Utah Administrative Code
Topic - Agriculture and Food
Title R52 - Horse Racing Commission (Utah)
Rule R52-7 - Horse Racing
Section R52-7-5 - Occupation Licensing and Registration

Universal Citation: UT Admin Code R 52-7-5

Current through Bulletin 2024-06, March 15, 2024

1. Occupation Licenses. No person required to be licensed shall participate in a race meeting without their holding a valid license authorizing participation. Licenses shall be obtained before the time persons engage in their vocations upon racetrack grounds at any time during the calendar year for which the organization license has been issued. Each applicant will be required to provide one form of photo identification.

A. A person whose occupation requires acting in any capacity within any area of an enclosure shall pay the required fee and procure the appropriate license or licenses.

B. A person acting in any of the following capacities shall pay the required fee and procure the appropriate license or licenses. A list of required fees shall be available at the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food.
a. owner trainer combination;

b. owner;

c. trainer;

d. assistant trainer;

e. jockey;

f. veterinarian;

g. pony rider;

h. valet; or

i. groom;

C. A person whose licenseidentification badge is lost or destroyed shall procure a replacement license identification badge and shall pay the required fee.

D. The date of payment of required fees, as recorded by the Commission, shall be the effective date of issuance of a continuous occupation license. A person may have the option of a one or three -year license. The license fee shall be the annual fee for each category in which the person is licensed, the fee for a three -year license shall be three times the annual fee for each category in which the person is licensed. The license shall expire on December 31.

E. Each license applicant may be required to provide two complete sets of fingerprints on forms provided by or acceptable to the Commission and pay the required fee for processing the fingerprint cards through state and federal law enforcement agencies. If the fingerprints are of a quality not acceptable for processing, the licensee may be required to be re-fingerprinted.

F. Applicants for occupation licenses must be a minimum of 16 years of age. However, this shall not preclude dependent children under the age of 16 from working for their parents or guardian if their parents or guardian are licensed as a trainer or assistant trainer and permission has been obtained from the organization licensee. A trainer or their authorized representative signing a Test Barn Sample Tag shall be licensed and a minimum of 18 years of age.

2. Employment of Unlicensed Person. No organization, owner, trainer, or other licensee acting as an employer within the enclosure at an authorized race meeting shall employ or harbor within the enclosure any person required to be licensed by the Commission until the organization, owner, trainer, or other employer determines that the person required to be licensed has been issued a valid license by the Commission. No organization shall permit any owner, trainer, or jockey to own, train, or ride on its premises during a recognized race meeting unless the owner, trainer, or jockey has received a license to do so from the Commission. The organization or prospective employer may demand for inspection the license of any person participating or attempting to participate at its meeting, and the organization may demand for inspection the documents relating to any horse on its grounds.

3. Notice of Termination. Any organization, owner, trainer, or other licensee acting as an employer within the enclosure at an authorized race meeting shall be responsible for the immediate notification to the Commission and the organization conducting the race meeting of a termination of employment of a licensee. The employer shall make every effort to obtain the license badge from the employee and deliver the license badge to the Commission.

4. Application for License. An applicant for license shall apply in writing on the application forms furnished by the Commission.

5. License Identification Badge Requirements. The license identification badge may consist of the following information concerning the licensee:

A. full name;

B. permanent address;

C. license capacity;

D. date of issue;

E. passport-type color photograph; and

F. date of birth.

G. License identification badges may be color coded as to capacity of occupation and eligibility for access to restricted areas. License holders, except jockeys riding in a race, shall wear a current identification badge while present in restricted areas of the enclosure or as otherwise specified in Subsection R52-7-5(1).

6. Honoring Official Credentials. Credentials issued by the Commission may be honored for admission at any gates and entrances and to any places within the enclosure. Automobiles with vehicle decals issued by the Commission to its members and employees shall be permitted ingress and egress at any point. Credentials issued by the National Association of State Racing Commissioners to its members, past members, and staff shall be honored by the organization for admission into the public enclosure when presented therefore by such persons.

7. License Subject to Conditions and Agreements.

A. Each license is subject to the conditions and agreements contained in the application and to state law.

B. Each license issued to a licensee by the Commission remains the property of the Commission.

C. Possession of a license does not confer any right upon the holder to employment at or participation in a race.

D. The Commission may restrict, limit, place conditions on, or endorse for additional occupational classes, any license, pursuant to Subsection R52-7-5(9).

8. Changes in Application Information. Each licensee or applicant for license shall file with the Commission their permanent and current mailing address and shall report in writing to the Commission any changes in application information.

9. Grounds for Denial, Refusal, Suspension or Revocation of License. The Commission, in addition to any other valid ground or reason, may deny, refuse to issue, suspend or revoke an occupation license for any person:

A. who has been convicted of a felony of this State, any other state, or the United States of America;

B. who has been convicted of violating any law regarding gambling or controlled dangerous substance of this State, any other state, or of the United States of America;

C. who is unqualified to perform the duties required of the applicant;

D. who fails to disclose or states falsely any information required in the application;

E. who has been found guilty of a violation of the Utah Horse Act or of the rules of the Commission;

F. whose license for any racing occupation or activity requiring a license has been or is currently suspended, revoked, refused, or denied for just cause in any other competent racing jurisdiction; or

G. who has been or is currently excluded from any racing enclosure by a competent racing jurisdiction.

10. Examinations. The Commission may require the applicant for any license to demonstrate their knowledge, qualifications, and proficiency for the license applied for by examination as the Commission may direct.

