Michigan House approves bills to update horse racing law
Legislation includes change to distribution of
simulcast wagering revenue
Lindsay VanHulle
Anthony Barchock
Northville Downs calls off its Saturday live races.
LANSING — The state House on Tuesday approved bills that would update Michigan's horse racing law, including how money from wagers is distributed between the state's two remaining tracks.
The legislation, Senate Bills 504 and 505, would create a "site-specific" formula to distribute revenue from wagers placed on simulcast races at Hazel Park Raceway, which hosts thoroughbred races, and Northville Downs, which holds standardbred harness races.
That formula would replace the common purse that shares revenue with the tracks and their respective horsemen's groups, with 65 percent going to standardbreds and the rest to thoroughbreds.
The House agriculture committee, led by Rep. Dan Lauwers, a Republican from St. Clair County's Brockway Township, took out language that would have allowed advance deposit wagering. The practice allows people to place bets on simulcast races from cellphones or electronic devices without having to visit a track. All wagers must be placed at a horse track under current law.
The House version also would create a horse racing advisory commission within the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to report to the Legislature with suggested regulatory updates.
"A lot of hard work and consideration went into these bills," Lauwers said in a statement. "For the first time in more than 40 years, industry officials are all expressing satisfaction about the rules that will regulate horse racing in Michigan. This is a significant achievement."
Owners of both Hazel Park and Northville Downs, as well as their affiliated horse owners' groups, support the bills after initially taking opposing sides.
The House passed both bills by votes of 104-4. They now return to the Senate for concurrence with the House changes.
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