Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, March 1, 2024
RELATES TO:
KRS
230.215(2)
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
KRS
230.240(1) authorizes the
commission to prescribe by administrative regulation the required officials for
horse racing and their official duties.
KRS
230.215(2) and
230.260(8)
authorize the commission to promulgate administrative regulations prescribing
conditions under which all horse racing is conducted. This administrative
regulation establishes the qualifications, duties, powers, and responsibilities
of the stewards.
Section 1. Steward
Qualifications. To qualify for employment or approval by the commission to
serve as a steward, a person shall have:
(1)
(a) Successfully completed an accreditation
school or program approved by the commission; and
(b) Satisfactorily passed a written and oral
examination given by the school or program;
(2) Served as a steward, racing secretary,
assistant racing secretary, starter, placing judge, horse identifier, paddock
judge, or clerk of scales, at one (1) or more recognized race meetings for a
period of not less than sixty (60) racing days per year during at least three
(3) of the five (5) preceding calendar years;
(3) Been an observer in the stewards stand
for a period of at least thirty (30) days; and
(4) Satisfactorily passed an optical
examination within one (1) year prior to approval as a steward evidencing
corrected twenty-twenty (20-20) vision and ability to distinguish colors
correctly.
Section 2.
Steward Prohibitions.
(1) No person shall
serve as a steward until approved by the commission.
(2) No person under suspension or ejection by
a racing jurisdiction shall be employed or approved by the commission to serve
as a steward.
(3) No person shall
serve as a steward unless the commission is satisfied that income, other than
salary as a steward, which may accrue to a person under consideration for
appointment as a steward is independent of and unrelated to patronage of or
employment by a licensee under the supervision of the steward, so as to avoid
the appearance of any conflict of interest or suggestion of preferential
treatment of a licensee.
Section
3. Employment of Stewards.
(1)
The commission shall employ and compensate two (2) of the three (3) stewards
for each race meeting, including the chief steward.
(2) A racing association shall nominate one
(1) of the three (3) stewards for each race meeting for approval by the
commission and shall be responsible for that person's compensation as a
steward.
(a) The association nomination for
steward shall be submitted when an association applies for a license if
possible, but in no event later than thirty (30) days before commencement of a
race meeting, and shall be accompanied by biographical data describing the
experience and qualifications of the nominee.
(b) The association shall submit successive
nominees until one (1) person is approved by the commission as qualified to
serve as a steward.
(3)
Stewards shall serve from one (1) minute after midnight on the day before the
first racing day until one (1) minute before midnight on the day after the last
racing day of the race meeting for which they are employed. If a dispute or
controversy arises during a race meeting and is not settled at the conclusion
of the race meeting the matter shall be adjudicated by the stewards at a
successive race meeting in Kentucky, or until the matter is referred or
appealed to the commission.
(4)
Stewards shall be responsible only to the commission and may be replaced by the
commission at any time for failure to perform their duties to the satisfaction
of the commission.
(5) If a steward
becomes ill, resigns, or is unable to serve for any reason, the remaining
stewards shall nominate a successor or temporary steward to the commission for
approval. In emergencies, a single member of the commission by telephone may
approve employment of a successor steward.
Section 4. General Powers of Stewards. The
stewards shall exercise immediate supervision, control, and regulation of
racing at each licensed race meeting on behalf of and responsible only to the
commission. The powers of the stewards shall include:
(1) Authority over horses and persons,
licensed or unlicensed, on association grounds and at locations under the
jurisdiction of the commission during a race meeting as to matters relating to
racing;
(2) Determining questions,
disputes, protests, complaints, or objections concerning racing that arise
during a race meeting and enforcing the determinations;
(3) Suspending the license of a participant
in racing or denying licensed or unlicensed persons access to association
grounds or locations under the jurisdiction of the commission, upon reasonable
belief that a violation of KAR Title 810 has or is about to occur;
(4) Interpreting and enforcing Chapter 230 of
the Kentucky Revised Statutes and Title 810 of the Kentucky Administrative
Register and determining questions pertaining to a racing matter not
specifically covered by these administrative regulations;
(5) Issuing decisions or rulings pertaining
to racing that shall supersede orders of the officers, directors, and officials
of the association and which shall, if the stewards deem proper, vary any
arrangement for the conduct of a race meeting, to include postponing or
canceling a race, or ruling a race run as "no contest";
(6) Requesting assistance from commission
employees, racing officials, members of the Thoroughbred Racing Protective
Bureau, track security police, or state or local police, in the investigation
of possible rule infractions;
(7)
Conducting hearings on questions, disputes, protests, complaints, or objections
concerning racing matters;
(8)
Selecting a substitute, if a regularly named rider or racing official other
than a steward is unable for any reason to perform. Upon suspicion of fraud or
misconduct, the stewards may excuse a horse or replace a rider or racing
official other than a steward; and
(9) All other powers and duties established
for stewards in KAR Title 810.
