BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2790|
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 2790
Author: Assembly Governmental Organization Committee
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORG. COMMITTEE : 8-0, 6/29/10
AYES: Wright, Harman, Calderon, Florez, Negrete McLeod,
Padilla, Price, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Denham, Oropeza, Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 5/13/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Horse racing: out-of-state thoroughbred races:
the Arlington
Million
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill adds the Arlington Million to the
group of specific stake races which are exempt from the
32-race per day limit on imported races.
ANALYSIS : Existing law authorizes thoroughbred racing
associations or fairs to distribute the audiovisual signal
and accept wagers on the results of out-of-state and
international thoroughbred races during the calendar period
the association or fair is conducting live racing,
including days on which there is no live racing being
conducted by the association or fair.
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AB 2790
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Existing law provides that wagering on these races may
occur without the consent of the horsemen/women
participating in the meet, and without regard to the amount
of purses involved with the races.
Existing law limits the number of races that may be
imported by associations and fairs to no more than 32 races
per day on days when live thoroughbred or fair racing is
being conducted in this state, with specified exceptions.
Existing law exempts from that 32-race per day limit races
imported that are part of the race card of certain
prominent races, including the Kentucky Derby, the Kentucky
Oaks, the Preakness Stakes, the Belmont Stakes, the Jockey
Club Gold Cup, the Travers Stakes, the Breeders' Cup, the
Dubai Cup, or the Haskell Invitational.
This bill provides that all races imported by a
Thoroughbred association or fair that are part of the race
card of the overall Arlington Million day would be exempted
from the 32-race per day limit as defined in current law.
Over the years, this law has been amended to allow specific
notable races to be imported outside of this cap for
promotional and financial reasons.
The author notes this bill will help to increase the
wagering handle on this specific day which will lead to
increased purses, racetrack revenue, and breeders' awards
in California. Purses are important to California's racing
industry because they provide revenue to horse owners for
their racing operations and to breeders through an increase
in the value of their breeding stock. California's racing
industry has found that it's much easier to make a big day
bigger relating to their marketing efforts rather than
trying to increase attendance on a typical Wednesday or
Thursday. The bill will also give the racing industry a
marketing tool to increase on-track and off-track
attendance on this designated day because racing fans will
want to wager on all the races from the host track of the
prestigious Arlington Million horse race.
The Arlington Million
The Arlington Million is a prestigious Grade 1 horse race
in the United States for thoroughbred horses aged three
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AB 2790
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years and upward. It is raced over a distance of 1 miles
on the turf at Arlington Park, Arlington Heights, Illinois
(a suburb of Chicago) in August each year. The Arlington
Million, as its name implies was the first thoroughbred
race to offer a purse of $1,000,000 in August 1981. It is
part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge series, the winner of
the Arlington Million automatically qualifies for the
Breeders' Cup Turf. The "Million" is considered by many in
American racing circles to be the most prestigious turf
race in the country behind only the Breeders' Cup.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block,
Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Charles
Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De
La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Evans, Feuer,
Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines,
Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi,
Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight,
Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller,
Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, V. Manuel
Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Smyth,
Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres,
Torrico, Tran, Villines, John A. Perez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Caballero, Eng, Hagman, Norby, Skinner,
Yamada
TSM:nl 7/2/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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