CALIFORNIA STATUTES AND CODES
SECTIONS 19420-19447
BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE
SECTION 19420-19447
19420. Jurisdiction and supervision over meetings in this State
where horse races with wagering on their results are held or
conducted, and over all persons or things having to do with the
operation of such meetings, is vested in the California Horse Racing
Board.
19421. The board consists of seven members, appointed by the
Governor.
Each member shall hold office for a term of four years, commencing
at the expiration of the previous term.
The term of the members of the board in office on January 1, 1959,
shall expire as follows: one member July 26, 1959, one member July
26, 1960, and one member July 26, 1961. The terms shall expire in the
same relative order as to each member as the term for which he holds
office on January 1, 1959.
The term of the members appointed pursuant to amendments made to
this section during the 1977-1978 legislative session shall expire as
follows: one on January 1, 1979 and one on January 1, 1982.
The term of the members appointed pursuant to amendments made to
this section during the 1979-80 Regular Session of the Legislature
shall expire as follows: one on January 1, 1982, and one on January
1, 1984.
Any vacancy shall be filled by the Governor for the unexpired
term.
Each member shall be eligible for reappointment in the discretion
of the Governor.
19422. Each member of the board shall have been a resident of this
State for two years next preceding his appointment.
19423. A person is disqualified from membership on the board if the
person, the person's spouse or any dependent child thereof:
(a) Holds a financial interest in any horse racing track.
(b) Holds a financial interest or position of management with any
business entity which conducts parimutuel horse racing.
(c) Holds a financial interest in a management or concession
contract with any business entity which conducts parimutuel horse
racing.
19424. No board member is disqualified from receiving a share of
any purse awarded him as the result of any horse race as an owner of
a horse or as a breeder of a California-bred horse.
19424.5. In order to permit the full participation of horsemen and
horsewomen who may be appointed to the board, the Legislature
declares that the appointment of such persons is intended to
represent and further the interests of horse owners and breeders
pursuant to Section 19401, and that such representation and
furtherance will ultimately serve the public interest. Accordingly
the Legislature finds racehorse owners and breeders are tantamount to
and constitute the public generally within the meaning of Section
87103 of the Government Code.
19425. The members of the board shall receive a per diem of one
hundred dollars ($100) for each day spent in attendance at meetings
scheduled by the chairperson of the board for the purpose of
fulfilling the duties of the board pursuant to this chapter, and
shall be reimbursed for traveling and other expenses necessarily
incurred in the performance of official duties.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any member of the
board who is also a member of, and is entitled to receive the
benefits from, the Legislators' Retirement System may elect to forego
the compensation provided by this section and, if the compensation
is foregone, the member shall not have his or her retirement benefits
reduced and shall not be required to be reinstated into the
retirement system.
19426. The Governor may remove any board member for incompetence,
neglect of duty or corruption upon first giving him a copy of the
charges against him and an opportunity to be heard.
19427. The board shall appoint such employees as may be necessary
to carry out the provisions of this chapter.
19428. The board shall appoint an executive director who shall
receive the annual salary established by the board and approved by
the Department of Personnel Administration. The executive director
shall be the board's executive officer and shall carry out and
execute the duties as specified by law and by the board.
19429. A person is disqualified from employment by the board if the
person, the person's spouse, or any dependent child thereof:
(a) Holds a financial interest in a horserace track.
(b) Holds a financial interest or position of management with an
entity that conducts parimutuel horseracing.
(c) Holds a financial interest in a management or concession
contract with a business entity that conducts parimutuel horseracing.
19430. The salaries of the executive director, and other employees
of the board, the per diem allowance of members of the board, and the
necessary traveling and other expenses of the executive director and
members of the board, shall be paid monthly by the Treasurer on the
warrant of the Controller and the certification of the chairperson of
the board out of the money appropriated for that purpose.
19431. The board shall establish and maintain a general office for
the transaction of its business in Sacramento. The board may
establish any branch office for the transaction of its business at a
place to be determined by it, and may hold meetings at any other
place within the state when the interests of the public may be better
served.
A public record of every vote shall be maintained at the board's
general office.
At least four members of the board shall concur in the taking of
any official action or in the exercise of any of the board's duties,
powers, or functions.
19432. The executive director shall keep a full and true record of
all proceedings of the board, preserve at the board's general office
all books, documents, and papers of the board, prepare for service
such notices and other papers as may be required of him or her by the
board, and perform such other duties as the board may prescribe.
19433. The board may visit, investigate, and place expert
accountants and such other persons as it may deem necessary in the
office, track, or other place of business of any licensee for the
purpose of satisfying itself that its rules and regulations are
strictly complied with.
19434. The board may require that the books and financial or other
statements of any person licensed under this chapter shall be kept in
any manner which to the board may seem best.
19435. The board, its executive director, or the stewards, may
issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses or the production of
any records, books, memoranda, documents, or other papers or things,
as is necessary to enable any of them to effectually discharge their
duties, and may administer oaths or affirmations as necessary in
connection therewith.