11. Refusal Without Prejudice. A refusal to issue a license, as distinguished from a denial of a license to an applicant by the Commission at any race meeting is without prejudice, and the applicant refused may reapply for a license at any subsequent or other race meeting, or they may appeal the refusal to the Commission for hearing upon their qualifications and fitness for the license.

12. Hearing After Denial of License. Any person who has had their license denied may petition the Commission to reopen the case and reconsider its decision upon a sufficient showing that there is now available evidence which could not, with the exercise of reasonable diligence, have been previously presented to the Commission. Any petition shall be filed with the Commission no later than 30 days after the effective date of the Commission's decision in the matter. Any person who has been denied a license by the Commission may not refile a similar application for license until one year from the effective date of the decision to deny the license.

13. Financial Responsibility of Applicants. Applicants for license as horse owner or trainer shall submit satisfactory evidence of their financial ability to care for and maintain the horses owned or trained by them when such evidence is requested by the Commission.

14. Physical Examination. The Commission or the Stewards may require that any jockey be examined at any time, and the Commission or the Stewards may refuse to allow any jockey to ride until they have successfully passed such examination.

15. Qualifications for Jockey. No person under 16 years of age shall be granted a jockey's license. A person who has never ridden in a race at a recognized meeting shall not be granted a license as jockey unless they have satisfactorily worked a horse from the starting gate in company, before the Stewards or their representatives. Upon the recommendation of the Stewards, the Commission may issue a jockey's license granting permission to a person to ride in not more than four races to establish the qualifications and ability of the person for the license. Subsequently, the Stewards may recommend the granting of a jockey's license.

16. Jockey Agent. A jockey agent is the authorized representative of a jockey if they are registered with the Stewards and licensed by the Commission as the Jockey's representative. No jockey agent shall represent more than two jockeys at the same time.

17. Workers' Compensation Act Compliance. No person may be licensed as a trainer, owner, or in any other capacity in which the person acts as the employer of any other licensee at any authorized race meeting, unless their liability for Workers' Compensation has been secured in accordance with Title 34A, Chapter 2, the Workers' Compensation Act of Utah and until evidence of security for liability is provided the Commission. Should any required security for liability for Workers' Compensation be canceled or terminated, any license held by such person shall be automatically suspended and shall be grounds for revocation of the license. If a license applicant certifies that they have no employees that would subject them to liability for Workers' Compensation, they may be licensed, but only for the period they have no employees.

18. Program Trainer Prohibited. No licensed trainer, to avoid their responsibilities or insurance requirements as set forth in these rules, shall place any horse in the care or attendance of any other trainer.

19. Qualifications for License as Horse Owner. No person may be licensed as a horse owner who is not the owner of record of a properly registered race horse that they intend to race in Utah and which is in the care of a licensed trainer, or who does not have an interest in such race horse as a part owner or lessee, or who is not the responsible managing owner of a corporation, syndicate, or partnership that is the legal owner of such horse.

20. Horse Ownership by Lease. Horses may be raced under lease provided a completed Commission, breed registry, approved pari-mutuel, or other lease form acceptable to the Commission, is attached to the Registration Certificate and on file with the Commission. The lessor and lessee shall be licensed as horse owners. No lessor shall execute a lease to avoid insurance requirements.

21. Statements of Corporation, Partnership, Syndicate or Other Association or Entity. Any organizational documents of a corporation, partnership, syndicate, or other association or entity, and the relative proportion of ownership interest, the terms of sales with contingencies, arrangements, or leases, shall be filed with the Horsemen's Bookkeeper of the organization and with the Commission. The documents shall declare to whom winnings are payable, in whose names the horses shall be run, and the name of the licensed person who assumes any responsibilities as the owner. The part owner of any horse shall not assign their share or any part of it without the written consent of the other partners, and consent shall be filed with the Horsemen's Bookkeeper and the Commission. A person conducting racing operations as a corporation, partnership, syndicate, or other association or entity shall register the information required by this rule and pay the required fee for the appropriate entity.

22. Stable Name Registration. A person electing to conduct racing operations by use of a stable name shall register the stable name and shall pay the required fee.

A. The applicant shall disclose the identity or identities of persons comprising the stable name.

B. Changes in identities shall be reported to and approval shall be obtained from the Commission immediately.

C. No person shall register more than one stable name at the same time nor use their real name for racing purposes so long as they have a registered stable name.

D. Any person who has registered under a stable name may cancel the stable name after they have given written notice to the Commission.

E. A stable name may be changed by registering a new stable name and by paying the required Fee.

F. No person shall register a stable name that has been registered by any other person with any organization conducting a recognized race meeting.

G. A stable name shall be clearly distinguishable from that of another registered stable name.

H. The stable name, and the name of the owner or managing owner, shall be published in the official program. If the stable name consists of more than one person, the official program will list the name of the managing owner along with the phrase "et al."

I. If a partnership, corporation, syndicate, or other association or entity is involved in the identity comprising a stable name, the rules covering a partnership, corporation, syndicate or other association or entity shall be complied with and the usual fees paid therefore in addition to the fees for the registration of a stable name.

23. Ownership Licensing Required. The ownership licensing procedures required by the Commission shall be completed before the horse starting in a race and shall include any registrations, statements, and payment of fees.

24. Knowledge of Rules. Each licensee, to maintain their qualifications for any license held by them, shall be familiar with and knowledgeable of the rules, including any amendments. Each licensee is presumed to know the rules.

25. Certain Prohibited Licenses. Commission-licensed jockeys, veterinarians, organizations' security personnel, vendors, and other licensees designated by the Stewards with approval of the Commission, shall not hold any other license. The Commission may refuse to issue a license to a person whose spouse holds a license and which, in the opinion of the Commission, would create a conflict of interest.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Utah may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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