BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 558 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 558 (Low) As Amended March 1, 2016 2/3 vote. Urgency -------------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |78-0 |(May 14, 2015) |SENATE: |38-0 |(March 3, 2016) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | | | | | | | |COMMITTEE VOTE: |20-0 |(March 10, |RECOMMENDATION: |concur | | | |2016) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (G.O.) Original Committee Reference: G.O. SUMMARY: Provides that the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) may authorize a racing association licensed to conduct a Thoroughbred race meet to include up to six non-Thoroughbred AB 558 Page 2 races per calendar year pursuant to specified conditions. The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of this bill, and instead: 1)Provide that the CHRB may authorize a licensed Thoroughbred racing association to conduct up to six non-Thoroughbred races per calendar year with the consent of the organization representing Thoroughbred horsemen and horsewomen. 2)Make it explicit that a non-Thoroughbred race shall not be held when a fair in the northern zone is conducting a race meet without that fair's consent. 3)Require amounts from those wagers to be deducted and distributed as if the wagers were placed on a Thoroughbred race. 4)Make minor code maintenance changes, as specified. 5)Contain an urgency clause, to take effect immediately. EXISTING LAW: 1)Provides that the CHRB shall regulate the various forms of horse racing authorized in this state. 2)Requires that any license granted to an association other than a fair be only for one type of racing, Thoroughbred, harness, or quarter horse racing, except that the CHRB may authorize the entering of Thoroughbred horses at a distance not exceeding five furlongs at quarter horse meetings, under specified conditions. AB 558 Page 3 3)Provides that the CHRB may authorize mixed breed racing that sanctions, among other things, either an association to conduct a quarter horse meeting to include Appaloosa races and Arabian races with the consent of the quarter horse horsemen's organization or a race between a quarter horse and a Thoroughbred horse at a Thoroughbred meeting with the consent of the Thoroughbred horsemen's organization, if each contracts with the association with respect to the conduct of the racing meeting. 4)Provides that an association licensed to conduct quarter horse racing or a fair may conduct races that include paint horses racing with quarter horses or Appaloosa horses in the same race, as specified. 5)Authorizes the CHRB to allow pari-mutuel wagering on one non-Thoroughbred race on the day that Breeders' Cup races are run at a host venue in California. AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY, this bill required the Department of Technology to develop procedures to make large-scale information technology procurements more efficient by requiring electronic submission of bids and other documents whenever possible. FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs. COMMENTS: This bill was substantially amended in the Senate and the Assembly-approved provisions of the bill were deleted. Purpose of the bill: Current law provides for many different types of wagering on horse racing in California including Thoroughbreds, Appaloosas, Standardbreds, Quarter horses, and Arabians. Each type of breed competes in restricted races for their respective breed and generally, at designated race meets throughout California with CHRB approval. AB 558 Page 4 The author's office notes, "There are over 653,000 purebred Arabian horses in the United States. Five states currently offer wagering on Arabian horse racing. Specifically, the author's office references Churchill Downs and Keeneland (both of which are in Kentucky) and Pimlico Racecourse in Maryland which host grade I Arabian events as part of major race programs. At racetracks around the world, these swift and magnificent purebred horses are capturing the attention and imagination of a large and growing racing public." The author's office points out that racing in California was legalized via a constitutional amendment in 1933 and since that time Thoroughbred and quarter horses have been allowed to race in virtually all flat races offered in the state while Arabians have generally been restricted to racing at fair race meets throughout California. This bill is intended to permit Thoroughbred racing associations that conduct Thoroughbred races to run up to 6 non-Thoroughbred races (Arabian) per calendar year, as long as it doesn't conflict with the Northern California fair circuit, which also puts on races for the breed, and gets approval from the CHRB and the owners organization that represents Thoroughbred horsemen and horsewomen (Thoroughbred Owners of California). Additionally, the author's office contends that this bill contains an urgency clause to help facilitate a tentative promotional and marketing agreement that the Los Angeles Turf Club has reached with Arabian horse racing interests to showcase Arabian horses over the Santa Anita Derby weekend (April 9 and 10). On February 26, 2016, the CHRB approved a proposal from Santa Anita Park to offer wagering on an Arabian race in April 2016, pending the passage of this bill. AB 558 Page 5 Prior legislation: SB 819 (Committee on Governmental Organization), Chapter 438, Statutes of 2013, among other things, provided that the CHRB may authorize pari-mutuel wagering on Breeders' Cup races to be run at the host venue and on one non-Thoroughbred race, as specified. Analysis Prepared by: Eric Johnson / G.O. / (916) 319-2531 FN: 0002656