los angeles turf club | Horse Racing Free Tips

The operators of Santa Anita Park and Golden Gate Fields have filed a lawsuit against a horse racing website with alleged ties to an offshore racebook operation, charging the website with facilitating illegal online betting on California races and from California residents.

The Los Angeles Turf Club, licensed by the California Horse Racing Board to run race meetings at Santa Anita in Arcadia, and the Pacific Racing Association, which operates Golden Gate Fields in Albany, filed the suit against US Racing (www.usracing.com) and BUSR (www.busr.ag). One challenge, according to the complaint, is that both US Racing and BUSR are entities “of an unknown form…plaintiff does not know the true names” of the owners of the two websites.

Both LATC and PRA are part of the 1/ST Racing, owned by The Stronach Group.

The suit was filed Oct. 20 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Western Division.

The complaint claims that the two entities are in violation of the Interstate Horseracing Act and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). It alleges that US Racing and BUSR “actively promote and market illegal online betting on horse races,” with US Racing directly referring individuals to the BUSR website through hyperlinks placed throughout the site. Neither entity is licensed through the California Horse Racing Board or authorized by the regulatory agency to accept wagers on California races or from California residents. Neither has statutory agreements with tracks or horsemen's groups to accept wagers on their races, and by operating offshore there are no host/signal fees or takeout mandated by California law. Wagers do not enter the pari-mutuel system.

“Defendants failure to pay the statutorily mandated takeout deductions as well as host fees and/or commissions increases Defendants net revenue thereby allowing them to offer rebates and other financial incentives to individuals…who place illegal bets through Defendants' websites in order to gain an unfair competitive advantage over Plaintiffs and over the licensed ADW providers operating in California,” the complaint states.

The Plaintiffs are seeking a permanent injunction barring defendants from accepting wagers on California races or from California residents, treble damages and attorneys fees.

A lawsuit only tells one side of the story. The Defendants in the suit will be afforded an opportunity to respond.

The post US Racing Website, Offshore Racebook Sued By Stronach Group Tracks appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The California Horse Racing Board conducted a meeting by teleconference on Thursday, August 20. The public participated by dialing into the teleconference and/or listening through the audio webcast link on the CHRB website. Vice Chairman Oscar Gonzales chaired the meeting, joined by Commissioners Dennis Alfieri, Damascus Castellanos, Wendy Mitchell, and Alex Solis.

The audio of this entire Board meeting is available on the CHRB Website (www.chrb.ca.gov) under the Webcast link. In brief:

Dr. Rick Arthur, equine medical director, helped open the meeting with a discussion of the current heat wave in California and its effect on racehorses. Dr. Arthur explained that temperatures alone do not determine whether it is safe for horses to compete. He described the Heat Stress Index (HSI) as a more accurate method. He sent a memo this week to horsemen, track management, stewards, and veterinarians reminding them of how to use HSI and when to undertake heat-stress mitigation steps. That memo is posted on the CHRB website under Racing Safety.
The Board approved the license application for the Los Angeles Turf Club (LATC) to conduct a race meet at Santa Anita Park, with racing commencing Saturday, September 19, through Sunday, October 25. Aiden Butler, director of racing at Santa Anita, said although racing concludes September 7 at Del Mar, Santa Anita will be delaying the start of its meet by more than a week to give horses a rest and to ensure that all COVID-19 protocols are in place.
Concerning that meet at Santa Anita, the Board approved an agreement between LATC and the Thoroughbred Owners of California authorizing the racing secretary to set conditions on races, which will include limitations on Lasix and intra-articular medications.
Vice Chair Gonzales and Commissioner Mitchell reported on their Wednesday teleconference meeting of the Race Dates Committee. They indicated there is general agreement among stakeholders for 2021 date allocations, aside from a week here and there. If there is no agreement on those weeks, the committee will make a recommendation in the best interests of the racing industry at the September 24 meeting.
The Board authorized an exemption for fire clearance approval at Los Alamitos and an extension for such approval at San Luis Rey Downs training center based on evidence that both had clearances from local fire authorities, so the allowances only pertained to additional regulatory requirements.
The Board approved for 45-day public notice a proposed regulation establishing rules for public participation at meetings, which largely reflect the procedures that currently are in place, including limiting unsolicited speakers to two minutes each on agenda items.
The Board approved a requirement for practicing veterinarians to use an electronic on-line form prescribed by the Board when submitting their required veterinarian reports to the Official Veterinarian.
The Board approved an emergency amendment to better align CHRB drug classifications with those of the Association of Racing Commissioners International.
The Board approved the re-election of three directors to the board of the California Thoroughbred Horsemen's Foundation: Angie Carmona, Dr. Victor Levine, and Eric Sindler.
The Board authorized Fasig-Tipton Co. to conduct a horse auction sale at Fairplex Park on October 19.

Public comments made during the meeting can be accessed through the meeting audio archive on the CHRB website.

The post CHRB: Medical Director Issues Heat-Stress Memo, Santa Anita Approved To Delay Meet Start appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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