Senate Bill S7146

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S7146

 TITLE OF BILL :
An act to amend the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law, in
relation to providing funding to support education, promotion and
protection of the standardbred breeding industry


 PURPOSE :
To provide a secure, stable funding stream from the Agriculture and
New York State Horse Breeding Development Fund to support the
education, promotion and protection of the standardbred breeding
industry.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :
Section 332 Racing Pari-mutual Wagering and Breeding law is amended to
provide a percentage of funding from the Agriculture and New York
State Horse Breeding Development Fund to enhance the educational,
administrative and promotional efforts of the Harness Horse breeders
of New York State.

 JUSTIFICATION :
The New York Sire Stakes program, established in 1961, was created by
the Harness Horse Breeders of New York State (HHBNY) and was the first
program of its kind developed in North America and later became the
model for the state-bred racing programs in nearly all of the major
              

harness racing states and provinces on the continent.HHBNY was also
instrumental in establishing the Agriculture and New York State Horse
Breeding Development Fund, which collects a portion of handle to
redistribute to state bred horses through the New York Sire Stakes
program. Under the leadership of the Fund and in a concert with HHBNY,
purses for the New York Sire Stakes have grown from 300,000 in 1961,
to over $13 million today.

HHBNY has a longstanding history of planning and managing the New York
Sire Stakes racing program, while working to educate the public about
standardbred breeding and racing in New York. For almost 50 years, the
Fund has contracted with the organization to layoff staff and curtail
their critical duties. This bill seeks to remove HHBNY from yearly
contract uncertainty and provide a steady, secure funding stream from
the Fund to the organization so that they can best fulfill their
longstanding and critical duties

 EXISTING LAW :
New Bill.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :
None to the General Fund.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall a take effect immediately.