Attorney General Opinions

Bets and breakage for intertrack horse racing

The distribution of money collected from intertrack parimutuel horse racing bets was the subject of two attorney general opinions. Intertrack betting is carried on by having a race at an Illinois racetrack simultaneously telecast to another racetrack within the state.

The attorney general said that the salaries of parimutuel clerks who collect bets on a telecast race cannot be deducted as costs and expenses when proceeds from the race are being distributed to the two participating track licensees and the purses. Only costs and expenses directly involved in telecasting the race are deductible (Ill. Rev. Stat., 1983, ch. 8, sec. 37-26). Within this reading of the law, however, the Illinois Horse Racing Board has the authority to make rules defining interstate wagering costs and expenses. (File 86-1)

In another opinion the attorney general said that funds generated by intertrack parimutuel wagering are not subject to the Special Purse and Reward Fund Account requirement of section 29(b) of the Horse Racing Act. Since these monies are not required to be paid into the account, on those days when an intertrack wagering licensee is both conducting its own race meeting and accepting bets on simulcast races, only the appropriate part of the monies generated by the licensee's own races must be paid into a Special Purse and Reward Fund Account.

As to the distribution of the "breakage" (the odd cents by which the amount payable on each dollar wagered exceeds a multiple of 10 cents) generated at intertrack wagering facilities on charity racing days, the attorney general said that one-half of the breakage is to be retained as proceeds for payment to the charity on whose behalf the racing day is conducted, and one-half is to be paid in the state's general revenue fund. None of the state's share of the breakage generated at charity racing meets is to be paid into the Illinois Race Track Improvement Fund (Ill. Rev. Stat., 1984, ch. 8 sec. 37-28(h)). (File 86-2)

May 1986/Illinois Issues/37