Oklahoma Administrative Code › Title 325 - Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission › Chapter 35 - General Conduct › Section 325:35-1-34 - Election of horsemen's representative organizations and agreements

Current through Vol. 41, No. 20, July 1, 2024
(a) The Commission
			 of this state recognizes the necessity of horse Owners and Trainers to
			 negotiate and to covenant with Organization Licensees as to the conditions for
			 each race meeting, the distribution of commissions and purses not governed by
			 statutory distribution formulae, simulcast transmission and reception,
			 off-track wagering, all matters relating to welfare, benefits and prerogatives
			 of the parties to the agreement, and any other matter required as a matter of
			 law or necessity. To fulfill its duties to the public in authorizing the
			 conduct of an uninterrupted, orderly race meeting during the licensed term of
			 such race meetings, the Commission shall recognize the Organization elected by
			 horsemen that was, in 2003, providing representation for participating
			 Thoroughbred horsemen at meets restricted to Thoroughbred horses as the
			 official representative of all Thoroughbreds participating in live race meets
			 conducted by organization licensee. The organization elected by horsemen that
			 was, in 2003, providing representation for the breeds participating in
			 mixed-breed racing shall be recognized by the Commission as the official
			 representative for all non-Thoroughbreds participating in live race meets
			 conducted by organization licensee. In the event that more than fifty percent
			 (50%) of the total participating horsemen for a single breed opt to be excluded
			 from representation by the recognized organizations, the Commission may
			 determine that an election be held among all participating horsemen of that
			 breed(s) to designate an alternate representative organization.
(b) Such an election shall be held so that an
			 alternate organization can be elected to represent Thoroughbred Owners and
			 Trainers throughout the State or represent Quarter Horse, Paint and Appaloosa
			 Owners and Trainers throughout the State.
(c) The Horsemen's Organizations elected at a
			 bona fide election shall be recognized by the Commission as the organization
			 empowered exclusively to contract with an Organization Licensee as to all
			 issues pertaining to the conduct of races for the breed or breeds represented.
			 No person shall serve as an officer or director of an acknowledged Horsemen's
			 Organization, other than in an honorary capacity, at the same time such person
			 serves as an officer or director of an Organization Licensee or as an officer
			 or director of an entity which is a principal shareholder of any Organization
			 Licensee.
(d) The procedure for the
			 election shall be as follows:
(1) Within
			 thirty (30) days after the Commission determines that more than 50% of the
			 participating Owners and Trainers represented by either of the Horsemen's
			 Organizations have opted out of participation, any eligible bona fide
			 Horsemen's Organization or association, hereinafter the "Horsemen's
			 Organization," desiring to be put on the election ballot shall make that intent
			 known, in writing, to the Commission and to each Organization Licensee. If only
			 one bona fide Horsemen's Organization has filed for any representative
			 position, the Commission shall declare that Horsemen's Organization as the
			 winner and there will be no election held with regard to that
			 position.
(2) Those persons
			 eligible to vote in any election shall include Commission-licensed Owners,
			 Trainers and Owner-Trainers that participated in starting a horse at a race
			 meeting within 365 days of the Commission's determination that an election is
			 to be held. In the case of partnerships, corporations, syndicates or other
			 multiple ownerships, each such entity shall have only one vote regardless of
			 the number of licensed Owners, partners or syndicate members making up such
			 partnership, corporation or syndicate. However, any licensed Owners who start a
			 horse in their own name, separate from the partnership, corporation or
			 syndicate, shall be entitled to their own votes.
(3) Each Horsemen's Organization which files
			 an intent to become the Horsemen's Representative shall post a deposit as
			 determined by the Commission for each election the Horsemen's Organization
			 chooses to enter. Any projected deficiency for each Horsemen's Organization's
			 proportionate cost of conducting the election will be established by the
			 Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission and must be paid by each organization before
			 its name can appear on the ballot(s). The money must be forwarded in the form
			 of cash, check or money order and shall be held in a special account (the
			 "Special Account") with the Horsemen's Bookkeeper at a racetrack designated by
			 the Commission to be used exclusively for administering and conducting that
			 particular Horsemen's Representative election and will be administered by an
			 independent party. The ballot preparation, addressing, stamping, mailing,
			 actual counting of the ballots, certification of results, and the
			 administration of the Special Account will be conducted by an independent party
			 (the "Independent Party") having no interest in the outcome of the election.
