§184. Special maiden thoroughbred races; purses

A. Each racing association shall conduct one special accredited Louisiana bred maiden thoroughbred race each thoroughbred racing day of each race meeting authorized and licensed by the commission, if sufficient horses are available. The special maiden race shall be in addition to the two daily races written only for accredited Louisiana bred thoroughbred horses as provided in R.S. 4:167 and shall be conducted as an additional race to the normal racing program of a racing association. The special maiden race shall carry no special designation on the official racing program other than a normal sequential number but shall be designated in the condition book and the overnight as a special maiden race. The Executive Committee of the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association shall specify the type, age, distance, and purse of the special maiden race.

B. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the commissions derived from any special maiden race shall be accounted for separately from all other races and shall be distributed only as provided herein. The distribution of commissions from special maiden races shall be as follows:

(1) An amount of eight percent of any commission shall be retained by the racing association for payment to the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association monthly for the purpose of disbursing breeder awards in accordance with a distribution formula established by the Executive Committee of the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association.

(2) Of the remaining amount of commission, fifty percent shall be retained by the racing association, forty percent shall be paid into a special maiden race purse account from which the purse money shall be disbursed in accordance with the racing associations' normal formula for division of purses, and ten percent shall be remitted to the state of Louisiana. Any monies left in the account at the conclusion of the race shall revert to the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association to supplement other Louisiana bred thoroughbred purses at the next available race meeting conducted by that racing association.

C. Any breakage generated from the special maiden race shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of R.S. 4:167.

D.(1) When the monies available to an association, under the provisions of Subsection B of this Section, for the purse of a special maiden race out of its commissions on the pari-mutuel handle of that special maiden race are insufficient to provide a purse in an amount equal to that offered for other races of comparable quality conducted at the same race meeting, the association shall supplement the purse for the special maiden race from monies dedicated for horsemen's purses pursuant to R.S. 4:183 up to an amount sufficient to make the purse for the race at least equal to purses offered by it for other races of comparable quality.

(2)(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, in the event that the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association certifies to the racing association that the monies generated for breeder awards and disbursed by the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association, pursuant to Paragraph (B)(1) of this Section and R.S. 4:217(D)(1)(a), are insufficient to make such breeder awards on any given special accredited Louisiana bred maiden thoroughbred race according to the distribution formula established by the executive committee of the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association, then the racing association shall make available from its purse account sufficient monies to the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association to make breeder awards in accordance with the established formula.

(b) However, in no event shall the monies made available pursuant to this Paragraph by all licensed racing associations operating in the state exceed the total of one hundred fifty thousand dollars in any one calendar year. In addition, no racing association shall be required to make available monies from its purse account for the purposes described in this Paragraph in an amount that is disproportionate to the amount made available by other racing associations based upon total purses paid during the prior calendar year.

(c) The monies required to be made available by this Paragraph shall be made available until November 1, 2003.

E. The authorized representative of the horsemen is entitled to the same deduction from the purse monies of a special maiden race distributed by an association as provided in R.S. 4:183(B).

Added by Acts 1983, No. 514, §1, eff. July 8, 1983. Amended by Acts 1989, No. 708, §§1, 2, eff. July 8, 1989; Acts 2001, No. 565, §1.