Indianapolis Downs, LLC v. INDIANA HORSE RACING COM'N

827 N.E.2d 162, 2005 WL 1125196
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 13, 2005
Docket73A01-0412-CV-515
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 827 N.E.2d 162 (Indianapolis Downs, LLC v. INDIANA HORSE RACING COM'N) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Indianapolis Downs, LLC v. INDIANA HORSE RACING COM'N, 827 N.E.2d 162, 2005 WL 1125196 (Ind. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

827 N.E.2d 162 (2005)

INDIANAPOLIS DOWNS, LLC d/b/a Indiana Downs, Appellant-Retitioner,
v.
INDIANA HORSE RACING COMMISSION and Hoosier Park, L.P., Appellees-Respondents.

No. 73A01-0412-CV-515.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

May 13, 2005.

*163 J.D. Lux, Lux & Lux, P.A., Peter G. DePrez, Brown, DePrez and Johnson, Shelbyville, IN, Attorneys for Appellant.

Karl L. Mulvaney, Robin L. Babbitt, Kelly R. Eskew, Bingham McHale LLP, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellee Indiana Horse Racing Commission.

William P. Diener, Edward P. Steegmann, Ice Miller, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellee Hoosier Park L.P.

OPINION

VAIDIK, Judge.

Case Summary

Indianapolis Downs, LLC, d/b/a Indiana Downs, appeals the trial court's dismissal of its complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. We vacate the trial court's dismissal based on lack of subject matter jurisdiction because the decision regarding allocation of the riverboat subsidy to Indiana's horse racing tracks constitutes an order that is subject to judicial review. Because this Court has jurisdiction to review agency actions, we exercise our authority to review the agency determination and affirm its allocation of the riverboat gaming subsidy between Indiana's two horse racetracks. Consequently, we remand *164 for entry of judgment consistent with this opinion.

Facts and Procedural History

Indiana is home to two horse racing tracks that offer pari-mutuel wagering: Indiana Downs in Shelbyville and Hoosier Park in Anderson. Hoosier Park has been offering live horse racing since September 1, 1994, but Indiana Downs did not hold its first race until December 6, 2002. The administrative agency charged with regulating horse racing in Indiana is the Indiana Horse Racing Commission ("IHRC"). This appeal arises out of a dispute over the distribution of riverboat gaming subsidy funds to the two horse tracks by the IHRC.

As background, we start with a brief review of the subsidization of the horse racing industry in Indiana by the riverboat gaming industry. In 1993, the Indiana General Assembly authorized riverboat gaming in Indiana. As a means of subsidizing the horse racing industry, the legislature enacted Indiana Code § 4-33-12-6(b)(6), which currently provides:

Sixty-five cents ($0.65) of the admissions tax collected by the licensed owner for each person embarking on a gaming excursion during the quarter or admitted to a riverboat during the quarter that has implemented flexible scheduling under IC X-XX-X-XX shall be paid to the Indiana horse racing commission to be distributed as follows, in amounts determined by the Indiana horse racing commission, for the promotion and operation of horse racing in Indiana:
(A) To one (1) or more breed development funds established by the Indiana horse racing commission under IC X-XX-XX-XX.
(B) To a racetrack that was approved by the Indiana horse racing commission under IC 4-31. The commission may make a grant under this clause only for purses, promotions, and routine operations of the racetrack. No grants shall be made for long term capital investment or construction and no grants shall be made before the racetrack becomes operational and is offering a racing schedule.

The General Assembly granted the IHRC the authority to promulgate emergency rules, including rules governing the distribution of riverboat gaming subsidy funds received from the State Treasurer. See Ind.Code § 4-31-3-9 (delineating the powers of the IHRC). The IHRC exercised its rulemaking power by promulgating Indiana Administrative Code title 71, rule 12-2-15[1] ("Section 15"). Section 15 specified *165 how the riverboat gaming admissions tax revenue subsidy would be allocated by the IHRC. At issue in this case are the Distribution Rules for calendar years 2002 and 2003. The 2002 Distribution Rule provided that the subsidy would be allocated to operational racetracks proportionately based on the purses[2] generated by a racetrack and its satellite facilities from handle.[3] 71 IAC 12-2-15(b)(4). For the greater part of calendar year 2002, there was only one operational racetrack in Indiana, Hoosier Park; Indiana Downs did not commence operations until December 2002. In September 2002, the IHRC devised the 2003 Distribution Rule, which allocated the subsidy equally between operational racetracks that raced a minimum of twenty days each of both thoroughbred and standardbred horses. Id. The effective date for the 2003 Distribution Rule was January 1, 2003.

During the 2002 Special Session of the Indiana General Assembly, the legislature eliminated the requirement that Indiana's riverboats cruise every two hours and authorized flexible boarding. Previously, an individual staying on a riverboat for several hours would be considered to be on two or more cruises. Thus, the riverboats would be obligated to pay admission tax multiple times for the same patron. The removal of the cruising requirement had the potential to decrease the amount of admissions taxes collected by the State, which would in turn decrease the subsidy paid to the horse racing industry. To mitigate the potential decrease in the *166 amount available to provide subsidies, the legislature amended Indiana Code § 4-33-12-6(h), which governs the disposition of admissions tax revenue, and Indiana Code § 4-33-13-5(g), which governs the disposition of wagering tax revenue, to establish a minimum amount to be received by the horse racing industry calculated based on the subsidy received in 2002. If the revenue generated from the horse racing industry's share of the admissions tax revenue fell short of this base amount, which was set at $27,205,284.09, then a supplemental lump-sum payment would be made by the State Treasurer to the IHRC to cover the difference in the September following the close of the State's previous fiscal year[4] ("Supplemental Payment"). The funding for the Supplemental Payment would come from riverboat wagering taxes, which otherwise would have been dedicated to the Property Tax Replacement Fund. See Ind.Code § 4-33-13-5(g).

As anticipated, following the implementation of flexible boarding on the riverboats, admissions tax revenue decreased. In fact, the shortfall for fiscal year 2002 was calculated to be $6,727,593.73. Consequently, a lump-sum Supplemental Payment would be paid in September 2003 for riverboat taxes collected by the State during the State's fiscal year 2003, which spanned calendar years 2002 and 2003. Because the taxes were collected in two different calendar years subject to two different distribution formulas, an issue arose regarding how to allocate the 2003 Supplemental Payment between Indiana's operational horse racetracks, Hoosier Park and Indiana Downs.

Hoosier Park and Indiana Downs each filed with the IHRC a position statement on how the Supplemental Payment should be allocated. Hoosier Park recommended that the riverboat taxes collected during calendar year 2002 should be allocated based on the 2002 Distribution Formula—i.e., split proportionately based on purses generated from handle—and that the riverboat taxes collected during calendar year 2003 should be allocated based on the 2003 Distribution Formula—i.e., split equally.

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Bluebook (online)
827 N.E.2d 162, 2005 WL 1125196, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/indianapolis-downs-llc-v-indiana-horse-racing-comn-indctapp-2005.