			 The Commission shall select the Independent Party to conduct the duties
			 required under this section.
(4)
			 All racetracks shall furnish the Racing Commission with names and addresses of
			 each eligible Owner, Owner-Trainer and Trainer. The lists from racetracks shall
			 be combined by the Independent Party conducting the election to prevent
			 duplication in preparation of a single ballot for each eligible voting entity.
			 A copy of the combined list will be provided to the Commission and to each of
			 the bona fide organizations seeking election. Any organization seeking to
			 challenge the validity of the list must do so within five (5) days of being
			 provided with the list prepared by the Independent Party. Whenever possible,
			 voting shall occur during a race meeting.
(5) Ballots shall be prepared using a form
			 not readily susceptible to falsification with said ballots being sequentially
			 numbered. A log shall be maintained as to the eligible Owners, Owner-Trainers
			 and Trainers with each such eligible Owner, Owner-Trainer and Trainer being
			 assigned a sequentially numbered ballot. Each ballot shall require the voter to
			 list the name of at least one horse started by that voting entity during the
			 specified 365 day period. Only one ballot shall be issued to a person
			 regardless of how many horses started or separate capacities held by that
			 person.
(6) All ballots will be
			 mailed at the same time with the Independent Party's name and address being
			 listed as the return address for all ballots. All ballots must be returned by
			 mail directly to that Independent Party or they will be declared
			 invalid.
(7) The ballots will be
			 prepared for mailing and mailed to all eligible Owners and Trainers within
			 twenty (20) days after the deadline for Horsemen's Organizations to declare
			 their intent to be put on the ballot.
(8) Twenty (20) calendar days after the date
			 of mailing of the ballots, the ballots returned will be opened and counted. The
			 procedure for opening and counting will be as follows: The Independent Party
			 will open, count and tabulate the ballots. Each organization on the ballot for
			 an election may designate a representative to be present at the opening,
			 counting and tabulation of the ballots. The Independent Party will certify the
			 results to the Commission. All Independent Party's costs of this procedure will
			 be paid for from the Special Account funds.
(9) The winner of the election will be
			 determined by majority of all eligible votes received by Independent Party by
			 the twentieth day after mailing of ballots. In the event no Horsemen's
			 Organization receives more than fifty percent (50%) of the eligible votes
			 received in the election for Horsemen's Representative, then there shall be a
			 run-off election (the "run-off") between the two Horsemen's Organizations
			 receiving the highest number of votes. In the event of a tie in the run-off,
			 then the run-off process will be repeated until one Horsemen's Organization
			 receives a majority of the eligible votes received.
(10) In preparation for each run-off, the
			 Horsemen's Organizations participating therein are each required to post an
			 additional deposit in an amount determined by the Commission to cover the
			 anticipated cost of that run-off ("run-off deposit"). There will be an
			 additional run-off deposit for each run-off conducted. The run-off deposit will
			 be placed in the Special Account and administered in a like manner by the
			 Independent Party to cover the costs of the run-off.
(11) At the conclusion of the election(s), an
			 accounting of the available monies on deposit will be made and all expenses of
			 the election(s) will be paid, including reasonable reimbursement for Commission
			 administrative expenses related directly to the election(s), if required by the
			 Commission.
(12) If there was no
			 run-off, then each Horsemen's Organization participating will be assessed its
			 proportionate share of the expenses if the deposits were inadequate. If funds
			 from the deposits are left, they will be refunded proportionately. If after a
			 run-off there are insufficient funds to cover the expenses, then each
			 Horsemen's Organization is required to pay additional money into the fund to
			 cover its proportionate share.
(13)
			 In the event the deposits exceed the expenses after the primary and any
			 run-offs, then the expenses of each election will be separately tabulated and
			 the
deposits will be refunded proportionately to the Horsemen's
				Organizations participating in each respective election.
(14) All Horsemen's Organizations duly
			 elected shall represent their respective breed(s) until replaced by an election
			 conducted in accordance with Title 3A, Section
			 267,
			 and this Rule.