§ 44-32-505 — Meet licenses

(1) Every initial application for a license to hold
race meets under this article 32 shall be made under oath and shall be filed with
the commission on or before a day fixed by the commission and shall set forth the
time, the place, and the number of days the meet shall continue; the kind of racing
proposed to be conducted; the full name and address of the applicant and, if a
corporation, the names and addresses of all of its officers and directors and all of
the holders of each class of its stock and the amount of stock of each class so
owned by each stockholder; the location of the racetrack and whether the
racetrack is owned or leased; the names and residences of the owners of all
property leased by the applicant; a statement of the assets and liabilities of the
applicant; a description of the qualifications and experience of the applicant if an
individual or of its officers and directors if a corporation; a full disclosure of all
holding or intermediary companies associated with the applicant, as well as their
shareholders, all contracts that relate to the race meet, audited balance sheets of
corporate applicants, excluding nonprofit associations, and the terms and
conditions of all contracts by which the applicant has received credit; a description
of the land uses within a radius of two miles of the establishment in which the race
meet is proposed to be conducted; and the incidental information as the rules of the
commission may require in connection with the application.

(2) Upon the filing of the application, the commission shall fix a date for a
hearing on the application, and the applicant shall give public notice of the time and
place of the hearing by publication in one issue of a daily or weekly newspaper of
general circulation in the area in which it is proposed to conduct the race meet and
by posting on the site of the proposed race meet a notice, in form and size to be
determined by the commission, that the application has been filed and the date and
place of the hearing thereon. At the time and place mentioned in the notice, the
commission shall conduct a public hearing at which evidence for and against the
granting of the application may be presented.

(3) Except as otherwise limited by the provisions of this article 32, in
considering an application for a license under this section, the commission may give
consideration to the number of licenses already granted, and to the location of
tracks previously licensed, and to the sentiments and character of the community in
which the proposed race meets are to be conducted, and to the ability, character,
and experience of each individual applicant or the officers and directors of each
corporate applicant. The commission may require of every applicant for a license to
hold a race meet, except a public nonprofit association, nonprofit corporation, or
nonprofit fair, including the Colorado state fair and all county fairs, who has not,
within five years prior to making an application for a license to hold a race meet,
operated a race meet in the county, city, or city and county in which it is proposed to
hold the race meet, a recommendation in writing of the board of county
commissioners of the county in the event the race meet is to be held in
unincorporated areas of the county or of the governing board of a city or city and
county if the proposed race meet is to be held within a city or city and county. The
commission may take the recommendation into consideration before granting or
refusing the license. The commission may deny a license to operate a new racetrack
to a person who is already licensed to operate a racetrack within this or any other
state if, in the opinion of the commission, the granting of the license would
discourage legitimate competition from other qualified applicants. The commission
shall investigate any applicant and shall require the applicant to pay the actual cost
of investigating the application as part of the fees and costs imposed pursuant to
section 44-32-506. The applicant shall advance the money necessary for the
investigation to the commission, and the commission shall return any unused
portion of the money to the applicant at the conclusion of the commission's
investigation. The advance of the money may either be made directly to the
commission or the money may be deposited into escrow in a manner approved by
the commission.

(4) The commission may grant or refuse licenses to conduct race meets
under this article 32 as it determines, from the application, the character, financial
ability, and experience of each individual applicant or the officers and directors of
each corporate applicant, the sentiments of the community and the character of the
area wherein it is proposed to conduct the race meets, and the evidence presented
at the hearing, to be for the best interests of the state, the racing industry, and the
area in which it is proposed to conduct the race meets.

(5) The commission has discretion to grant or deny a race meet license if it
finds that any applicant has, or any of the directors, officers, or original
stockholders of a corporate applicant have, violated any of the provisions of this
article 32 or any rules of the commission or failed to pay any of the sums required
under this article 32.

(6) Every license issued under this article 32 shall specify the number of
days the licensed race meet shall continue and the number of races per day. No
license shall be granted to any individual who is not a bona fide resident of
Colorado nor to any foreign corporation. Every applicant shall agree that, if granted
a license under this article 32, the applicant will not thereafter sell, mortgage, or
otherwise pledge or dispose of any of the assets listed and described on the
application for a license or a renewal license without thirty days' prior notice to the
commission, which may approve or disapprove the disposition of assets upon good
cause shown. The charter of all corporate applicants shall contain a provision that,
when a cumulative ten percent or more of the voting stock of the corporation is to
be sold, mortgaged, or otherwise pledged or transferred, thirty days' prior notice
shall be given to the commission. The corporation shall pay an investigation fee to
the commission as part of the fees and costs imposed pursuant to section 44-32-506. The commission shall approve or disapprove of the disposition of the stock,
upon good cause shown, within ninety days of the filing of a completed application
for transfer. The commission has the power to ascertain if any capital stock of any
corporate applicant or licensee is held with the intent to mislead or deceive the
commission for an undisclosed principal. The involvement of an undisclosed
principal shall be grounds for the denial, suspension, or revocation of a license.

(7) Upon petition by the licensee and a finding by the commission that it is
impossible or impractical for a licensee, because of fire or act of God or other
unforeseeable emergency not caused or participated in by the licensee, to conduct
a race meet upon the dates allocated or upon a racetrack designated by the
commission to the licensee, other dates and locations may be substituted and
granted to the licensee. A licensee so petitioning may be granted the right to lease
and utilize any other licensee's facilities for the term of the petitioning licensee's
annual permit or any portion thereof, but the grant shall not be construed to allow
any licensee more days of racing in any year than are prescribed by this article 32.

(8) When conducting investigations pursuant to subsections (3) and (6) of
this section, to the extent possible, the commission shall utilize investigative
information of other state racing jurisdictions. The commission may investigate an
existing licensee who is seeking to acquire ownership of another existing license to
conduct race meets.

Legislative History

Source: L. 2018: Entire article added with relocations, (HB 18-1024), ch. 26, p. 299, � 2, effective October 1.