An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Commission To Study the Promotion, Expansion and Regulation of the Harness Racing Industry
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 2184
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Amends: 4 MRSA §807, 8 MRSA §263-C, 8 MRSA §267-A, 8 MRSA §273, 8 MRSA §279-A, 8 MRSA §279-B, 8 MRSA §279-E, 8 MRSA §280, 8 MRSA §1001, 8 MRSA §1035

Legislative Document 
No. 2184 
H.P.1554 
House of Representati ves, January 31, 2008 
An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Commission To 
Study the Promotion, Expansion and Regulation of the Harness 
Racing Industry 
Reported by Representative PIEH of Bremen for the Joint Standing Committee on 
Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry pursuant to Resolve 2007, chapter 128, section 8. 
Reference to the Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry suggested and 
ordered printed under Joint Rule 218. 
'7J1dtw~ 1/1. 7Il{lf;~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 4 MRSA §807, sub-§3, ~N, as amended by PL 2007, c. 249, §5, is fUl1her 
amended to read: 
N. 
A person who is not an attorney, but is representing the State under section 807-
A; ef 
Sec. 2. 4 MRSA §807, sub-§3, ~O, as amended by PL 2007, c. 58, §3 and 
enacted by c. 249, §6, is further amended to read: 
O. A person who is not an attorney, but who is representing a party in any hearing, 
action or proceeding before the Maine Public Employees Retirement System7~ 
Sec. 3. 4 MRSA §807, sub-§3, W is enacted to read: 
II 
P. A person who is not an attorney but who, as the executive director of the State 
Harness Racing Commission, is representing the Department of Agriculture, Food 
and Rural Resources in accordance with Title 8, section 263-C. 
Sec. 4. 8 MRSA §263-C, sub-§4, ~, as repealed and replaced by PL 2003, c. 
687, Pt. B, §2 and affected by § II, is amended to read: 
B. 
Management of the work of the department regarding harness racing and off-
track betting, including: 
(I) Supervision of all staff involved in harness racing and off-track betting 
functions; 
(2) 
Management of the collection and distribution of revenues under this 
chapter; 
(3) Budget development and management; 
(4) Policy development with regard to harness racing and off-track betting; 
(5) Management of participant licensing; 
(6) Enforcement of harness racing and off-track betting statutes and rules; 
(7) Investigation of harness racing and off-track betting violations; aH-6 
(8) Facilitating the development of positive working relationships in the harness 
racing industry and State Governmenh; and 
(9) Presentation of evidence regarding alleged violations of this chapter or rules 
adopted in accordance with this chapter. 
Sec. 5. 8 MRSA §267-A is enacted to read: 
§267-A. Account to support laboratory testing 
The Laboratory Testing Account, referred to in this section as "the account," is 
established as a dedicated account to support the detection of restricted and prohibited 
substances. The account does not lapse but continues from year to year. The commission 
I 
shall annually estimate the funding needed for laboratory testing and include this estimate 
in the budget submitted under section 267. 
Funds are deposited into the laboratory 
testing account in accordance with this section. 
1. Funds contributing to the laboratory testing account. The commission shall 
annually calculate an amount to be transferred from each of the following funds to the 
account: 
A. The fund established in section 298 to supplement harness racing purses; 
B. The Sire Stakes Fund under section 281; 
C. The Agricultural Fair Support Fund established in Title 7, section 91; 
D. 
The Fund to Encourage Racing at Maine's Commercial Tracks established In 
I I 
section 299; and 
E. The Fund to Stabilize Off-track Betting Facilities established in section 300. 
2. Maximum contribution. The amount contributed annually from each of the 
funds listed in subsection I, paragraphs A to E must be based on a percentage of the 
money received by each fund under section 1036. The contribution must represent the 
same percentage from each fund and that percentage may not exceed 2% a year. 
In any year the total contributions deposited into the account from the funds listed under 
subsection I, paragraphs A to E may not exceed the General Fund appropriation to the 
commission for the purpose of testing. 
3. Administration. The executive director, in consultation with the Treasurer of 
State, shall develop a protocol for calculating contributions and transferring money into 
the account. 
Sec. 6. 8 MRSA §273 is amended to read: 
§273. Penalties 
Any person, assocIatIon or corporation holding or conducting, or any person or 
persons aiding or abetting in the holding or conducting ot~ any harness horse race or meet 
for public exhibition within the State without a license duly issued by sate the 
commission, or any person, association or corporation '.",ho violates any of the provisions 
of this chapter or who violates any of the rules and regulations prescribed by the 
eommission shall be punished by a fine of not more than $5,000 or by imprisonment for 
not more than one year, or by both commits a Class 0 crime. 
