Santa Anita sues California DOJ over seizure of betting machines
The fight over whether Santa Anita Park can legally have on-demand racing machines at its facilities took the next step Monday when the track filed a warrant seeking relief from the California Department of Justice.
The 52-page complaint, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, offers new details about the confiscation of 26 slot machines Saturday. It also attempts to bring the California Horse Racing Board into the fray by detailing meetings racing officials have had with the regulatory agency.
A writ of mandate is a court order that attempts to correct an alleged abuse of discretion by a government official or agency.
The petitioner, listed as Los Angeles Turf Club, requests that 3X3 betting be considered legal for completed races, as it is for live racing. He also demands the return of the machines and the money that was there. The state says it will destroy the machines in 30 days unless there is legal recourse to put them back on the track.
An important point the track is trying to make is that the state and CHRB both had ample time to tell the track that the machines were not legal, if that was their opinion. Both state agencies received legal analysis earlier, but offered no guidance.
“Neither the Attorney General’s Office nor the CHRB have ever challenged [the track’s] written or stated legal analysis that the [track] “I did not have the legal right to offer the 3X3 bet on concluded races,” the suit states.
The trail also states that the confiscation was made without a warrant or warning. He said the state could have used other methods to alert the track to the machines’ alleged irregularity rather than sending 21 DOJ members, along with two uniformed Arcadia Police Department officers, to the track with a U-Haul box truck.
The 3X3 bet consists of selected horses finishing first, second and third in three different races.
