BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2655|
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 2655
Author: Hall (D)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION COMMITTEE : 10-0, 6/24/14
AYES: Correa, Berryhill, Cannella, De Le�n, Galgiani,
Hernandez, Lieu, Padilla, Torres, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 5/15/14 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Horse racing: out-of-state thoroughbred races:
Apple Blossom
Handicap
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill adds the Apple Blossom Handicap to the
group of stake races in Horse Racing Law which are exempt from
the 50-race per day limit on imported races.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Provides that the California Horse Racing Board shall regulate
the various forms of horse racing authorized in this state.
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AB 2655
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2.Limits the number of races that may be imported by
associations and fairs 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.
3.Exempts from that 50-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 Arlington Million, the Breeders' Cup, the
Dubai Cup, the Arkansas Derby, or the Haskell Invitational.
4.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 Apple Blossom Handicap to the group of stake
races in Horse Racing Law which are exempt from the 50-race per
day limit on imported races.
Background
Apple Blossom Handicap . The Apple Blossom Handicap is an
American thoroughbred horse race run each year in early April
during the Racing Festival of the South at Oaklawn Park in Hot
Springs, Arkansas. The Grade I race is open to fillies and
mares, four years old and up. The race is a premier event for
distaffs (female horses) in the spring; it is run over a
distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt and
currently offers a purse of $500,000. Zenyatta, the Queen of
Racing, and the winner of 19 consecutive races in a 20-race
career, won the Apple Blossom Handicap in 2008 and 2010.
This bill provides that all races imported by a thoroughbred
association or fair that are part of the race card of the
overall Apple Blossom Handicap day will be exempted from the
50-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.
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AB 2655
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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 believed that making the product easier to access not
only would expose and market horse racing to potential
customers, but also would make it more convenient for the
existing patrons to wager more often.
Simulcasting . Simulcasting is the process of transmitting the
audio and video signal of a live racing performance from one
facility to a satellite for re-transmission to other locations
or venues where pari-mutuel 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 would not
have otherwise 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.
Comments
The author's office notes that this bill is intended to help
increase public interest and participation at California
racetracks and satellite wagering facilities. The satellite
importation of this historic and prestigious race will allow
California racetracks to remain competitive, increase the
wagering handle on this specific race day and will lead to
increased purses, racetrack revenue, and breeders' awards in
this state.
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FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 5/15/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez,
Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,
Maienschein, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian,
Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A. P�rez, V.
Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Mansoor, Vacancy
MW:d:n 6/25/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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