Sec. 7. 8 MRSA §279-A, first ~, as amended by PL 1999, c. 482, §3, is further 
amended to read: 
For the purpose of enabling the commission to exercise and maintain a proper control 
over racing conducted under this chapter, the commission may adopt rules for the 
licensing, with or without fee in the discretion of the commission, of owners, trainers, 
drivers, grooms and all other persons participating in harness horse racing, including pari-
mutuel employees and race officials. The commission may issue conditional licenses to 
owners, trainers, drivers, grooms and all other persons participating in harness racing, 
including pari-mutuel employees and race officials if one or more criteria are not met as 
contained in the commission rules. A person issued a Iict!nse as a trainer shall submit a 
horse for testing in accordance with section 279-E. 
Sec. 8. 8 MRSA §279-B, first~, as amended by PL 1991, c. 579, §14, is further 
amended to read: 
To enforce the provisions of this chapter and the rules referred to in section 279-A, 
the commission is authorized to establish a schedule for fines not to exceed $1,000 for 
each violation of this chapter or the rules. The commission is authorized to levy a fine, 
after notice and hearing, for each violation ofthis chapter or the rules. 
Sec. 9. 8 MRSA §279-E is enacted to read: 
§279-E. Trainers; duty to submit a horse for testing for use of prohibited substances 
Upon request of the commission, a person who signs an application for and receives 
a trainer's license in accordance with this chapter and rules adopted under section 279-A 
shall submit a horse trained by that licensee and identified by the commission for the 
purpose of obtaining a blood sample to test for the use of prohibited substances. 
1. Obtaining a sample. Pursuant to this section, the commission may require a 
licensed trainer to: 
A. Transport the horse to a designated site where a veterinarian employed by the 
commission or the department may draw a blood sample; or 
B. 
Allow a veterinarian employed by the commission or the department, or a 
veterinarian designated by the commission and accompanied by a state steward, 
access to the premises where the horse is kept for the purpose of obtaining a blood 
sample. 
2. Rulemaking. The commission shall adopt rules establishing a procedure for 
obtaining blood samples and ensuring a secure chain of custody for transporting the 
sample to a laboratory for testing. The rules must consider travel distances and costs 
associated with obtaining a sample when designating a testing site and may assess a fee to 
defray travel costs for the veterinarian and the state steward. Rules adopted pursuant to 
this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-
A. 
3. Refusal. Refusal to comply with the commission's directives for obtaining a 
sample under this section is a basis for suspension of a trainer's license. 
Sec. 10. 8 MRSA §280, sub-§5 is enacted to read: 
5. 
Investigation by State Police. The State Police may assist in investigating 
alleged violations of subsection 1 when: 
A. The commission requests assistance; and 
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B. A sample submitted for testing under rules adopted pursuant to section 279-A or 
279-E yields a positive test result. 
Sec. 11. 8 MRSA §1001, sub-§36, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 687, Pt. A, §5 and 
affected by Pt. B, § II, is repealed. 
Sec. 12. 8 MRSA §1035, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 687, Pt. A, §5 and affected by 
Pt. B, § II, is amended to read: 
§ 1035. Location of slot machines 
Slot machines may be located only on the premises of a commercial track. For the 
purposes of this section, "premises of a commercial track" means property owned by the 
person who owns the property on which a commercial track is located and that is either 
II 
within 200 feet of the outside edge of the racing oval or, if the commercial track was 
owned by a municipalitv when a license to operate slot machines in association with that 
commercial track was issued, within 2,000 feet of the center of the racing oval. 
SUMMARY 
This bill does the following. 
1. It specifies that the duties of the executive director of the State llarness Racing 
Commission include presenting evidence on alleged violations. 
2. It establishes a dedicated account for laboratory testing to detect restricted and 
prohibited substances administered to horses. 
3. It requires a trainer to submit a horse for testing to detect prohibited substances. 
4. It removes the statutory caps on fines for violations of the harness racing statutes 
and rules. 
5. It clarifies that conducting a harness horse racing meet without a license is a Class 
D crime. 
6. 
It authorizes the State Police upon the request of the State Harness Racing 
Commission to assist in investigations following a positive test for use of substances in 
violation of the harness racing rules. 
7. 
It restricts licenses to operate slot machines to property within 200 feet of a 
commercial track, except that the 2,000-foot maximum distance continues for a 
commercial track that received an initial license for slot machines while owned by a 
municipality.