2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 11 - Horse Racing (§§ 181 — 198y) › § 198k - Horse Racing Administrator—Powers

(a) The Administrator shall be the executive official and administrative director of all horse racing activities in Puerto Rico, and shall have the power, without being limited thereto, to:
(1) Enforce compliance of the racing laws and regulations and the orders and resolutions of the Horse Racing Board.
(2) Grant, suspend temporarily, or permanently cancel the licenses of horse owners, jockeys, trainers, grooms, or any other type of license or permit connected with horse racing activities, except the racetrack licenses.
Provided, That to cancel any of said licenses temporarily or permanently, the Administrator shall notify the person of the charges, and give the injured person the opportunity to be heard in his defense, motu proprio or through counsel.
(A) Except in the cases of owners, the Administrator may require the interested parties in the other cases to present evidence of their knowledge, aptitudes, experience and skills, or to appear to take special courses when they are available.
(B) The Administrator can require the presentation of a health certificate, and shall require a certificate of good behavior from those persons interested in being granted a license or having theirs renewed; Provided, That in the case of horse owners’ and public trainers’ licenses requested for the first time, their financial accountability shall be certified through a financial statement duly audited and certified by a certified public accountant, as well as a copy of the income tax return for the last three (3) years prior to the date of filing the application for the license. He shall also require a certificate of good behavior certified by the Police of Puerto Rico or abroad. This last requirement shall be applicable to the case of personnel operating with licenses granted by the Horse Racing Administrator. The application for a license, as well as the documents required in this section, shall be duly attested.
(3) The Horse Racing Administrator shall not grant licenses, nor shall he renew them or allow them to remain in effect, if the investigation of the applicant and/or holder thereof produces attesting evidence of the repeated and continuous lack or noncompliance with his financial responsibilities, or if he is not capable of meeting his financial obligations in Puerto Rico as well as in those states or countries with which there is reciprocity in horse racing activities, whether these responsibilities and obligations are connected or not with the person’s business, occupation or profession.
(4) No type of license shall be granted or renewed, nor shall its effectiveness be permitted if the applicant and/or holder thereof has had a license suspension or cancellation in any other country with which Puerto Rico has reciprocity in the horse racing sport.
(5) No license or permit of any kind shall be granted to any applicant who refuses to submit to an anti-drug test required by the Horseracing Administrator, or whose test gives a positive result if the applicant agrees to take the test; nor should any license or permit be renewed or kept effective after the holder of said license or permit has been referred to rehabilitation treatment on account of having been identified and corroborated as a controlled substance user and who has a positive result in a subsequent test; Provided That the [Horse Racing] Board shall establish the procedure to be followed through regulations.
(6) The Administrator shall fix, by an order to such effects, the closing time for the offices located in the racetracks charged with receiving the cards that register the wagers made in the racing agencies.
(7) He may suspend the races in any racetrack when, in his judgment, said track does not offer the proper security, safety and comforts to the public which attends it, nor to the jockeys, trainers, and other stable personnel, horse owners, and officials who directly or indirectly take part in the spectacle, or when the bettor’s interests or rights could be affected adversely.
(8) Hold hearings, summon witnesses, take oaths, and order the presentation of books and documents he deems are necessary for the consideration of any matter before him. When there is a refusal to comply with any of the summons or orders issued by the Administrator, he may resort to the Court of First Instance of Puerto Rico, so that the court may order compliance of said summons or order under penalty of contempt. A violation of this statute shall be treated as it is established in subsection (b)(11) of § 198e of this title.
(9) Delegate, when he deems it convenient, on an Examining Official, who shall be a member of the Bar, to receive evidence with regard to any matter or complaint presented before the Administrator. The official thus designated may take the oath of those witnesses who appear before him, and shall render a report to the Horse Racing Administrator containing his findings of fact and conclusions of law. The injured party may challenge said report before the Administrator within ten (10) calendar days after having been notified thereof.
(10) Appoint the personnel needed for the operation of the Puerto Rican Horse Racing Sport Administration, including a Deputy Administrator, who shall substitute the Administrator in case of vacancy, or his temporary absence or disability.
(11) Contract the services of the personnel required to hold horse races, including, but not limited to: the Stewards, the starting and finishing judges, the paddock, registration, track, weighing or mounting officials, veterinarians, betting inspectors, or any other personnel deemed necessary. The place where these persons carry out their functions shall be deemed as part of the Puerto Rican Horse Racing Sport Administration, and their powers, duties and functions shall be provided in the Horse Racing Regulations.
(12) Inspect all the dependencies of the racetracks, stables, and ranches, as well as all the establishments used for the maintenance and operation of the printing business or other betting and wagering mechanisms, and may require all of them, as he deems necessary, to adopt reasonable measures for the protection, safety and comfort of the general public.
(13) Attend the Board meetings when his presence is required, or when he deems it is necessary for the best performance of his functions.
(14) Establish and supervise a vocational racing school, appoint and contract the personnel needed for its operation, and promulgate, with the approval of the Horse Racing Board, the rules and standards under which said school shall function. The school’s operating expenses shall be defrayed through the special fund created by Article 44a of Section (b) of Section 11 of Act No. 2 of January 20, 1956, through the corresponding annual appropriation in the General Budget of Expenses of the Horse Racing Industry and Sport Administration.
It is further provided that the Horse Racing Administrator shall issue licenses to ride and to participate in horse races to any person over seventeen (17) years of age who has graduated from the vocational racing school.
(15) Mediate, together with the Secretary of Labor, if possible, in any labor-management or union dispute or any related with any group that participates in horse racing activities or the industry, that could endanger the holding of the races. His intervention can be requested by any of the parties involved, and none of them may call a strike until the Horse Racing Administrator his intervened for a period of not more than fifteen (15) days to try to achieve a satisfactory solution to the problem and no agreement has been reached. This provision does not invalidate the constitutional guarantees of the right to strike or to picket, if no satisfactory solution is found.
(16) Personnel appointed by the Administrator for the development and supervision of the races shall be by contract, which may be rescinded by the Administrator at any moment he believes it is necessary to safeguard the integrity of the sport and uphold the public’s trust in it. The personnel of the Administrator’s Office shall be appointed according to the provisions of Act No. 5 of October 14, 1975, known as the “Puerto Rico Public Service Personnel Act”; Provided, That the Administrator shall determine the number of employees and shall fix the salaries of those deemed as confidential employees according to the wage scales promulgated by the Personnel Administration Central Office.
History —July 2, 1987, No. 83, p. 296, § 12; Dec. 14, 1994, No. 137, § 2; Feb. 5, 2008, No. 2, § 1.