Key regulators from several major racing states - California, New York, Kentucky, New Jersey, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia, Delaware, Colorado, Oklahoma, and New Hampshire - announced today that they will begin the process of requiring that off shore wagering companies and secondary pari-mutuel wagering organizations (SPMOs) obtain a certification from the Association of Racing Commissioners International (RCI) as a pre-condition to issuing any approval to allow those entities to wager into pools under their jurisdiction.

Under the Interstate Horse Racing Act, host state racing commissions must approve any such SPMO wagering. The officials are seeking a uniform date – January 1, 2010 - for the collective implementation of the requirement. The implementation date gives time for state rule promulgation where necessary and for the conduct of a thorough background investigation of the entity, its owners, staff, and operations by the RCI.

“Today, nearly 90 percent of the money wagered in horse racing occurs away from the track and, in several cases, outside of the country with little or no regulatory review. For this reason, it is critical that the states regulating this sport know exactly who we are doing business with and that the integrity of the game is not jeopardized. The establishment of an independent process of certification and due diligence will ensure integrity at all levels,” said California Horse Racing Board Chair Richard Shapiro. “This initiative is long overdue and I am pleased that it has been so widely supported,”

Kentucky Horse Racing Commission Executive Director Lisa Underwood said: “I am encouraged by the efforts of RCI in implementing an SPMO certification program. Under this initiative, an SPMO desiring to participate in the pari-mutuel wagering pools will be required to be certified, at the expense of the SPMO. This will provide the states with an important due diligence tool, without adding a cost burden to the state regulators. I support the initiative to certify SPMO’s and will be recommending adoption of the proposed regulation to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission."

“Requiring certification of SPMO's by the ARCI is a necessary and vital component to ensuring the integrity of the pari-mutuel system and long over due. I fully support this effort and will recommend adoption of the proposed regulation to the New Jersey Racing Commission later this fall," said Frank Zanzuccki, Executive Director of the New Jersey Racing Commission.

Marc Laino, Executive Director of the Illinois Racing Commission, said: “Every racing jurisdiction hosting interstate common pool wagering should have the assurance that all offsite simulcast partners are fully vested and subject to the proper regulatory controls and oversight.”

RCI Board of Directors Chairman Joe Gorajec of the Indiana Racing Commission said that the RCI Board has unanimously approved proceeding with a certification program. “Our members as well as the racing industry have needed this program and we are pleased that there is significant interest to move forward collectively on this.”

“We are pleased with the positive reaction we have received from some key industry players like the NTRA and others,” RCI President Ed Martin said. “RCI Board member Richard Shapiro has been in contact with both Magna and Churchill Downs and reports a positive reaction to this effort.”

The announcement by the thirteen states follows approval by the RCI Board of Directors of an SPMO certification program. Certification criteria will be governed by the association’s Wagering Systems Security Committee. Martin said that he anticipates that other jurisdictions will choose to require SPMO certification as a condition to granting IHA required approvals for such wagering activity. The RCI Board also voted to give Martin the green light to finalize arrangements with a security vendor chosen as a result of a formal RFP process held late last year.