Requires the installation and use of surveillance cameras in all racetracks; provides cameras shall be capable of monitoring human and equine traffic in and out of individual stalls, barns and surrounding areas; provides video footage shall be available for review for no less than three years from the date of surveillance.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A297
SPONSOR: Rosenthal L TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law, in
relation to requiring the installation and use of surveillance cameras
in all racetracks
PURPOSE:
This legislation will provide greater oversight at racetracks around the
state to ensure compliance with anti-doping laws.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one amends the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law by
adding a new section 907.
Section two establishes the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
In March 2020, the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested 27 individ-
uals, including trainers, veterinarians and others involved in the horse
racing industry, for participation in a multi-state horse racing doping
scheme. The defendants were accused of administering performance enhanc-
ing drugs to racehorses in New York State, New Jersey, Florida, Ohio,
Kentucky, and the United Arab Emirates. The two-year investigation that
led to their arrest uncovered a widespread scheme to manufacture,
distribute and administer drugs to racehorses around the country to
improve performance, enhance the horses' racing records, and in turn,
earn a share of the winnings. Maximum Security, a horse who appeared to
win the 2019 Kentucky Derby but was disqualified soon after crossing the
finish line for race interference, is just one of the horses named in
the case to have been provided performance enhancing drugs.
The use of such drugs has long allowed trainers to enhance racehorse
performance, masking any pain that would otherwise inhibit the horses'
ability. Experts have attributed the use of performance enhancing drugs
to many of the injuries and fatal breakdowns at racetracks. While many
drugs are prohibited for use in horseracing, without proper surveil-
lance, detecting the use of such drugs leading up to a race has proven
difficult.
The Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) quot-
ed Dr. Rick Arthur, the Equine Medical Director at the University of
California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine as saying "the best anti-
doping and regulatory compliance strategy I have seen is the implementa-
tion of video surveillance..." ("Veterinarians among those charged in
widespread horse doping scheme," JAVMA, April 2020).
Video surveillance systems have been installed at Kentucky Downs as well
as other racetracks nationwide. In 2019, regulators at Santa Anita Park
in California were tipped off to a horse being drugged when they
witnessed a trainer's assistant on a live video feed entering a horse's
stall carrying a bucket. Moments later, after the assistant left, regu-
lators saw foam on the horse's mouth, indicating that drugs had been
administered. Upon further investigation, it was confirmed that drugs
and syringes were inside the bucket brought into the stall. This inci-
dent occurred the very day that Santa Anita Park reopened for racing in
2019, after being temporarily closed due to an alarming number of horse
deaths.
In New York State, nearly 50 racehorses died at racetracks between Janu-
ary and August 2020. In 2019, nearly 100 racehorses died at racetracks
in the State, according to the New York State Gaming Commission.
While federal action is necessary to implement a uniform anti-doping and
medication control program to be enforced by an independent authority,
more is needed in New York State, such as surveillance measures, to
ensure enforcement of anti-doping laws and regulations and other laws
affecting the health and safety of horses and the integrity of the
horseracing industry. This legislation will allow regulators a greater
opportunity to enforce anti-doping laws and regulations by requiring
video surveillance systems be installed at all racetracks throughout New
York State.
LEGISLATTVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Undetermined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a law.
