wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > HB 1327 > Original Bill
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
"Commission" means the Washington horse racing commission, hereinafter created.
"Parimutuel machine" means both machines at the track and machines at the satellite locations, that record parimutuel bets and compute the payoff.
"Parimutuel wagering" means a form of wagering on the outcome of a horse race or horse races in which all wagers are pooled and held by a parimutuel pool host for distribution of the total amount, less deductions authorized by law, to holders of tickets on the winning contestants.
"Person" means individuals, firms, corporations, and associations.
"Race meet" means any exhibition of thoroughbred, quarter horse, paint horse, appaloosa horse racing, arabian horse racing, or standard bred harness horse racing, where the parimutuel system is used.
There is hereby created the Washington horse racing commission, to consist of three commissioners, appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate. The commissioners shall be citizens, residents, and qualified electors of the state of Washington. The terms of the members shall be six years. Each member shall hold office until his or her successor is appointed and qualified. Vacancies in the office of commissioner shall be filled by appointment to be made by the governor for the unexpired term. Any commissioner may be removed at any time at the pleasure of the governor. Before entering upon the duties of his or her office, each commissioner shall enter into a surety company bond, to be approved by the governor and attorney general, payable to the state of Washington, in the penal sum of five thousand dollars, conditioned upon the faithful performance of his or her duties and the correct accounting and payment of all sums received and coming within his or her control under this chapter, and in addition thereto each commissioner shall take and subscribe to an oath of office of the same form as that prescribed by law for elective state officers.
Every person making application for license to hold a race meet, under the provisions of this chapter shall file an application with the commission which shall set forth the time, the place, the number of days such meet will continue, and such other information as the commission may require. The commission shall be the sole judge of whether or not the race meet shall be licensed and the number of days the meet shall continue. No person who has been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude shall be issued a license, nor shall any license be issued to any person who has violated the terms or provisions of this chapter, or any of the rules and regulations of the commission made pursuant thereto, or who has failed to pay to the commission any or all sums required under the provisions of this chapter. The license shall specify the number of days the race meet shall continue and the number of races per day, which shall include not less than six live races per day, and for which a fee shall be paid daily in advance of $500 for each live race day : PROVIDED, That if unforeseen obstacles arise, which prevent the holding, or completion of any race meet, the license fee for the meet, or for a portion which cannot be held may be refunded the licensee, if the commission deems the reasons for failure to hold or complete the race meet sufficient. Any unexpired license held by any person who violates any of the provisions of this chapter, or any of the rules or regulations of the commission made pursuant thereto, or who fails to pay to the commission any and all sums required under the provisions of this chapter, shall be subject to cancellation and revocation by the commission. Such cancellation shall be made only after a summary hearing before the commission, of which three days' notice, in writing, shall be given the licensee, specifying the grounds for the proposed cancellation, and at which hearing the licensee shall be given an opportunity to be heard in opposition to the proposed cancellation.
For the purpose of encouraging the breeding, within this state, of valuable thoroughbred, quarter and/or standard bred racehorses, at least one race of each day's meet shall be offered exclusively for Washington bred horses.
All sums paid to the commission under this chapter, including those sums collected for license fees and excluding those sums collected under RCW 67.16.102 and 67.16.105(3), shall be disposed of by the commission as follows: One hundred percent thereof shall be retained by the commission for the payment of the salaries of its members, secretary, clerical, office, and other help and all expenses incurred in carrying out the provisions of this chapter.
Any moneys collected or paid to the commission under the terms of this chapter and not expended at the close of the fiscal biennium shall be either dispersed to Washington state registered equestrian nonprofit organizations or recognized equine-related youth organizations through a grant process set up by the commission or paid to the state treasurer and be placed in the fair fund created in RCW 15.76.115. The commission may, with the approval of the office of financial management, retain any sum required for working capital.
The legislature finds that:
A primary responsibility of the horse racing commission is the encouragement of the training and development of the equine industry in the state of Washington whether the result of this training and development results in legalized horse racing or in the recreational use of horses;
The horse racing commission has a further major responsibility to assure that any facility used as a racecourse should be maintained and upgraded to ensure the continued safety of both the public and the horse at any time the facility is used for the training or contesting of these animals;
Nonprofit race meets within the state have difficulty in obtaining sufficient funds to provide the maintenance and upgrading necessary to assure this safety at these facilities, or to permit frequent use of these facilities by 4-H children or other horse owners involved in training; and
The one percent of the parimutuel machine gross receipts used to pay a special purse to the licensed owners of Washington bred horses is available for the purpose of drawing interest, thereby obtaining funds to be disbursed to achieve the necessary support to these nonprofit race meets.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter to the contrary, the licensee shall withhold and shall pay daily to the commission, in addition to the percentages authorized by RCW 67.16.105, one percent of the gross receipts of all parimutuel machines at each race meet which sums shall, at the end of each meet, be paid by the commission to the licensed owners of those Washington bred only horses finishing first, second, third, and fourth at each meet from which the additional one percent is derived in accordance with an equitable distribution formula to be promulgated by the commission prior to the commencement of each race meet: PROVIDED, That nothing in this section shall apply to race meets which are nonprofit in nature, are of ten days or less, and have an average daily handle of less than one hundred twenty thousand dollars.
The additional one percent specified in subsection (1) of this section shall be deposited by the commission in the Washington horse racing commission Washington bred owners' bonus fund and breeder awards account created in RCW 67.16.275. The interest derived from this account shall be distributed annually on an equal basis to those racecourses at which independent race meets are held which are nonprofit in nature and are of ten days or less. Prior to receiving a payment under this subsection, any new racecourse shall meet the qualifications set forth in this section for a period of two years. All funds distributed under this subsection shall be used for the purpose of maintaining and upgrading the respective racing courses and equine quartering areas of said nonprofit meets.
