An Act To Preserve and Ensure Equitable Funding of Maine's Commercial Racetracks
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 0471
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Sponsors: PARRY
Amends: 8 MRSA §275-A, 8 MRSA §275-B, 8 MRSA §299

Legislative Document 
No. 471 
H.P. 321 
House of Representatives, February 14, 2013 
An Act To Preserve and Ensure Equitable Funding of Maine's 
Commercial Racetracks 
Reference to the Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs suggested and ordered printed. 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative PARRY of Arundel. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  8 MRSA §275-A, sub-§1, ¶A, as amended by PL 2003, c. 401, §10, is 
further amended to read: 
A.   If the population of the region is 300,000 or more, based on the 1990 U.S. 
Census, conducted racing on more than 100 50 days in each of the previous 2 
calendar years, except that if a racetrack that qualifies as a commercial track under 
this paragraph ceases operation, a separate racetrack operated by the owner or 
operator of the racetrack that ceased operation qualifies as a commercial track, and 
for all purposes is considered the same commercial track as the track that ceased 
operation, if the population of the region of that separate racetrack is 300,000 or 
more, based on the 1990 U.S. Census, and the sum of the number of days on which 
racing was conducted at the track that ceased operation and the number of days on 
which racing was conducted at the separate racetrack equals at least 100 days in each 
of the 2 preceding calendar years and except that a track that is authorized in such a 
region to operate slot machines or a casino must provide at least 100 days of live 
racing each year to qualify as a commercial track; or 
Sec. 2.  8 MRSA §275-B, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2011, c. 142, §1, is further 
amended to read: 
1.  Racetracks.  A person licensed pursuant to section 271 to conduct harness horse 
racing with pari-mutuel betting may sell pari-mutuel pools and common pari-mutuel 
pools for simulcast races.  The seller must be within the enclosure of the racetrack where 
the licensed race or race meet is conducted or within the licensee's slot machine facilities 
licensed pursuant to section 1011.  The commission shall adopt rules regulating the sale 
by commercial tracks of pari-mutuel pools by telephone, Internet or other means of 
communication to a person not located on the premises, which must require advance 
payment by the person. 
Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, 
chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 3.  8 MRSA §299, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 687, Pt. A, §4 and 
affected by Pt. B, §11, is amended to read: 
2.  Distribution.  On May 30th, September 30th and January 30th, all amounts 
credited to the fund established by this section as of the last day of the preceding month 
and not distributed before that day must be distributed to each commercial track licensed 
under section 271, with each track receiving that amount of the money available for 
distribution determined by multiplying that amount times a fraction, the numerator of 
which is the total number of live race days conducted by the commercial track during the 
preceding time period 2012 and the denominator of which is the total number of race 
days conducted by all commercial tracks licensed under section 271 during that time 
period 2012.  The payment in January must be adjusted so that for the prior 3 time 
periods each commercial track receives that fraction of the total money distributed over 
the full year from the fund established by this section, the amount determined by 
multiplying the total amount of money times a fraction, the numerator of which is the 
number of live race days conducted by the commercial track during the calendar year and 
the denominator of which is the total number of race days conducted by all commercial 
tracks licensed under section 271 during that calendar year. 
SUMMARY 
This bill amends the definition of "commercial track" by changing the number of 
racing days from 100 to 50 and by adding that a race track that is operated in place of a 
race track that ceased operation and that is authorized to operate slot machines or a casino 
must provide at least 100 days of live racing each year to qualify as a commercial track. 
The bill also changes the way the distribution of funds is calculated by basing the 
calculation on the number of race days conducted during the year 2012.  It also removes 
the provision governing the January payment adjustment 
The bill also requires the State Harness Racing Commission to establish rules 
regulating the sale by commercial tracks of pari-mutuel pools by the telephone, Internet 
or other means of communication to persons not located on the premises.