Md. Code Regs. 09.10.04.08

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 22, November 1, 2024

Section 09.10.04.08 - Associations

A. An association holding racing or operating a training center under the jurisdiction of the Commission shall:

(1) Provide within its grounds adequate office space and equipment for the use of, and at the disposal of, the Commission and the Commission's representatives;

(2) Ensure free access of the grounds to the Commission and the Commission's representatives while they are engaged in their assigned tasks;

(3) Provide and maintain at least one human ambulance and one horse ambulance on a day that the racing strip is open for racing or exercising horses;

(4) Staff the ambulances required under §A(3) of this regulation with competent, trained personnel, have them ready for service, and placed where they may enter the racing strip with as little time lost as possible in responding to emergencies;

(5) Adopt, have posted, and implement a protocol for education, evaluation, diagnosis, and management of concussion of jockeys which shall be approved by the regulatory authority;

(6) Have available a medical professional trained in evaluating and administering the most current Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT);

(7) Establish a return-to-ride guideline in order to clear a jockey who has been concussed, or is believed to have been concussed, once the jockey is declared fit-to-ride by a medical professional authorized to do so;

(8) Require each jockey to acknowledge in writing that they have been made aware of the concussion protocols in place for the facility at which they are riding;

(9) Police the nonpublic area of its grounds so as to preclude the admission of an individual to this area who is not:

(a) Licensed by the Commission, or

(b) Authorized and properly supervised by the association;

(10) Provide proper receptacles for disposal of manure and other debris which shall be serviced on a daily basis excluding Sunday;

(11) Make adequate provision for fire prevention, protection against fire, and fire suppression within the confines of the facility;

(12) At a thoroughbred race track and training center, provide the following distance poles and color designations:

(a) 1/4 poles-red and white,

(b) 1/8 poles-green and white, and

(c) 1/16 poles-black and white; and

(13) Inform the Commission immediately of any change in the beneficial ownership of the association, including any change in the makeup of the stockholders of the association or in the holdings of a stockholder, if the change involves an entity that had or, as a result of the change has, a 2 percent or more beneficial ownership.

B. An association licensed by the Commission to hold racing shall submit to the Commission:

(1) Not later than the Commission meeting preceding the association's first race meeting of the year:

(a) A list of the administrative personnel of the association, and

(b) A report on the steps taken by the association to comply with the recommendations, if any, of the State Fire Marshal;

(2) Not later than the Commission meeting preceding each race meeting of the association, a list of the officials and others to be employed, in so far as the list can be prepared, containing the:

(a) Name and address of each employee, and

(b) Position to be filled or the duties to be performed by each employee; and

(3) Promptly, all additions to, or changes in, the association list of employees.

C. Subject to Commission approval, an association licensed by the Commission shall furnish and maintain at the facility where racing is being held, and at such other facilities under the control of the association as the Commission may direct:

(1) A first-aid area:

(a) Equipped with adequate beds and supplies, and

(b) Staffed by a licensed medical doctor during racing hours;

(2) Two photo finish cameras positioned at the finish line, one of which shall be held in reserve, to photograph the finish of the races;

(3) A communication system between the judges or stewards stand, the pari-mutuel office, and the starter;

(4) A system, activated by the judges or stewards at the start of a race, which sounds a bell and simultaneously closes the betting pools on the race;

(5) Cameras and other equipment necessary to properly record the running of the races from the start through the finish with the recordings resulting from the use of this equipment not being disposed of without the permission of the judges or stewards;

(6) Sanitary restroom facilities and drinking water;

(7) Two starting gates, both in good working order, one of which shall be kept in reserve; and

(8) Stands for judges, timers, and stewards in positions commanding an uninterrupted view of the entire racing strip.

D. An association licensed by the Commission to conduct racing shall:

(1) Exclude from the paddock, in the interest of public safety, all persons who have no immediate business with the horses entered, except the members of the Commission, the Commission's staff and special representatives, and those having special permission from the association, judges, or stewards;

(2) Request and obtain the approval of the Commission before televising, simulcasting, or broadcasting any race, or before permitting any other person, association, or corporation to do so;

(3) If a licensee bets with or through a handbook:

(a) Eject the licensee from its grounds,

(b) Refuse the licensee admission to its grounds,

(c) Refuse the entry of the licensee's horse, and

(d) Immediately notify the Commission;

(4) Observe and enforce the laws, regulations, and conditions of the Commission;

(5) Employ a sufficient number of security persons to maintain order on its grounds; and

(6) List the following on its daily racing program:

(a) The name of the Governor,

(b) The name of the Secretary of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation,

(c) The names of the Commissioners and the Commission's specified employees, with their titles, if any, and

(d) The address of the Commission's office.

E. An association licensed by the Commission to conduct racing may not:

(1) Permit bets to be made on the grounds of the association, or other grounds on which it controls a pari-mutuel operation, except as permitted under the provisions of Business Regulation Article, Title 11, Annotated Code of Maryland;

(2) Permit illegal or gambling of any kind on the grounds of the association or other grounds on which the association controls a pari-mutuel operation;

(3) Provide, or permit to be provided, any aid, conveniences, or facilities to bookmakers, betting commissioners, their agents, or their employees;

(4) Advance credit for betting purposes; or

(5) Permit an individual younger than 16 years old to be employed on the grounds of the association unless the individual is 14 years old or older and works for the:

(a) Individual's parent or legal guardian in the stable area; or

(b) Association in a nonsecured area of the racetrack and has a valid work permit.

F. Allocation of Takeout.

(1) Except as provided in §F(3) of this regulation, if the Commission awards racing dates to an association to conduct both live harness racing and live thoroughbred racing at a facility, the association shall allocate the takeout from all bets on races, both live and simulcast made under the authority of the license issued to that association, in accordance with the provisions of Business Regulation Article, Title 11, Annotated Code of Maryland, that are applicable to the breed of horse upon which the bets were made.

(2) It is the intent of this regulation that the amounts allocated to purses and bred funds from bets made on races for a certain breed of horse be allocated to the purses and bred funds, respectively, that are for the same breed of horse as the races upon which the bets were made.

(3) If the bets were made on a type of racing for which the provisions of Business Regulation Article, Title 11, Annotated Code of Maryland, do not specify an allocation of the takeout, the allocation of the takeout shall be:

(a) In accordance with the provisions of Business Regulation Article, Title 11, Subtitle 5, Part II, Annotated Code of Maryland, if the services of a jockey were used in the running of the race upon which the bets were made; and

(b) In accordance with the provisions of Business Regulation Article, Title 11, Subtitle 6, Annotated Code of Maryland, if the services of a driver were used in the running of the race upon which the bets were made.

Md. Code Regs. 09.10.04.08

Regulation .08 amended effective March 22, 1999 (26:6 Md. R. 484); May 29, 2000 (27:10 Md. R. 965); September 30, 2002 (29:19 Md. R. 1523); amended effective 44:8 Md. R. 401, eff. 4/24/2017; amended effective 46:15 Md. R. 654, eff. 7/29/2019