BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 732
Page 1
Date of Hearing: July 6, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Isadore Hall, Chair
SB 732 (Wyland) - As Amended: April 11, 2011
SENATE VOTE : 39-0
SUBJECT : Horse racing: northern zone: vanning of starters.
SUMMARY : Makes changes to existing horse racing law
provisions pertaining to offsite stabling and vanning of horses
in the northern zone. Specifically, this bill :
1) Deletes the requirement that racing associations in the
northern zone provide, at the option of the horse owner, vanning
of participating racehorses from any California Horse Racing
Board (CHRB) approved offsite stabling facility.
2) Authorizes, with respect to the northern zone and subject to
the availability of specified funds, at the option of the horse
owner, vanning of participating racehorses from any
CHRB-approved offsite stabling facility.
EXISTING LAW :
1) Authorizes the CHRB to regulate the various forms of horse
racing authorized in this state.
2) Provides that, when satellite wagering is conducted on
thoroughbred races at associations or fairs in the northern
zone, an amount equal to 1.25 percent of the total amount
handled by all of those satellite wagering facilities must be
deducted from the take-out for the benefit of the "Vanning and
Stabling" Fund. Proceeds therein are distributed to the
organization representing the racing associations and horsemen
and women for the purpose of providing reimbursement for
off-site stabling and vanning at board-approved auxiliary
training facilities of licensed racing associations. This is to
compensate for the additional stalls beyond the number of usable
stalls the association is required to provide under current law.
3) Requires the CHRB to determine the number of usable stalls
that each racing association or fair must make available and
maintain for a racing meeting. The minimum number of stalls may
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be at the site of the racing meeting or at CHRB-approved offsite
locations.
4) Divides the state into three geographical zones for
regulating horse racing (northern zone, central zone and
southern zone) and with respect to racing meetings conducted in
the northern zone, requires the association or fair conducting
the meeting to provide all stabling required by the CHRB without
cost to participating horsemen.
5) Requires with respect to northern zone thoroughbred meetings
only, the association conducting the meeting to provide, at the
option of the horse owner, vanning of participating racehorses
from any CHRB-approved offsite stabling facility in the northern
zone. Racing fairs may, but are not required to, provide
vanning of participating racehorses from any board-approved
offsite stabling facility subject to the availability of funds.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS :
Over the years, racing has been raiding the Stabling and Vanning
Fund to cover the costs of workers' compensation, amongst other
things. Since 2002, upwards of $4 million annually has been
deducted from the fund to help defray the cost of workers'
compensation coverage for stable employees and jockeys of
thoroughbred trainers. Furthermore, an additional $1 million
from the Stabling and Vanning Fund has been diverted to the
backstretch employees' welfare fund to provide various services
and benefits to backstretch employees.
The author's office notes that the Stabling and Vanning Fund
exists to help horsemen and women defray the costs of having to
transport and stable their races horses at auxiliary training
facilities. This bill is intended to allow for greater
flexibility in the use of the Stabling and Vanning Fund to help
streamline operations in light of current financial constraints.
The author's states that this bill provides racing associations
the same flexibility currently available to racing fairs by
deleting the requirement that they help pay for the vanning or
transportation of a race horse from an offsite stabling facility
to the racing venue. The author's office contends that this
modification would allow racing associations to use the Fund's
support where it will be most efficient.
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In support : The Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC), the
sponsor of this bill, points out that "when a racing association
conducts live racing, current law mandates that the Stabling and
Vanning Fund provide for the subsidization of shipping a race
horse(s) from an approved offsite stabling facility to the live
racing venue; however, the law makes no such mandate when racing
fairs are conducting live racing (e.g., it is left to the
discretion of the Fund's management along with other business
decisions)."
The TOC states that "this bill would treat racing associations
in the same manner as racing fairs by allowing the Stabling and
Vanning Fund the same operational flexibility to allocate its
funds to where they may be most efficient depending on horse
inventory, vanning and stabling demands, and other operating
requirements."
Prior legislation : SB 766 (Negrete McLeod), Chapter 616,
Statutes of 2009, authorized the CHRB to shift money around from
various funds dedicated for specific purposes within horse
racing that are in surplus, such as the promotions fund and
workers' compensation fund, to others that are in deficit, such
as the Vanning and Stabling account.
AB 2103 (Plescia), Chapter 443, Statutes of 2008, extended the
sunset date, from January 1, 2009 to January 1, 2014, on a
deduction from pari-mutuel wagering on thoroughbred horse racing
in order to defray the costs of pay or workers' compensation
insurance.
SB 1805 (Florez), Chapter 883, Statutes of 2006, provided that
any funds not used to defray the costs of workers' compensation
insurance as described, may also be used to reimburse a racing
association for actual costs of safety improvements to racing
and training surfaces, health and safety programs, and
research or safety equipment.
AB 2931 (Horton), Chapter 922, Statutes of 2002, authorized
racing associations to use existing industry funds (stabling and
vanning and promotion funds) for use in developing a program to
offset workers' compensation rates for horse trainers in the
state.
SB 28 (Maddy), Chapter 516, Statutes of 1998, provided that when
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satellite wagering is conducted on thoroughbred races at
associations or fairs in the central or southern zone, an amount
equal to 1.25 percent of the total amount handled by all of
those satellite wagering facilities must be deducted from the
take-out and distributed to the organization representing the
racing associations and horsemen and women for the purpose of
providing reimbursement for off-site stabling and vanning at
board-approved auxiliary training facilities of licensed racing
associations. This was intended to compensate for additional
stalls beyond the number of usable stalls an association is
required to provide under existing law.
SB 1515 (Maddy), Chapter 53, Statutes of 1996, permitted any
vanning and stabling reimbursement funds that are not expended
during an association or fair horse racing meeting in which they
are collected to be allocated to the organization representing
racing fairs to offset its costs of maintaining the stalls
contracted for by fairs.
SB 1196 (Thompson), Chapter 80, Statutes of 1995, allowed fairs
in the northern zone, subject to the availability of funds, to
provide for the vanning of racehorses from any offsite stabling
facility.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Thoroughbred Owners of California
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Eric Johnson / G. O. / (916) 319-2531