CHAPTER 192
RELATING TO HARNESS RACING
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 522 OF TITLE 28, DELAWARE CODE OF 1953 PERTAINING TO LICENSES FOR HARNESS HORSE RACING; THE AWARD OF DATES AND MAXIMUM RACING DAYS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Delaware:
Section 1. § 522, (a), Title 28, Delaware Code of 1953 is amended to read as follows:
(a) The application for a license to conduct a harness horse race meet shall be filed with the Commission on or before a day fixed by the Commission. The application shall specify the days on which harness horse racing is desired to be conducted, and shall be in such form and supply such data and information, including a blue print of the track and specifications of its surface and blue prints and specifications of buildings and grandstand on the land where the meet is to be conducted, as the Commission prescribes.
The blue prints and specifications shall be subject to the approval of the Commission, which, at the expense of the applicant, may order such engineering examination thereof as to the Commission seems necessary. The erection and construction of the track, grandstand and buildings of any applicant for a license to conduct harness horse racing under this chapter, shall be subject to the inspection of the Commission, which may order such engineering examination as the Commission deems necessary at the expense of the applicant, and may employ such inspectors as the Commission considers necessary for that purpose.
In the event that an application is made for racing dates in Sussex County in compliance with subsection (c) of this section, it shall not be necessary for the applicant to submit blue prints and specifications with their application if the applicant plans to assign those dates applied for to another county.
Section 2. § 522, (c), Title 28, Delaware Code of 1953 is amended to read as follows:
(c) The Commission shall, on or before the 15th day of January of each year, award all dates for harness horse racing in this State within the current year, but the dates so awarded shall not exceed sixty (60) days in the aggregate for the entire State, and not more than twenty (20) days in the aggregate for any county. The dates awarded to Kent County shall be used for racing only in Kent County and the dates awarded to New Castle County shall be used for racing only in New Castle County and the dates awarded to Sussex County shall be used for racing in said county or, with the prior approval of the Commission, the Sussex County licensee may assign not more than ten (10) days to a corporation duly licensed by the Commission for the current year to conduct harness racing in Kent County and not more than ten (10) days to any such licensee in New Castle County. In the event the harness racing dates as applied for do not conflict with each other or with the horse racing dates awarded under Chapter 3 of this title, then and in that event, the Commission shall award the dates applied for.
Section 3. § 522, (d), Title 28, Delaware Code of 1953 is amended to read as follows:
(d) No more than thirty (30) days of harness horse racing shall be held in any one county in this State within any one (1) year and no more than two (2) meetings shall be held in any one (1) county within this State in any one (1) year.
Section 4. § 522, Title 28, Delaware Code of 1953 is amended by adding a new subsection (f) to read as follows:
(f) No license to conduct harness racing under the provisions of this section shall be granted except to a private stock corporation formed and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware for the purpose of conducting harness racing and businesses incident thereto, in compliance with the following conditions and requirements:
(1) Before a license shall be issued under the provisions of this chapter, the applicant shall file with the Commission, in addition to other requirements of this Chapter, the names, addresses and terms of office of its directors and officers and such other time or times thereafter as they may be changed, the names and addresses of such directors and officers; a copy of the Certificate of Incorporation duly certified by the Secretary of State of Delaware, and a copy of its by-laws. Such applicant shall file with the Commission a copy of any amendment to its Certificate of Incorporation, duly certified as aforesaid, within ten (10) days after the effective date of any such amendment.
(2) The Board of Directors of the applicant shall not be less than five (5) in number;
(3) The applicant shall have no other office except in the State of Delaware;
(4) Every applicant for a license shall file with the Commission at the time of application for a license a statement of its resources and liabilities. The Commission shall have access at all times to the books, records and accounts of the licensee.
(5) No license shall be issued unless a majority of the Board of Directors and officers shall be bona fide residents of the State of Delaware.
Section 5. All acts or parts of acts inconsistent with this Act are repealed to the extent of such inconsistency only.
Approved June 26, 1953.