The commission shall not permit the licensees to take into consideration the benefits derived from this section in establishing purses.
Licensees of race meets that are nonprofit in nature and are of ten days or less are exempt from payment of a parimutuel tax.
Licensees that do not fall under subsection (1) of this section must withhold and pay to the commission daily for each authorized day of parimutuel wagering the following applicable percentage of all daily gross receipts from its in-state parimutuel machines:
If the gross receipts of all its in-state parimutuel machines are more than $20,000,000 in the previous calendar year, the licensee must withhold and pay to the commission daily 1.30 percent of the daily gross receipts; and
If the gross receipts of all its in-state parimutuel machines are $20,000,000 or less in the previous calendar year, the licensee must withhold and pay to the commission daily 1.8 percent of the daily gross receipts.
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In addition to those amounts in subsection (2) of this section, a licensee must forward one-tenth of one percent of the daily gross receipts of all its in-state parimutuel machines to the commission for payment to those nonprofit race meets as set forth in RCW 67.16.130 and subsection (1) of this section, but the percentage may not be charged against the licensee.
Payments to nonprofit race meets under this subsection must be distributed on a per-race-day basis and used only for purses at racetracks that have been
approved for race dates in the current calendar year and operating under RCW 67.16.130 and subsection (1) of this section. If no nonprofit racing dates are approved, any amount in the fund that exceeds $180,000 at the end of each fiscal year must be deposited into the commission's operating account.
c. As provided in this subsection, the commission must distribute funds up to $30,000 per race day from funds generated under this subsection (3).
No employee of the horse racing commission shall simultaneously serve as an employee of any track at which that individual will also serve as an employee of the commission.
No later than 90 days after July 16, 1973, the horse racing commission shall adopt, pursuant to chapter 34.05 RCW, reasonable rules implementing to the extent applicable to the circumstances of the horse racing commission the conflict of interest laws of the state of Washington as set forth in chapter 42.52 RCW. In no case may a commissioner make any wager on the outcome of a live horse race at a race meet conducted in Washington state under the authority of the commission. For authorized simulcast races held outside the state of Washington, a commissioner is permitted to wager.
Licensees of race meets that are nonprofit in nature and are of ten days or less may retain daily for each authorized day of racing fifteen percent of daily gross receipts of all parimutuel machines at each race meet.
Licensees of race meets that do not fall under subsection (1) of this section may retain daily for each authorized day of parimutuel wagering
no more than 15 percent of the daily gross receipts.
In addition to the amounts authorized to be retained in RCW 67.16.170, race meets may retain daily for each authorized day of racing an additional six percent of the daily gross receipts of all parimutuel machines from exotic wagers at each race meet.
Of the amounts retained in subsection (1) of this section, one-sixth shall be paid to the commission at the end of the race meet for deposit in the Washington horse racing commission Washington bred owners' bonus fund and breeder awards account created in RCW 67.16.275. Such amounts shall be used by the commission for Washington bred breeder awards, in accordance with the rules and qualifications adopted by the commission.
3.
As used in this section, "exotic wagers" means any multiple wager. Exotic wagers are subject to approval of the commission.
(1) A class 1 racing association licensed by the commission to conduct a race meet may seek approval from the commission to conduct parimutuel wagering at a satellite location or locations within the state of Washington. In order to participate in parimutuel wagering at a satellite location or locations within the state of Washington, the holder of a class 1 racing association license must have conducted at least one full live racing season. All class 1 racing associations must hold a live race meet within each succeeding twelve-month period to maintain eligibility to continue to participate in parimutuel wagering at a satellite location or locations. The sale of parimutuel pools at satellite locations shall be conducted simultaneous to all parimutuel wagering activity conducted at the licensee's live racing facility in the state of Washington. The commission's authority to approve satellite wagering at a particular location is subject to the following limitations:
Class 1 racing associations and licensed advanced deposit wagering companies may conduct horse race handicapping contests. The commission shall establish rules for the approval of handicapping contests involving the outcome of multiple horse races.
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The Washington horse racing commission operating account is created in the custody of the state treasurer. All receipts collected by the commission under RCW 67.16.105(2) must be deposited into the account. Expenditures from the account may be used only for the operating expenses of the commission. Only the commission or the commission's designee may authorize expenditures from the account. The account is subject to allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, but an appropriation is not required for expenditures.
The commission has the authority to receive such gifts, grants, and endowments from public or private sources as may be made from time to time in trust or otherwise for the use and purpose of regulating or supporting nonprofit race meets as set forth in RCW 67.16.130 and 67.16.105(1); such gifts, grants, and endowments must also be deposited into the horse racing commission operating account and expended according to the terms of such gift, grant, or endowment.
In order to provide funding in support of the legislative findings in RCW 67.16.101 (1) through (3), and to provide additional necessary support to the nonprofit race meets beyond the funding provided by RCW 67.16.101(4) and 67.16.102(2), the commission is authorized to spend up to $500,000 per fiscal year from its operating account for the purpose of developing the equine industry, maintaining and upgrading racing facilities, and assisting equine health research. When determining how to allocate the funds available for these purposes, the commission must give first consideration to uses that regulate and assist the nonprofit race meets and equine health research. These expenditures may occur only when sufficient funds remain for the continued operations of the horse racing commission.