Last year the Texas Racing Commission voted 7-1 to approve a proposal allowing historical racing machines at Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie and other major racetracks. The horseracing industry had petitioned the commission asking for a rule change to allow betting on the machines as a move to help struggling racetracks compete with out-of-state racinos. Commissioners received more than 13,000 responses on the issue, with 3-to-1 in favor of the machines, officials said.
But that was then. Now state lawmakers are saying the racing commission overstepped its authority, and only the legislature can expand gambling in Texas. As a result, the state Senate’s budget bill does not include the $15.4 million earmarked for the commission. When filing the bill, state Senator Jane Nelson, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, said commissioners “totally ignored our request to wait until the legislature met. I want the racing commission to continue and the horseracing industry to succeed. However, its board willfully ignored strong statements from the legislature by approving instant racing. No agency should expect such actions to go unnoticed. It is the legislature’s role, not that of the racing commission, to determine the footprint of gambling in this state.”
State Senator Craig Estes has gone even farther. He filed Senate Bill 364 to eliminate the racing commission and transfer its duties to the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation. “Since, by its conduct, the racing commission has refused to do the job we gave it, my bill will give its power to an agency that will. The racing commission’s conduct shows that it is not willing to limit its authority to the authority granted to it by the legislature. We cannot have an agency trying to seize power that was not granted to it by the people of Texas.” Estes’ bill has been referred to the Senate State Affairs Committee, on which Estes and Nelson serve.
Racing commission Chairman Robert Schmidt, an orthopedic surgeon from Fort Worth, commented, “We weren’t trying to be disrespectful to the Senate in any way. We received a lot of comments, including those from state representatives and senators, on both sides.” He added the commissioners plan to review legislators’ concerns and meet to discuss the issue. “We want to understand the senators’ positions and let them understand ours,” Schmidt said.
The racing commission is self-funded, collecting millions of dollars annually in fees paid by racetracks and license holders, including owners, trainers and jockeys. Those funds are turned over to the state, which allocates it back to the racing commission.
Mary Ruyle, executive director of the Texas Thoroughbred Association, said, “We consider the TRC to be a very specialized regulatory body dealing with issues unique to the horse industry. The agency supports the many jobs in the industry and our livelihoods. We are struggling to survive against competition from surrounding states supported with gaming dollars. We believe historical racing wagers are parimutuel and the rules were not developed as an act of defiance toward the legislature.”
Last year, a lawsuit filed by state Rep. Matt Krause filed a lawsuit Tarrant County was dismissed, alleging the commission lacked the authority to allow the machines. However, a second lawsuit was filed in Travis County by a coalition of charitable bingo groups concerned that the machines could cause them to lose business. An Austin judge agreed and noted the legislature should make decisions regarding historical racing machines. The racing commission has until March 5 to appeal.
