DOJ

Over two months have lapsed since the California Department of Justice (DOJ) swooped into Santa Anita midway through the races to remove 26 Racing-on-Demand terminals that allow a form of pari-mutuel wagering on previously run races. Santa Anita subsequently filed suit against state attorney general Rob Bonta making several claims including how the state "unlawfully seized" the terminals "without warning or warrant," and that they have yet to provide "any legal basis or explanation for their warrantless seizure of Petitioner's property, which Respondents have threatened to destroy." At the heart...

Two days after first being quietly unveiled at Santa Anita, the Racing on Demand slot machine-style parimutuel games-with distinct similarities to Historic Horse Racing-were removed from the track by Department of Justice law enforcement officers Saturday afternoon in a pubic operation that saw DOJ personnel wheel the machines out the back of the Santa Anita grandstand on gurneys during racing. Given the apparent abruptness of the law enforcement operation, little information was shared publicly about who and what precipitated the action. But reached briefly Sunday morning, Los Angeles Turf Club...