BILL ANALYSIS �
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 562|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 562
Author: Hall (D)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION COMM. : 13-0, 6/28/11
AYES: Wright, Anderson, Berryhill, Calderon, Cannella,
Corbett, De Le�n, Evans, Hernandez, Padilla, Strickland,
Wyland, Yee
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/23/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Horse racing: Wood Memorial
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill adds the Wood Memorial to the group of
stake races in Horse Racing Law which are exempt from the
32-race per day limit on imported races, as defined.
ANALYSIS : Existing law grants the California Horse
Racing Board (CHRB) the authority to regulate the various
forms of horse racing authorized in this state.
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
CONTINUED
AB 562
Page
2
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.
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.
This bill adds the Wood Memorial to the group of stake
races in Horse Racing Law which are exempt from the 32-race
per day limit on imported races, as defined.
Background
Wood Memorial Stakes : The Wood Memorial Stakes is a Grade
1 stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbreds, located at
the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. Each April,
this prestigious race acts as a major prep for
three-year-old horses with eleven winners having gone on to
victory in the Kentucky Derby, four of whom captured the
Triple Crown. The race is shown each year on ESPN.
Purpose of AB 562 : This bill provides that all races
imported by a Thoroughbred association or fair that are
part of the race card of the overall Wood Memorial day is
exempted from the 32-race per day limit as defined in
existing 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.
Satellite Wagering : Satellite wagering via an off-track
facility has been legal in California since 1985. It was
authorized at a time when California racetracks were
beginning to experience declining attendance and handle
figures. The industry believes that making the product
easier to access not only exposes and markets horse racing
to potential customers, but also makes it more convenient
for the existing patrons to wager more often.
AB 562
Page
3
Simulcasting : Simulcasting is the process of transmitting
the audio and video signal of a live racing performance
from one facility to a satellite for retransmission to
other locations or venues where parimutuel wagering is
permitted. Simulcasting provides racetracks with the
opportunity to increase revenues by exporting their live
racing content to as many wagering locations as possible,
such as other racetracks, fair satellite facilities and
Indian casinos. Revenues are increased because
simulcasting provides racetracks that export their live
content with additional customers in multiple locations who
otherwise would not have been able to place wagers on the
live racing event.
Racetrack Attendance : Over the past 20 years the industry
has witnessed a general decline in the number of people
attending and wagering at live horse racetracks 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. The declining
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.
Prior/Related Legislation
AB 2790 (Assembly Governmental Organization Committee),
Chapter 141, Statutes of 2010, adds the Arlington Million
to the group of specific stake races which are exempt from
the 32-race per day limit on imported races.
AB 3074 (Assembly Governmental Organization Committee),
Chapter 510, Statutes of 2008, among other things,
increases from 23 to 32, 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.
AB 1736 (Assembly Governmental Organization Committee),
Chapter 444, Statutes of 2007, adds the "Travers Stakes" to
the group of specific stake races which are exempt from the
23-race per day limit on imported races.
AB 562
Page
4
SB 379 (Denham), Chapter 443, Statutes of 2007, adds the
Dubai World Cup race to a specified list of races exempt
from the 23-race per day limit on imported races for
satellite wagering in California.
AB 509 (Jerome Horton), Chapter 235, Statutes of 2004,
allows a Thoroughbred or fair association 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
under specified conditions.
SB 590 (Perata), Chapter 936, Statutes of 2001, authorizes
Thoroughbred racing associations and fairs in the northern
racing zone to increase the number of imported racing
simulcasts available to be wagered upon if the CHRB reduces
the number of live racing days.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/29/11)
California Thoroughbred Racing Industry
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author's office notes that
this bill will help increase the wagering handle on this
specific day (Wood Memorial Stakes) 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. The author's office
states "California's racing industry has found that it's
much easier to make a big day bigger relative to their
marketing efforts rather than trying to increase attendance
on a typical Wednesday or Thursday." The author's office
believes that this bill also provides 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 Wood Memorial horse race.
AB 562
Page
5
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth
Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman,
Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez, Hill,
Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara,
Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller,
Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby,
Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Portantino, Silva,
Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao,
Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cook, Eng, Gorell, Ma, Yamada
PQ:do 7/7/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****