting to alter or counterfeit, any pari-mutuel ticket.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill has been keyed non-fiscal by
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS :
Purpose of the bill : The sponsor of this measure, the
California Harness Horsemen's Association, points out that the
California Legislature created the California Standardbred Sires
Stakes Committee (CSSSC) in 1977 to "encourage agriculture and
the breeding of horses in California." In short, the CSSSC's
purpose is to provide financial incentives for the breeding and
development of standardbred racehorses. In 2010, over $800,000
was distributed in purse awards to owners, trainers, drivers,
breeders and sire owners of horses placing first through fifth
in all stakes races.
The sponsor states a change to the current definition of a
Cal-bred standardbred is necessary due to the decline in the
number of standardbred sires in California. The decline of the
harness racing industry has resulted in fewer stallions standing
in California for breeding purposes.
The CSSP was established before artificial insemination (AI) was
permitted for breeding standardbred horses in California. Now
AI is permitted. AI has had far-reaching effects: the ability
to breed a stallion to a larger number of mares and the
strengthening of the speed and power of the modern standardbred
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horse.
The sponsor states, this bill allows for the CSSSP to adjust to
economic and industry changes, by allowing a foal which is the
product of AI, to be eligible for the Sire Stakes series races,
purses and awards even if the standardbred foal was not
conceived in California.
Furthermore, the bill would also delete the requirement that
base purses for each set of CSSSP races be equal for all
two-year-old and three-year-old races regardless of sex and gait
of the horse, as defined. The base purses will now be
determined by the CSSSC. By law, the CSSSC provides oversight
and administration of the Sires Stakes Fund and all related
Sires Stakes programs including the California Stallion
Register, Sires Stakes eligibility and staked generations, Sires
Stakes series races, purses and awards.
Lastly, AB 280 makes a technical, non-substantive change to a
provision of current law relating to altering or counterfeiting,
or attempting to alter or counterfeit, any pari-mutuel ticket
Prior legislation : AB 2538 (Strickland), Chapter 278, Statutes
of 2004. Changed the definition of a California standardbred
horse for these purposes to a standardbred foal conceived in
California by a stallion registered with the California
Standardbred Sire Stakes Program, deleting the requirements in
existing law that the mare drop the horse in California after
the conception.
SB 738 (Karnette), Chapter 24, Statutes of 2003. Defines a
"California bred standardbred horse" as a standardbred foal
dropped by a mare in California after being conceived in
California by a stallion registered with the California
Standardbred Sires Stakes Program (CSSSP).
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
AB 280
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Analysis Prepared by : Eric Johnson / G. O. / (916) 319-2531