§ 1007 — Simulcasts track to track

§ 1007. Simulcasts track to track. 1. The commission may authorize and\napprove one or more applications for a license by any harness racing\nassociation or corporation, or thoroughbred racing corporation as\nprovided in section one thousand three of this article to provide for\nthe simulcast of horse races for wagering purposes from a track operated\nby any association or corporation that conducts a pari-mutuel race\nmeeting under this chapter to a receiving track operated by any\nassociation or corporation applying for such license except it shall not\nbe applicable when a thoroughbred track in zone two simulcasts to a\nthoroughbred track in zone one, provided, however, that no application\nshall be approved by the commission:\n a. that the commission determines may cause any reduction of the total\nnumber of racing events conducted on an annual or daily basis at the\nreceiving track; and\n b. without a written agreement between the receiving track or\ncorporation applying for such license and the sending track and a letter\nof consent to such agreement from any racing association or corporation\nthat operates another track within the simulcast district in which the\nreceiving track is located, and is conducting a race meeting during the\nperiod for which simulcasting is proposed; provided, however, that such\nconsent shall not be withheld if the receiving track is more than thirty\nmiles from such other track. Such period shall be defined as a\ntwenty-four hour day from midnight to midnight. For those tracks located\nin the city of New York or the county of Westchester or Nassau, such\nperiod shall be limited to the same time of day defined as afternoon\nagainst afternoon and evening against evening.\n 2. Every racing association or corporation authorized to accept wagers\non simulcast racing events pursuant to subdivision one of this section\nshall be subject to all appropriate provisions of this chapter pursuant\nto the conduct of a race meeting by such association or corporation\nexcept as provided in subdivision three of this section.\n 3. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions of this chapter, the\nsums retained by any receiving track from the total deposits in pools\nwagered on simulcast racing events as provided in subdivision one of\nthis section shall be equal to the retained percentages applicable to\nthe sending track.\n a. Of the sums retained by the receiving track from simulcast pools\nthe pari-mutuel tax shall be levied at the lower of the pari-mutuel tax\nrate in effect on December thirty-first, nineteen hundred ninety-three\nat the receiving track, plus ten percent of the breaks or the following\nrates: two percent of simulcast pools generated by regular wagers, two\nand one-half percent of simulcast pools generated by multiple wagers,\nand seven percent of simulcast pools generated by exotic and super\nexotic wagers, plus ten percent of the breaks.\n b. Of the sums retained by the receiving track as provided in this\nsubdivision, an amount equal to one percent of daily pools derived from\nbets on simulcasts of harness races shall be paid to the agriculture and\nNew York state breeding and development fund, and an amount equal to\none-half of one percent of daily pools derived from bets on simulcasts\nof running races shall be paid to the New York state thoroughbred\nbreeding and development fund.\n c. Of the sums retained by the receiving track as provided in this\nsubdivision, an amount as determined through agreement between the\nsending and receiving tracks shall be distributed to the sending track.\n d. (i) Of the sums retained by a receiving track located in\nWestchester County, two and one-half percent of total pools shall be\nused exclusively for increasing purses to be awarded at races conducted\nby such receiving track.\n (ii) Of the sums retained by other receiving tracks while such tracks\nare conducting a race meeting, fifty percent of the net amounts\nremaining after payments required in this section and fifty percent of\nthe net amounts derived from all simulcasting authorized by chapter two\nhundred eighty-one of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-four and other\nsuch direct expenses as are necessary to provide the track-to-track\nprogram but excluding charges for depreciation, administration overhead\nexpenses, taxes not directly related to such program and management fees\nshall be used exclusively for increasing purses awarded at races\nconducted by such receiving track. Nothing in this section shall\npreclude the right of a horsemen's organization representing owners and\ntrainers at the receiving track from entering into an agreement with\nsuch receiving track to provide for an audit or other such verification\nof such net amounts available for purses.