Colorado § 44-32-503 - Rules of commission - licensing - record check.

§ 44-32-503. Rules of commission - licensing - record check.

(1) (a) The commission shall make reasonable rules for licensees to ensure:

(I) Fair play;

(II) The proper and safe conduct of the sport of horse racing;

(III) The health, safety, and welfare of persons and horses involved in a racing meet; and

(IV) The high standards and integrity of the sport of horse racing.

(a.5) The commission rules shall also provide for the control, safety, supervision, fingerprinting, identification, and direction of applicants, registrants, and licensees. Commission rules shall provide for:

(I) The supervising, disciplining, suspending, fining, and barring from racing of all persons required to be licensed or registered by this article 32;

(II) A program for testing designated licensees for cause or by random selection to detect prohibited substances; and

(III) The holding, conducting, and operating of all races, race meets, racetracks, in-state simulcast facilities, and out-of-state wagering on simulcast races conducted pursuant to this article 32. The commission shall announce the place, time, number of races per day, duration of race meets, as provided in section 44-32-603, and types of race meets.

(b) The commission may issue a temporary license or registration for up to a maximum of ninety days for any license or registration authorized under this article 32.

(2) Every person holding a license or registration under this article 32, every person operating an in-state simulcast facility, and every owner or trainer of any horse entered in a racing contest under this article 32 shall comply with the commission's rules and orders. It is unlawful for a person to work upon the premises of a racetrack without first obtaining from the commission a license or registration under this article 32; except that the commission may waive this licensing or registration requirement for occupational categories that the commission, in its discretion, deems unnecessary to be licensed or registered. This licensing or registration requirement does not apply to the members of the commission or its employees or to persons whose only participation is individually as spectator or bettor. It is unlawful for a person who owns or leases a racing animal to allow the animal to race in this state without first obtaining an owner's license or registration from the commission, as prescribed by the rules of the commission. The commission may extend the validity of a license issued for a period not to exceed three years, and the fee for the license shall be increased proportionately; except that no temporary license or registration may be issued for a period longer than ninety days. It is unlawful for a person to hold a race meet with pari-mutuel wagering without obtaining a license for pari-mutuel wagering. It is unlawful for a person to operate an in-state simulcast facility unless that person is a licensee that has been licensed within the year to hold a race meet or is a licensee that has a written simulcast racing agreement with the in-state host track or out-of-state host track from which the simulcast race is broadcast and has filed a copy of the written simulcast racing agreement with the commission before operating as an in-state simulcast facility.

(3) No person holding a license under this article 32 shall extend credit to another person for participation in pari-mutuel wagering.

(4) (a) With the submission of an application for a key occupational license, a support occupational license, a major business license, a minor business license, or an out-of-state advanced deposits wagering license granted pursuant to this article 32, the commission shall require the applicant's fingerprints to be taken by a local law enforcement agency, the division of racing events, or any third party approved by the Colorado bureau of investigation for the purpose of obtaining a fingerprint-based criminal history record check. The commission shall authorize the entity taking the applicant's fingerprints to submit, and the entity shall submit, the complete set of the applicant's fingerprints to the Colorado bureau of investigation. The Colorado bureau of investigation, acting as the state identification bureau, shall forward the fingerprints to the federal bureau of investigation for the purpose of conducting a national fingerprint-based criminal history record check to ensure applicant eligibility, protect public safety, and maintain the integrity of licensed professions. Upon completion of the national fingerprint-based criminal history record check, the Colorado bureau of investigation shall return the results of its criminal history record check to the commission, and the commission is the designated governmental agency authorized to receive and screen the results of the federal bureau of investigation's criminal history record check to determine the applicant's suitability for employment or licensing. The applicant is responsible for paying the cost of the record check. Nothing in this subsection (4) precludes the commission from making further inquiries into the background of an applicant.

(b) When the results of a fingerprint-based criminal history record check of an applicant performed pursuant to this subsection (4) reveal a record of arrest without a disposition, the commission shall require that applicant to submit to a name-based judicial record check, as defined in section 22-2-119.3 (6)(d).

Source: L. 2018: (1) amended, (SB 18-172), ch. 129, p. 852, § 3, effective April 12; entire article added with relocations, (HB 18-1024), ch. 26, p. 297, § 2, effective October 1. L. 2019: (4) amended, (HB 19-1166), ch. 125, p. 563, § 65, effective April 18. L. 2022: (4)(b) amended, (HB 22-1270), ch. 114, p. 536, § 62, effective April 21. L. 2025: (4)(a) amended, (SB 25-146), ch. 342, p. 1861, § 18, effective June 2. L. 2026: (4)(a) amended, (SB 26-163), ch. 218, p. 1290, § 15, effective August 12.

Editor's note: (1) This section is similar to former § 12-60-503 as it existed prior to 2018.

(2) Subsection (1) of this section was numbered as § 12-60-503 (1) in SB 18-172. That provision was harmonized with and relocated to this section as this section appears in HB 18-1024.

ANNOTATION

Annotator's note. The following annotations include cases decided under former provisions similar to this section.

The racing commission is authorized to make reasonable rules and regulations for the control, supervision, and direction of licensees, including regulations providing for suspending such licensees. Harbour v. Colo. State Racing Comm'n, 32 Colo. App. 1, 505 P.2d 22 (1973).

In view of difficulty in controlling business of horse racing and of importance of doing so in the interest of the public, state racing commission rules creating a presumption that drug found in horse was administered either by holder of owner and trainer license or with his knowledge and consent were not so arbitrary and unreasonable as to constitute a deprivation of due process. Harbour v. Colo. State Racing Comm'n, 32 Colo. App. 1, 505 P.2d 22 (1973).

The commission is required to determine the length of time allowed for race meets, and how many, and what kind are to be held in any one county. Cloverleaf Kennel Club v. Racing Comm'n, 130 Colo. 505, 277 P.2d 226 (1954).

This section is not a grant of discretion to the commission as to the number of licenses. Cloverleaf Kennel Club v. Racing Comm'n, 130 Colo. 505, 277 P.2d 226 (1954).

In consideration of the other provisions of the act, this is a reference to the matter of the racing season and is not, and cannot be, in anywise interpreted as being the power to limit licenses other than is authorized by provisions of the act. Cloverleaf Kennel Club v. Racing Comm'n, 130 Colo. 505, 277 P.2d 226 (1954).

Racing commission was not precluded from making financial irresponsibility grounds for discipline, even though such grounds were not enumerated in § 12-60-507 since the rule was in the interests of the public and reasonable and was fully consistent with the commission's authority to promulgate rules. Partridge v. State, 895 P.2d 1183 (Colo. App. 1995).