BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2287
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 4, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
2287 (Wilk) - As Amended March 17, 2016
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill allows a thoroughbred racing association or fair to
accept wagers on out-of-country races on the first Saturday in
November until 6:30 PM without the consent of the harness or
quarter horse racing association that is then conducting a live
racing meeting in the state.
FISCAL EFFECT:
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Negligible fiscal impact.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, this bill is intended to
help increase the wagering handle on out-of-country races on a
specific day when the Breeders Cup is hosted by a California
racetrack and the live race card may extend beyond 5:30 p.m.
AB 2287 grants a limited exemption with the goal of increasing
the overall day's total wagering handle to generate more
revenue for purses, breeder's awards and racetrack
commissions.
2)Background. There has been a general decline in the number of
people attending and wagering at live horse tracks 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. This decline in
attendance at live horse racing events has prompted racetracks
to rely on revenues from in-state and out-of-state satellite
wagering and account wagering. In the late 1990's, California
racetracks began importing additional races from out-of-state
locations to provide California's horse racing patrons with
the opportunity to wager on races offered by racetracks
throughout the country.
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3)Restrictions on imported races. Current law limits the number
of races that may be imported by a thoroughbred association or
fair to no more than 50 races per day on days when live
thoroughbred or fair racing is being conducted in this state,
with specified exceptions. In addition, a thoroughbred racing
association or fair is authorized to distribute the
audiovisual signal and accept wagers on the results of
out-of-country thoroughbred races during the calendar period
the association or fair is conducting a race meeting, without
the consent of the participating horsemen's and horsewomen's
organization. These imported races are subject to specified
conditions, including that wagers may not be accepted on
out-of-country races that commence after 5:30 PM Pacific
standard time.
4)Related legislation. A number of recent bills have authorized
the CHRB to allow racing associations to import additional
races in order to boost purses and attendance. Those bills
include:
a) AB 2655 (Hall), Chapter 149, Statutes of 2014, added the
"Apple Blossom Handicap" to the group of stakes races in
Horse Racing Law which are exempt from the 50-race per day
limit on imported races.
b) AB 2693 (Governmental Organization), Chapter 350,
Statutes of 2012, among other things, added the "Arkansas
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Derby" to the group of stakes races in Horse Racing Law
which are exempt from the 50-race per day limit on imported
races.
c) AB 707 (Garrick), Chapter 84, Statutes of 2011,
increased from 32 to 50; 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 with approval by the CHRB.
d) AB 2790 (Governmental Organization), Chapter 141,
Statutes of 2010, added the "Arlington Million" to the list
of imported races not subject to the limitation of 32 races
per day.
e) SB 899 (Denham), Chapter 279, Statutes of 2010, deleted
the statewide cap on the number of out-of-country
thoroughbred races that a thoroughbred racing association
or fair may import, simulcast, and on which wagers may be
accepted statewide in any given year.
f) AB 136 (Silva), Chapter 221, Statutes of 2009, deleted
the limitation on the total number of out-of-state or
out-of-country harness or quarter horse races that may be
imported in a calendar year by a harness or quarter horse
racing association.
g) AB 763 (Chesbro), Chapter 122, Statutes of 2009,
authorized the Humboldt County Fair to offer satellite
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wagering on eight out-of-state races during the August days
when the fair is offering live racing, if specified
conditions are met.
h) SB 379 (Denham), Chapter 443, Statutes of 2007, added
the "Dubai World Cup" to a specified day of races that
would be exempted from the 23-race day limit on imported
races for satellite wagering.
i) AB 509 (Jerome Horton), Chapter 235, Statutes of 2004,
allowed a thoroughbred racing association or fair to import
the audiovisual signal, and accept wagers on, the results
of out-of-country thoroughbred races.
Analysis Prepared by:Luke Reidenbach / APPR. / (916)
319-2081