Proposal Would Permit Wagering on Yesterdays Races Today

June 21, 2006 - An assemblyman in San Francisco introduced a proposed legislation that, if passed and implemented, would permit gamblers to wager on past horse races. If you missed betting on some of the great races of the past, today's technology could, if the law is passed, let you place a bet on previous greats like War Emblem, Funny Cide, Seattle Slew and other thoroughbreds.

Included in this legislation is language that would allow slot machines to be added to the California racetracks, a move strongly opposed by the Native American tribal gambling lobbies.

Democratic assemblyman, Leland Yee, submitted the proposed legislation. Under Assembly Bill 2409, computer gaming terminals, already in use to place wagers rather than the walk-up betting window of the past, would be improved to offer as many as one-quarter million horse races spanning the past 30 years. Those placing bets would choose based on odds and handicap data from the race run in history, placing wagers on unidentified horses. After choosing the unnamed horse and completing the wager, the thoroughbred's name would be revealed to the bettor. A video clip taken from actual footage taken at the time of the original race would be shown to the person wagering and they would then learn if their wager paid off or not.

Yee stated that he felt the California horse racing industry required invigoration because other states had lured away top jockeys, horses and fans resulting in millions of dollars in wagers and thousands of employment opportunities moving to other locations.

The Native American tribes have said they will make every effort to block the legislation because the terminals will operate and look like traditional slot machines. In California, the tribes enjoy exclusivity for slot machines, given to them by the voters of the safe through Proposition 1A which was voted in during March, 2000. In 2004, California voters voted down Proposition 68 which was specifically designed to provide race tracks and card rooms with the legal right to operate slot machines.

Because the proposed legislation has just bee introduced this week, there is currently no date scheduled for the actual vote on this legal change. It is also too early to obtain data from voter polls to learn if the people of California would support this type of wagering on past horse races.