Santa Anita’s experiment of inserting the same model of Historic Horse Racing on the race monitor on Thursday got here to an abrupt halt on Saturday afternoon when legislation enforcement officers bodily eliminated the machines after racing ended.
Two officers at Santa Anita confirmed that representatives of the state Division of Justice eliminated the betting machines that have been put in on Wednesday and have been confiscated and faraway from the monitor.
In keeping with eyewitnesses a consultant of the Arcadia Police Division together with a number of legislation enforcement officers with patches that learn “California Division of Justice Legal professional Common” got here into the grandstand space the place the Racing on Demand machines have been situated and unplugged them, positioned them on handcarts and eliminated them from the constructing.
The staff working within the space have been informed to depart as about 15 officers confiscated the machines, together with all of the money within the machines.
The machines, which permit folks to guess on previous horse races in a slot-machine-type format, have been put into the grandstand space of Santa Anita on Thursday with no discover. Santa Anita didn’t promote the machines or point out it in its fan publication. It was known as a comfortable opening. The transfer to put in the machines got here with out advance discover to the California Horse Racing Board.
It’s unclear who or what precipitated the removing however the tribes, which management most non-pari-mutuel wagering within the state, informed The Occasions that it could have a “full throated” response to the set up of the machines, which it says violates the tribal compact on playing. The tribes are a really highly effective power in state politics and contribute hundreds of thousands of {dollars} to political candidates.
A message to a tribal chief who makes a speciality of playing was not responded to.
Santa Anita believes the machines, which supply first, second and third betting on three previous races, doesn’t violate the principles for pari-mutuel playing. The tribes contend the slot-machine-like machines are a sport of probability and underneath its purview. Santa Anita says as a result of the mutuel pool just isn’t held in home however between bettors that it’s a sport of ability and allowed.
Little doubt that is headed for litigation and the truth that the machines have been eliminated so rapidly by the state legal professional common’s workplace may tip which aspect has the early edge. The consortium that was making an attempt to convey this kind of wagering to California mentioned it despatched a duplicate of its authorized opinion to the legal professional common prematurely of the set up.
The CHRB additionally known as for a authorized opinion on the problem though the contents haven’t been made public.
At stake is the way forward for California racing. The state is among the few that receives no supplemental earnings from casino-type playing. Historic Horse Racing, permitting folks to guess on previous races with little handicapping data, has drastically elevated purses in Kentucky and different states, the place it’s authorized.s
California is at an enormous drawback in purses as a result of it doesn’t have the supplemental earnings. Santa Anita has not disclosed how a lot of this kind of wagering would go to purses.
