01-017 C.M.R. ch. 7, § 18-A - Maine Owned or Bred Races

1. Persons licensed to conduct harness horse racing meets under Title 8, Chapter 11, may offer non-sire stakes races limited to horses wholly owned by Maine residents or sired by Maine stallions.

2. For purposes of this rule, a Maine bred horse shall be defined as one sired by a Maine stallion, registered with the Commission, who stood in Maine during the entire breeding season in which it sired a Maine bred horse or a horse whose dam was a wholly owned Maine mare at the time of breeding as shown on the horse's United State Trotting Association paper or electronic registration or electronic eligibilities. The breeding season means that period of time beginning February 15 and ending July 15 of each year.

3. For the purposes of this rule, a "Maine resident" shall mean a person who habitates permanently in Maine with intent to remain in Maine for the indefinite future. A person who is called elsewhere for labor or other special or temporary purposes shall not be excluded from consideration as being a Maine resident. The Commission or its designee shall determine all questions about a person's eligibility to participate in Maine-owned races. The Commission or its designee may review and subpoena any information which is deemed relevant to determine a person's residence, including but not limited to, the following:

A. Where the person lives and has been living;

B. The location of the person's sources of income;

C. The address used by the person for payment of taxes, including federal, state and property taxes;

D. The state in which the person's personal automobiles are registered;

E. The state issuing the person's driver's license;

F. The state in which the person is registered to vote;

G. Ownership of property in Maine or outside of Maine;

H. The residence used for U.S.T.A. membership and U.S.T.A. registration of a horse, whichever is applicable;

I. The residence claimed by a person on a loan application or other similar document;

J. Membership in civic, community, and other organizations in Maine and elsewhere.

K. None of these factors when considered alone shall be dispositive, except that a person must have resided in the State of Maine in the preceding calendar year for a minimum of one hundred and eighty three (183) days. Consideration of all of these factors together, as well as a person's expressed intention, shall be considered in arriving at a determination. The burden shall be on the applicant to prove Maine residency and eligibility for Maine-owned or bred races. The Commission may promulgate by regulation any other relevant requirements necessary to ensure that the licensee is a Maine resident. In the event of disputes about a person's eligibility to enter a horse in races limited to Maine-owned or Maine bred horses, the Commission shall resolve all disputes and that decision shall be final.

4. In the case of a corporation seeking to enter a horse in a Maine-owned or Maine bred event as a Maine-owned entry, all owners, officers, shareholders, and directors must meet the requirements for a Maine resident specified below. In the case of an Association or other entity seeking to enter a horse in a Maine owned or Maine bred event as a Maine-owned entry, all owners must meet the requirements for a Maine resident as specified below. Leased horses are ineligible as Maine owned entries unless both the lessor and the lessee are Maine residents as set forth in this Rule.

5. Each owner and trainer, or the authorized agent of an owner or trainer, or the nominator (collectively, the "entrant"), is required to disclose the true and entire ownership of each horse with the Commission or its designee, and to disclose any changes in the owners of the registered horse to the Commission or its designee. All licensees and racing officials shall immediately report any questions concerning the ownership status of a horse to the Commission racing officials, and the Commission racing officials may place such a horse on the steward's or judge's list. A horse placed on the steward's or judge's list shall be ineligible to start in a race until questions concerning the ownership status of the horse are answered to the satisfaction of the Commission or the Commission's designee, and the horse is removed from the steward or judge's list.

6. If the Commission, or the Commission's designee, finds a lack of sufficient evidence of ownership status, residency, or other information required for eligibility, prior to a race, the Commission or the Commission's designee, may order the entrant's horse scratched from the race or ineligible to participate.

7. After a race, the Commission or the Commission's designee may upon reasonable suspicion that the entrant's horse was not eligible to race, withhold purse money pending an inquiry into ownership status, residency, or other information required to determine eligibility. If the purse money is ultimately forfeited because of a ruling by the Commission or the Commission's designee, the purse money shall be redistributed per order of the Commission or the Commission's designee. A person aggrieved by the Commission ruling in this matter may seek an adjudicatory hearing.

8. If purse money has been paid prior to reasonable suspicion, the Commission or the Commission's designee may conduct an inquiry and make a determination as to eligibility. If the Commission or the Commission's designee determines there has been a violation of ownership status, residency, or other information required for eligibility, it shall order the purse money returned and redistributed per order of the Commission or the Commission's designee. A person aggrieved by the Commission ruling in this matter may seek an adjudicatory hearing.

9. Anyone who knowingly and willfully provides incorrect or untruthful information to the Commission or its designee pertaining to the ownership of a Maine-owned or bred horse, or who attempts to enter a horse restricted to Maine-owned entry who is determined not to be a Maine resident, or who knowingly and willfully makes any other misrepresentation in connection with the entry or registration of a Maine-owned or bred horse, in addition to other penalties imposed by law, shall be subject to mandatory revocation of licensing privileges in the State of Maine for a period to be determined by the Commission in its discretion except that absent extraordinary circumstances, the Commission shall impose a minimum revocation period of two years and a minimum fine of $1,000 from the date of the violation of these rules or the decision of the Commission, whichever occurs later. A person aggrieved by the Commission ruling in this matter may seek an adjudicatory hearing.

10. Any person whose license is suspended or revoked under this rule shall be required to apply for reinstatement of licensure and the burden shall be on the applicant to demonstrate that his or her licensure will not reflect adversely on the honesty and integrity of harness racing or interfere with the orderly conduct of a race meeting. A person aggrieved by the Commission ruling in this matter may seek an adjudicatory hearing.

Any person whose license is reinstated under this subsection shall be subject to a two-year probationary period, and may not participate in any Maine-owned or bred race during this probationary period. Any further violations of this section by the licensee during the period of probationary licensure shall, absent extraordinary circumstances, result in the Commission imposing revocation of all licensure privileges for a five year period along with any other penalty the Commission deems reasonable and just.

11. Any suspension imposed by the Commission under this rule shall not be subject to the stay provisions in Commission Rules, Chapter 19 Section 3. A person aggrieved by the Commission ruling in this matter may seek an adjudicatory hearing.

Notes

01-017 C.M.R. ch. 7, § 18-A