Utah Administrative Code
Topic - Agriculture and Food
Title R52 - Horse Racing Commission (Utah)
Rule R52-7 - Horse Racing
Section R52-7-11 - General Conduct

1. Conditions of Meeting Binding Upon Licensees. The Commission, recognizing the necessity for an organization to comply with the requirements of its license and to fulfill its obligation to the public and the state with the best possible uninterrupted services in the comparatively short licensed period, provides that organizations, officials, horsemen, owners, trainers, jockeys, grooms, farriers, organization employees, and licensees who have accepted, directly or indirectly, with reasonable advance notice, the conditions defined by these rules under which an organization engages and plans to conduct a race meeting, shall be bound thereby.

2. Trainer Responsibility. The trainer is presumed to know the "Rules of Racing" and is responsible for the condition, soundness, and eligibility of the horses they enter in a race. Should the chemical analysis, urine or otherwise, taken from a horse under their supervision show the presence of any drug or medication of any kind or substance, whether drug or otherwise, regardless of the time it may have been administered, it shall be taken as prima facie evidence that the drug was administered by or with the knowledge of the trainer or persons under their supervision having care or custody of the horse. At the discretion of the Stewards or Commission, the trainer and any other persons shown to have had care or custody of the horse may be fined or suspended or both. Under this rule, the trainer is also responsible for any puncture mark on any horse they enter in a race, found by the Stewards upon recommendation of the Official Veterinarian to evidence injection by syringe. If the trainer cannot be present on race day, they shall designate an assistant trainer. Designation shall be made before time of entry, unless otherwise approved by the stewards. Failure to fully disclose the actual trainer of a horse participating in an approved race shall be grounds to disqualify the horse, and subject the actual trainer to possible disciplinary action by the stewards or the Commission. Designation of an assistant trainer shall not relieve the trainer's absolute responsibility for the conditions and eligibility of the horse, but shall place the assistant trainer under absolute responsibility also. Willful failure by the trainer to be present at, or refusal to allow the taking of any specimen, or any act or threat to prevent or otherwise interfere shall be cause for disqualification of the horse involved; and the matter shall be referred to the Stewards for further action.

3. Altering Sex of Horse. Any alteration to the sex of a horse from the sex as recorded on the Certificate of Foal Registration or other official registration Certificate of the horse shall be immediately reported by the trainer to the racing secretary and the official horse identifier if the horse is registered to race at any race meeting.

4. Official Workouts and Schooling Races. No trainer shall permit a horse in their charge to be taken on to the track for training or a workout except during hours designated by the organization. A trainer desiring to engage a horse in a workout or schooling race shall, before the workout or race, identify the horse by registered name and tattoo number when requested to do so by the Stewards or their authorized representative.

5. Intoxication. No licensee, employee of the organization or its concessionaires, shall be under the influence of intoxicating liquor, the combined influence of intoxicating liquor and any controlled dangerous substance, or under the influence of any narcotic or other drug while within the enclosure. No person shall in any manner or at any time disturb the peace or make themselves obnoxious on the enclosure of an organization.

6. Firearms. No person shall have any firearm within the enclosure unless they are a fully qualified peace officer as defined in the laws of Utah, or is acting in accordance with Title 53, Chapter 5, Part 7, Concealed Weapons Act and Title 76, Chapter 10, Part 5, Weapons. A person carrying a concealed weapon may be asked to show a valid, current concealed weapons permit before being allowed to enter the facility.

7. Financial Responsibility. No licensee shall willfully and deliberately fail or refuse to pay any monies when due for any service, supplies or fees connected with their operations as a licensee, nor shall they falsely deny any amount due or the validity of the complaint with the purpose of hindering or delaying or defrauding the person to whom such indebtedness is due. A Commission authorized license may be suspended pending settlement of the financial obligation. Any financial responsibility complaint against a licensee shall be in writing, signed by the complainant, and accompanied by documentation of the services, supplies or fees alleged to be due, or by a judgment from a court.

8. Checks. No licensee shall write, issue, make, or present a bad check in payment for any license fee, fine, nomination or entry fee or other fees, or for any service or supplies. The fact that a check is returned to the payee by the bank as refused is a ground for suspension pending satisfactory redemption of the returned check.

9. Gratuity to Starter or Assistant Starter. No person shall offer or give money or other gratuity to any starter or assistant starter, nor shall any starter or assistant starter receive money or other compensation, gratuity or reward, in connection with the running of any race or races except compensation received from an organization for official duties.

10. Possession of Contraband. No person other than a veterinarian or an animal technician licensed by the Commission shall have in their possession within the enclosure during sanctioned meetings any prohibited substance, or any hypodermic syringe or hypodermic needle or similar instrument which may be used for injection except as provided in Subsection R52-7-8(1). No person shall have in their possession within the enclosure during any recognized meeting any device other than the ordinary whip which can be used to stimulating or depressing the horse or affecting its speed at any time. The stewards may permit the possession of drugs or appliances by a licensee for personal medical needs under such conditions as the stewards may impose.

11. Bribes. No person shall give, or offer or promise to give, or try to give or offer any money, bribe, or thing of value to any owner, trainer, jockey, agent, or any other person participating in the conduct of a race meeting in any capacity, with the intention, understanding, or agreement that the owner, trainer, jockey, agent or other person shall not use their best efforts to win a race or so conduct themselves in a race that any other participant in a race shall be assisted or enabled to win a race; nor shall any trainer, jockey, owner, agent, or other person participating at any race meeting accept, offer to accept, or agree to accept any money, bribe, or thing of value with the intention, understanding, or agreement that they will not use their best efforts to win a race or to so conduct themselves so that any other horse or horses entered in a race shall be assisted or enabled to win the race.

12. Trainer's Duty to Ensure Licensed Participation. No trainer shall have in their custody within the enclosure of any race meeting any horse owned in whole or in part by any person who is not licensed as a horse owner by the Commission unless the owner has filed an application for license as a horse owner with the Commission and the same is pending before the Commission; nor shall any trainer have in their employ within the enclosure any groom, stable employee, stable agent, or other person required to be licensed, unless such person has a valid license. Any changes of commissioned licensed personnel shall be reported immediately to the Commission.

13. Conduct Detrimental to Horse Racing. No licensee shall engage in any conduct prohibited by law and by the rules of the Commission, nor shall any licensee engage in any conduct which by its nature is unsportsmanlike or detrimental to the best interest of horse racing.

14. Denial of Access to Private Property. Nothing contained in these rules shall be deemed, expressly or implicitly, to prevent an organization from exercising the right to deny access to or to remove any person from the organization's premises or property for just cause.

15. Tricks or Schemes. No person shall falsify, conceal, or cover up by trick, scheme, or device a material fact; or make any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or representations; or make or use any false writing or document knowing they contain any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry regarding the earlier racing record, pedigree, identity, or ownership of a registered animal in any matter related to the breeding, buying, selling, or racing of the animal.

16. Prearranging the Outcome of a Race. No licensed or unlicensed person may try or conspire to prearrange the outcome of a race.