§ 301 — General powers of commission; harness racing defined; super exotic bet defined, authorized

§ 301. General powers of commission; harness racing defined; super\nexotic bet defined, authorized. 1. Pursuant to the provisions of\nsections two hundred twenty-two through seven hundred five of this\nchapter, the commission shall have power to supervise generally all\nharness race meetings in this state at which pari-mutuel betting is\nconducted. The commission may adopt rules and regulations not\ninconsistent with sections two hundred twenty-two through seven hundred\nfive of this chapter to carry into effect its purposes and provisions\nand to prevent circumvention or evasion thereof. In order that the rules\nof harness horse racing may be uniform throughout the United States, the\ncommission may adopt the rules and regulations of the United States\nTrotting Association, in whole or in part, and may adopt such other or\ndifferent rules as the commission deems necessary to carry into effect\nthe purposes and provisions of sections two hundred twenty-two through\nseven hundred five of this chapter.\n 2. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, and in addition\nto its other powers:\n a. The commission shall prescribe rules and regulations for\neffectually preventing the use of improper devices, the administration\nof drugs or stimulants or other improper acts for the purpose of\naffecting the speed of harness horses in races in which they are about\nto participate.\n b. The rules of the commission shall also provide that all winning\npari-mutuel tickets must be presented for payment before April first of\nthe year following the year of their purchase and failure to present any\nsuch ticket within the prescribed period of time shall constitute a\nwaiver of the right to participate in the award or dividend.\n c. The commission shall have power in its discretion, consistent with\nthe powers of department of taxation and finance, to prescribe uniform\nmethods of keeping accounts, records and books to be observed by\nassociations or corporations licensed under the provisions of this\narticle or by any association or corporation that owns stock in, or\nshares in the profits, or participates in the management or affairs of,\nsuch licensed association or corporation, or by any person, firm,\nassociation or corporation holding any concession, right or privilege to\nperform any service or sell any article at any track at which\npari-mutuel harness racing meets are conducted. The commission may also\nin its discretion, consistent with the powers of the state tax\ncommission, prescribe by order forms of accounts, records and memoranda\nto be kept by such persons, firms, associations or corporations. The\ncommission shall have power to visit, investigate, and place expert\naccountants, or such other persons as it may deem necessary, in the\noffices, tracks or other places of business of any such person, firm,\nassociation or corporation for the purpose of seeing that the provisions\nof sections two hundred twenty-two through seven hundred five of this\nchapter and the rules and regulations issued by the commission\nthereunder are strictly complied with. Such persons, firms, associations\nor corporations shall annually file with the commission, on such date as\nthe commission shall prescribe, a report showing their financial\ncondition and financial transactions during the fiscal year, including a\nbalance sheet and a profit and loss statement, verified by the oath of\nat least two of its principal officers, if it be an association or\ncorporation having officers, and by one or more of the owners or\nproprietors thereof if not an association or corporation. The report\nshall be in such form and contain such other matters as the commission\nmay determine from time to time to be necessary to disclose accurately\nthe financial condition and operation of such persons, firms,\nassociations or corporations during the preceding fiscal year. The\ncommission may for good cause shown grant a reasonable extension of time\nfor the filing of any such report.\n 3. The term "racing", as used in this article, shall be construed to\nmean only horse racing in which the horses participating are harnessed\nto a sulky, carriage, or similar vehicle, and shall not include any form\nof horse racing in which the horses participating are mounted by a\njockey.\n 4. The term "super exotic bet" or "super exotic wager", as used in\nthis chapter, shall mean a single bet or wager on six or more horses,\nevidenced by a single ticket and representing an interest in a betting\npool hereby authorized to be conducted by licensed racing associations\nor corporations or regional off-track betting corporations pursuant to\nrules and regulations of the commission. Such rules and regulations\nshall provide the manner in which winning tickets in such pool shall be\ndetermined and may provide that a portion only of the amounts otherwise\navailable to winners of such pools be paid to holders of consolation\ntickets combining the most winning horses as provided in such rules and\nregulations and that the balance of amounts otherwise available to\nwinners from such pool be carried forward and deposited in any\nsubsequent super exotic pools. Such rules and regulations shall also\nprovide that an amount not to exceed six percent of the total wagers in\neach super exotic pool may be used or accumulated to reimburse any such\nassociation or corporation conducting such pool for the cost of assuring\nan advertised winning pay-out for winning wagers or for a capital\nimprovement fund or to reimburse any such association or corporation for\namounts it has contributed to the amounts otherwise available for\nwinning wagers to increase the pay-out therefor. Such rules and\nregulations may further provide that all of the amounts available for\nwinning tickets and accumulations therefor shall be distributed\nperiodically to holders of tickets combining the most winners in a pool\nconducted upon a date specified by the commission and, in any event,\nshall provide for complete disposition of all amounts available for\nwinning tickets and accumulations therefor before the end of the\nlicensed meet during which such super exotic pools are conducted.\nNotwithstanding the foregoing or any other provisions of law, all\ndistributions, taxes and regulatory fees on super exotic bets shall be\ndistributed as though the bet were an exotic bet, except that a balance\nmay be retained and deposited in subsequent pools.\n 5. The commission shall have the power to issue licenses to western\nregional off-track betting corporation or to a subsidiary of said\nwestern regional off-track betting corporation for the purpose of\nconducting harness race meetings at Batavia Downs race track and to make\ncapital improvements to said track, provided that such corporation\notherwise meets the terms and conditions for licensure as provided under\nthis article. Notwithstanding the provisions of articles five and five-a\nof this chapter, said corporation shall be deemed to be a harness racing\ncorporation with respect to pari-mutuel wagering conducted at said track\npursuant to this chapter, except that net revenues derived from such\npari-mutuel wagering shall be distributed among the counties that\nparticipate in such corporation on the basis of population, as defined\nas the total population in each participating county shown by the latest\npreceding decennial federal census completed and published as a final\npopulation count by the United States bureau of the census preceding the\ncommencement of the calendar year in which such distribution is to be\nmade.\n