19436. Any person subpoenaed who fails to appear at the time and
place specified in answer to the subpoena and to bring any papers or
things specified in the subpoena, or who upon such appearance,
refuses to testify, or produce such records or things, is guilty of a
misdemeanor.
19437. Any person who testifies falsely under oath in any
proceeding before, or any investigation by the board, its executive
director, or the stewards, is guilty of a felony and shall be
punished in the same manner prescribed by the Penal Code for the
punishment of perjury.
19439. In lieu of requiring an affidavit or other sworn statement
in any application or other paper or document required to be filed
with it, the board may require a certification thereof under the
penalty of perjury, in such form as the board may prescribe.
Any person who willfully makes and subscribes any such certificate
which is materially false in any particular is guilty of a felony,
and shall be punished in the manner prescribed by the Penal Code for
the punishment of perjury.
19440. (a) The board shall have all powers necessary and proper to
enable it to carry out fully and effectually the purposes of this
chapter. Responsibilities of the board shall include, but not be
limited to, all of the following:
(1) Adopting rules and regulations for the protection of the
public and the control of horse racing and parimutuel wagering.
(2) Administration and enforcement of all laws, rules, and
regulations affecting horse racing and parimutuel wagering.
(3) Adjudication of controversies arising from the enforcement of
those laws and regulations dealing with horse racing and parimutuel
wagering.
(4) Licensing of each racing association and all persons, other
than the public at large, who participate in a horse racing meeting
with parimutuel wagering.
(5) Allocation of racing dates to qualified associations in
accordance with law.
(b) The board may delegate to stewards appointed pursuant to
Article 5 (commencing with Section 19510) any of its powers and
duties that are necessary to carry out fully and effectuate the
purposes of this chapter.
19440.5. An annual audit shall be conducted of the financial books
and records of the horsemen's organizations, including any
subsidiaries of the horsemen's organizations, by a nationally
recognized accounting firm as follows:
(a) With respect to pension funds received by those organizations
pursuant to Sections 19533, 19613, and 19613.1, the audit shall be
conducted within 90 days of the close of the fund's business year.
The audit shall cover the period of time since the last audit, and a
copy thereof shall be filed with the board, and the Senate and
Assembly Committees on Governmental Organization.
(b) With respect to administrative funds and welfare funds
received pursuant to Sections 19533, 19606.5, 19613, and 19641, the
audit shall be conducted within 90 days of the close of the fund's
business year. The audit shall cover the period of time since the
last audit, and a copy thereof shall be filed with the board, and the
Senate and Assembly Committees on Governmental Organization.
(c) The horsemen's organizations shall bear the cost of the audit.
19441. The board shall annually make a full report to the Governor
and the Legislature of its proceedings and the state of the business
of horse racing for the preceding fiscal year, on or before January
31, and shall embody therein any recommendations deemed needed for
improved functioning of the horse racing laws.
19441.2. In its annual report required under Section 19441, the
board shall include a tabulation of injuries, fatalities, and
comparative accident rates for all racing and training venues within
its jurisdiction. The report shall also include recommendations
concerning the worker safety impacts of improvements in racetrack
design, jockey equipment, racing procedures, and track and facility
maintenance.
19442.2. The board shall, if possible, designate at least one
steward at each track where a horse racing meeting is conducted who
is a former jockey or at least one steward at each track where a
harness meeting is conducted who is a former driver.
19443. The Attorney General and every district attorney shall
enforce this chapter in their capacities as law enforcement officers.
19444. In performing its responsibilities pursuant to this chapter,
the board may do the following:
(a) Pay membership fees, join, and participate in the affairs of
associations having for their purpose the interchange of information
relating to racing law enforcement, the licensing of horse racing
participants, the registration of race horses, and subjects relating
to the duties of the board.
(b) Tabulate, analyze, and publish statistical information based
upon parimutuel handles, attendance, distribution of parimutuel
proceeds among fees, commissions, purses, and awards, and upon the
breeding and production of race horses or other information relating
to parimutuel wagering.
(c) Conduct research to determine more fully the cause and
prevention of horse racing accidents, the effects of drug substances
on the race horses, and the means for detection of foreign drug
substances.
19446.1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a veterinarian
shall not administer medications to any horse entered in the same
race in which a horse is entered which he or she owns or trains.
In addition to any penalty provided for by this chapter or any
other law, a violation of this section by any licensed veterinarian
shall be grounds for denial, revocation, or suspension of a license
or imposition of a fine pursuant to Section 4883 and the veterinarian
shall be subject to disciplinary action pursuant to Article 4
(commencing with Section 4875) of Chapter 11 of Division 2.
19447. If a question of consent is appealed to the board under
subdivision (a) of Section 19601 or subdivision (f) of Section
19605.3, the board shall hold a hearing on the appeal.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the board may hold a
hearing pursuant to this section within 24 hours of noticing the
hearing.