\n (iii) Of the sums retained by a receiving track located in Westchester\ncounty on races received from a franchised corporation, for the period\ncommencing January first, two thousand eight and continuing through June\nthirtieth, two thousand twenty-six, the amount used exclusively for\npurses to be awarded at races conducted by such receiving track shall be\ncomputed as follows: of the sums so retained, two and one-half percent\nof the total pools. Such amount shall be increased or decreased in the\namount of fifty percent of the difference in total commissions\ndetermined by comparing the total commissions available after July\ntwenty-first, nineteen hundred ninety-five to the total commissions that\nwould have been available to such track prior to July twenty-first,\nnineteen hundred ninety-five.\n e. If an admission fee is charged at a receiving track, such fee shall\nbe subject to state and local admission taxes at the rate applicable to\nthe receiving track pursuant to this chapter.\n f. The payment of the state tax imposed by this section shall be made\nto the commissioner of taxation and finance at such regular intervals as\nthe commissioner of taxation and finance may require, and shall be\naccompanied by a report, under oath, that sets forth such information as\nthe commissioner of taxation and finance may require. A penalty of five\npercent and interest at the rate of one percent per month from the date\nthe report is required to be filed to the date of payment of the tax\nshall be payable in case any tax imposed by this section is not paid\nwhen due. If the commissioner of taxation and finance determines that\nany moneys received under this paragraph were paid in error, such\ncommissioner may cause the same to be refunded without interest out of\nany moneys collected thereunder, provided an application therefor is\nfiled with such commissioner within one year from the time the erroneous\npayment was made. Such taxes, interest and penalties when collected,\nafter the deduction of refunds of taxes erroneously paid, shall be paid\nby the commissioner of taxation and finance into the general fund of the\nstate treasury.\n g. Any harness racing or association or corporation, or thoroughbred\nracing corporation authorized pursuant to this section shall pay to the\ncommission as a regulatory fee, which fee is hereby levied, six-tenths\nof one percent of the total daily pari-mutuel pools.\n 3-a. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of this chapter, of\nthe sums received by a sending track, a portion shall be distributed to\npurses in accordance with a written agreement between the racing\nassociation or corporation operating such track and the horsemen's\norganization representing owners and trainers at such track, as\ndetermined by the commission. In the absence of such an agreement, fifty\npercent of the sums received by a sending track shall be distributed to\npurses.\n 4. Any simulcasts between a sending and receiving track as provided in\nthis section shall result in the combination of all wagers placed at the\nreceiving track with wagers placed at the sending track so as to produce\ncommon pari-mutuel betting pools for the calculation of odds and the\ndetermination of payouts from such pool, which payout shall be the same\nfor all winning tickets, irrespective of whether a wager is placed at a\nsending track or a receiving track.\n 5. No racing association or corporation shall transmit a simulcast\nsignal of its events to any receiving track:\n a. that is conducting a race meeting of the same type of racing during\nthe same time that racing is being conducted at the sending track,\nprovided, however, that the commission may establish conditions to\nauthorize the acceptance of wagers of a sending track during a race\nmeeting of the same type of racing as special events in the best\ninterests of racing or as other events that the commission determines to\nbe in the best interests of racing provided, however, that the conduct\nof such other events shall be subject to an agreement between the\nreceiving track and the horsemen's organization representing owners and\ntrainers at such track;\n b. unless such signal from the sending track has been made available\nto all authorized receiving tracks, except when the sending track is\nlocated within the same county as the receiving track; and\n c. except for a harness track located in a harness special betting\ndistrict, unless such signal from the sending track has been made\navailable to a reasonable number of off-track betting branch offices, as\nauthorized in accordance with section one thousand eight of this\narticle, located in the same betting region as the receiving track.\nProvided, however, that for a receiving track located in Westchester\ncounty, such signal shall also be made available to a reasonable number\nof branch offices of the New York city off-track betting corporation;\nand\n d. except for a harness track located in a harness special betting\ndistrict, no track shall be permitted to receive a signal from a sending\ntrack unless it has made available its simulcast signal to a reasonable\nnumber of off-track betting branch offices of each off-track betting\ncorporation authorized to accept wagers on its races under reasonable\nterms and conditions agreeable to the parties. Simulcast transmissions\ninto a track located within Suffolk county shall be prohibited.\n