BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 136|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 136
Author: Silva (R)
Amended: 8/17/09 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORG. COMMITTEE : 9-0, 6/23/09
AYES: Wright, Harman, Benoit, Denham, Negrete McLeod,
Oropeza, Padilla, Price, Wiggins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Calderon, Florez, Wyland, Yee
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 72-0, 5/14/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Horse racing: cloned horses: imported harness
or quarter
horse races
SOURCE : Los Alamitos Race Course
DIGEST : This bill deletes 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.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/17/09 delete language that
prohibited the racing of cloned horses or the offspring of
cloned horses.
ANALYSIS :
CONTINUED
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Existing law:
1. Provides that the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB)
regulate the various forms of horse racing authorized in
this state.
2. Provides CHRB is authorized to permit a harness or
quarter horse association conducting a race meeting to
accept wagers on the results of up to eight out-of-state
or out-of-country harness or quarter horse races per
day, if specified conditions are met. If only one breed
is being raced on a given day, the racing association
conducting live racing may import those races that would
otherwise be simulcast by the association that is not
racing, as specified.
3. Provides the total number of harness or quarter horse
races imported in a calendar year may not exceed the
number of night races imported in 1998 after 5:30 p.m.
4. 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, the Hambletonian, or the North American Cup.
5. 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.
6. Recognizes the Jockey Club of New York as the official
registering agency for Thoroughbred horses.
Comments
According to the author's office, "by allowing race tracks
to increase the number of harness or quarter horse races on
which they can provide satellite wagering, this bill makes
up, in part, for the closing of Bay Meadows. Current law
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allows harness and quarter horse racing associations and
fairs to offer wagering on eight harness or quarter horse
races broadcast by satellite on each day live races are
being run. Los Alamitos Race Course and Sacramento/Cal
Expo are the only racetracks that conduct harness racing
and quarter horse racing meets. By providing for the
importation of additional out-of-state and out-of-country
races, this bill authorizes additional wagering.
AB 2048 (Silva), Chapter 439, Statutes of 2009, increased
by two (from six to eight) the number of races that a
harness and quarter horse racing association could import
on live racing days from out-of-state and out-of-country
locations. Under current law, however, there is a
limitation on the total number of races that can be
imported, annually, which prohibits harness and quarter
horse racing from taking advantage of the additional two
races per day allowed in AB 2048. By removing that annual
limitation this bill is intended to allow the intent of AB
2048 to be fully implemented.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/18/09)
Los Alamitos Race Course (source)
California Harness Horsemen
Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association
Thoroughbred Owners of California
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/18/09)
California Coalition Against Gambling Expansion
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to Los Alamito Race
Course, the sponsor of this bill, "It is important to
maintain the ethical integrity of horse racing in
California. Although no cloned horses actually run in
California, banning the racing of cloned horses or their
offspring will perpetuate the purity of the "sport of
kings". The Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association
argues that this bill is necessary for the following
reasons: (1) parents of a cloned foal cannot be verified.
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When a foal is born you can not verify if the sire was the
actual horse or a cloned offspring. The industry is
defined on being able to determine the parents; (2)
protecting the integrity of racing and the betting pools
would be impossible because you would not have sufficient
information regarding the parents of the racing horse; (3)
eggs are harvested from expired mares. Up to 200 eggs may
be used but out of that number only one or two embryos will
mature. There is no way of knowing which mare's egg the
embryo came from or the exact genetic material. This will
have a negative impact on the gene pool; (4) the economics
of the industry would be greatly affected. An individual
selling a yearling prospect could pull cells, harvest them,
and be in direct competition with the individual who
purchased the horse. A stallion owner may clone his
stallion and extract semen from the clone and sell it as
the original. There is no way of determining the
difference between them which would be very destructive to
the economic structure of our industry; and (5) through the
natural breeding process our product has improved. Cloning
would be a reverse process by using horses from the past
and not moving forward and expanding the gene pool.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill Berryhill,
Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Brownley,
Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro,
Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore,
Duvall, Emmerson, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuller,
Furutani, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall,
Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman,
Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande,
Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez,
Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Silva, Skinner,
Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres,
Torrico, Tran, Villines
NO VOTE RECORDED: Ammiano, Eng, Fuentes, Gaines, Saldana,
Smyth, Yamada, Bass
TSM:do 8/18/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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