Section 5. Duties and Responsibilities of
Stewards. In addition to the duties and responsibilities necessary and
pertinent to general supervision, control, and regulation of race meetings, and
without limiting the authority of the stewards to perform these and other
duties enumerated in KAR Title 810, the stewards shall have the following
specific duties and responsibilities:
(1) To
take appropriate action on misconduct or administrative regulation infractions,
to cause investigations to be made of instances of possible infractions, and to
take appropriate action to prevent an administrative regulation
infraction;
(2) To have at least
one (1) steward on association grounds from scratch time, or if not a racing
day, when entries are first taken until entries are closed. At least two (2)
stewards shall be present for the scheduled viewing of race replays. All three
(3) stewards shall be on association grounds no less than ninety (90) minutes
before post time until conclusion of the last race. All three (3) stewards
shall be present in the stewards' stand during the running of each
race;
(3) To have at least one (1)
steward, or a designated representative of the stewards, present in the paddock
at least twenty (20) minutes before each race;
(4) To inspect applications for licenses to
participate in racing, and administer, or cause to be administered by
technically qualified persons, standard examinations to first-time applicants
for a trainer, jockey, apprentice jockey, veterinarian, dental technician, or
farrier license, and make recommendations to the commission as to the
qualifications of applicants for licenses to participate in racing;
(5)
(a) To
review licenses and registration certificates, and contracts, papers, and other
documents pertaining to the sale or ownership of a horse, payment of purse
money, jockey and apprentice jockey contracts, appointments of agents, and
adoptions of racing colors or stable name; and
(b) To determine the eligibility and
appropriateness for participation in racing under supervision of the
stewards;
(6) To call
for proof of eligibility of a horse or person to participate in a race, if
eligibility is in question, and in absence of sufficient proof to establish
eligibility, the stewards may rule that horse or person ineligible;
(7) To review stall applications and advise
the association of undesirable persons, if any, among owners and trainers
applying for stalls and provide the association with information pertaining to
the undesirable persons;
(8) To
supervise the taking of entries and receive declarations and scratches and
determine questions arising and pertaining to declarations and scratches. The
stewards may in their discretion refuse the entry of a horse by any person,
refuse to permit a declaration or scratch, or may limit entries;
(9) To lock pari-mutuel betting machines not
later than the moment the starting gate is opened for the commencement of a
race, to cause the "inquiry" sign to be posted immediately after the horses
have crossed the finish line in a race if any doubt is held by a steward or
other racing official as to the fairness of the running of that race, to cause
the objection sign to be posted upon the lodging of an objection, and to cause
the "official" sign to be posted after determining the official order of finish
for purposes of pari-mutuel payoff;
(10) To draw up a list of riders, including
all apprentice jockeys, to review the race replays for instructional purposes
and post that list in the jockey's room;
(11) To maintain a daily Stewards Report
recording actions taken by the stewards on controversies that arise during the
day. The report shall show name of track, date, weather, track condition,
claims, rulings issued, and other circumstance or condition regarded as
unusual. The reports shall be signed by all three (3) stewards and filed with
the commission;
(12) To make
periodic inspections of the barn area, check track security, make occasional
and informal visits to the jockeys' room, observe weighing out, and check
security. Inspections and observations made pursuant to this section shall be
noted in the stewards' report;
(13)
To maintain a written record of questions, disputes, protests, complaints, or
objections brought to the attention of the stewards, and which, at the
discretion of the stewards, warrant investigation and the creation of a written
record. The record shall be available to the commission for inspection at all
times; and
(14) If deemed
necessary, after the conclusion of a race meeting, to submit to the commission
a written report setting out the condition of the meeting and association
grounds, and any recommendations for improvement.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY:
KRS
230.215(2),
230.240(1),
230.260(8)