Assembly Bill A9782

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  9782

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                              May 22, 2014
                               ___________

Introduced by M. of A. HAWLEY -- read once and referred to the Committee
  on Racing and Wagering

AN  ACT  to  amend the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law, in
  relation to requiring transfer of all veterinary records of a  claimed
  racehorse from the owner to the claimant within forty-eight hours from
  the time the claim is finalized

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1.  Legislative  Intent.  The  legislature  hereby  finds  and
declares  that  it  is in the best public policy interests of the state,
its businesses and its citizens to ensure that, to the  greatest  extent
possible,  the  letter and spirit of its thoroughbred racing regulations
aimed at protecting the health of New York's racehorses as well  as  the
jockeys,  trainers,  and owners, are enforced and enacted for any person
doing business in the New York state racing industry.
  Measures to improve safety and health are necessary responses  to  the
"New  York  Task  Force on Racehorse Health and Safety" established as a
result of the fatalities of twenty-one racehorses at Aqueduct Race Track
during a four month period in 2011 and 2012. The task force stated  that
because  horses are regularly sold in claiming races and due to the lack
of transferring veterinary records at the time of sale, "horses are  put
at  increased  risk  of  repeated,  and potentially unnecessary invasive
joint therapies." This increased risk  was  evidenced  in  the  official
report  by the task force which noted the deaths of two racehorses could
have been prevented because "it is unlikely that the trainer  was  aware
of  any  medical treatments that may have occurred prior to his claiming
the horse. This may have  compromised  the  trainer's  ability  to  make
informed decisions with regard to medication administrations."
  Despite  recommendations  by  the  task force, little has been done to
mitigate the problems even through the policy change is in the  interest
of  the  New  York Racing Association, and the New York State Racing and
Wagering Board. The policy change has also obtained wide-spread  support
from the American Association of Equine Practitioners, who stated in the
official  report, "AAEP supports the position that when a horse is sold,

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                           LBD14836-01-4

A. 9782                             2

any known invasive surgery, disease, injury or congenital defect,  which
is  not apparent, should be disclosed to the intended buyer by the owner
and/or agent." This state of affairs places unnecessary  danger  on  the
racehorses  and  the  jockeys of all the horses in claiming races across
the state. This legislature further declares that  it  is  in  the  best
interest  of  the  state  to  adopt policies that promote the health and
safety of racehorses through improved disclosure and sharing of  veteri-
narian records.
  S  2.  The racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law is amended by
adding a new section 258 to read as follows:
  S 258. TRANSFER OF  VETERINARY  RECORDS  FOR  CLAIMED  RACEHORSES.  1.
DEFINITIONS. AS USED IN THIS SECTION, THE FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL HAVE THE
FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
  (A)  "CLAIMING RACE" MEANS A RACE IN WHICH EVERY HORSE RUNNING IN SUCH
RACE MAY BE CLAIMED.
  (B) "CLAIMANT" MEANS A PERSON OR ENTITY WHO SUCCESSFULLY  BECOMES  THE
OWNER OF A HORSE IN A CLAIMING RACE.
  (C)  "OWNER"  AS  APPLIED TO THE RACING OF A HORSE MEANS, ANY MANAGING
OWNER, A RACING OWNER, A PART OWNER, A LESSOR OR LESSEE AND MAY  COMPRO-
MISE  ONE  OR  MORE  PEOPLE  IN  A PARTNERSHIP OR ANY FORM OF COLLECTIVE
OWNERSHIP.
  (D) "PRACTICING VETERINARIAN" MEANS A LICENSED VETERINARIAN WHO TREATS
ANY RACEHORSE.
  (E) "RACEHORSE" MEANS ANY THOROUGHBRED  REGISTERED  OR  QUALIFIED  FOR
REGISTRATION BY THE JOCKEY CLUB.
  (F)  "VETERINARY RECORDS" MEANS ANY RECORD OF VETERINARY CARE ADMINIS-
TERED BY A LICENSED, PRACTICING VETERINARIAN.
  2. IN ORDER TO ENSURE THE PUBLIC'S CONFIDENCE AND  CONTINUE  THE  HIGH
DEGREE  OF  INTEGRITY  AND  SAFETY  IN RACING AT THE PARI-MUTUEL BETTING
TRACKS, VETERINARY RECORDS FOR ALL CLAIMED RACEHORSES IN CLAIMING  RACES
MUST  BE  TRANSFERRED  FROM  THE  OWNER  OF THE RACEHORSE OR THE OWNER'S
AUTHORIZED AGENT TO THE CLAIMANT. THIS TRANSFER MUST BE COMPLETED WITHIN
FORTY-EIGHT HOURS OF THE TIME THAT THE CLAIM  IS  FINALIZED.  THE  STATE
RACING  AND  WAGERING  BOARD  SHALL PROMULGATE ANY RULES AND REGULATIONS
NECESSARY TO IMPLEMENT THE PROVISIONS OF  THIS  SECTION,  INCLUDING  ANY
VOIDABLE CLAIMS AND ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES NECESSARY.
  S 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
it shall have become a law; provided, however, that effective immediate-
ly,  the  addition,  amendment  and/or  repeal of any rule or regulation
necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective  date  are
authorized to be made on or before such effective date.