(a) No person not required to be licensed under the provisions of section one of this article shall participate in or have anything to do with horse or dog racing for a purse or a horse or dog race meeting at any licensee's horse or dog racetrack, place or enclosure, where the pari-mutuel system of wagering upon the results of such horse or dog racing is permitted or conducted, as a horse owner, dog owner, jockey, apprentice jockey, exercise boy, kennel keeper, trainer, groom, plater, stable foreman, valet, veterinarian, agent, clerk of the scales, starter, assistant starter, timer, judge or pari-mutuel employee, or in any other capacity specified in reasonable rules and regulations of the Racing Commission unless such person possesses a permit therefor from the West Virginia Racing Commission and complies with the provisions of this article and all reasonable rules and regulations of such Racing Commission.

Terms Used In West Virginia Code 19-23-2

  • Dog racing: means any type of dog racing, including, but not limited to, greyhound racing. See West Virginia Code 19-23-3
  • Licensee: means any racing association holding a license required by the provisions of section one of this article and issued under the provisions of this article. See West Virginia Code 19-23-3
  • Pari-mutuel: means a mutuel or collective pool that can be divided among those who have contributed their wagers to one central agency, the odds to be reckoned in accordance to the collective amounts wagered upon each contestant running in a horse or dog race upon which the pool is made, but the total to be divided among the first three contestants on the basis of the number of wagers on these. See West Virginia Code 19-23-3
  • Permit: means the permit required by the provisions of section two of this article. See West Virginia Code 19-23-3
  • person: means any individual, partnership, firm, association, corporation or other entity or organization of whatever character or description. See West Virginia Code 19-23-3
  • Purse: means any purse, stake or award for which a horse or dog race is run. See West Virginia Code 19-23-3
  • Racing commission: means the West Virginia Racing Commission. See West Virginia Code 19-23-3
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10

(b) At least eighty percent of the individuals employed by a licensee at any horse or dog race meeting must be citizens and residents of this state and must have been such citizens and residents for at least one year. For the purpose of this subsection, citizens and residents of this state shall be construed to mean individuals who maintain a permanent place of residence in this state, and have been bona fide residents and citizens of this state for a period of one year immediately prior to the filing of their applications for employment. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to individuals engaged in the construction of a horse or dog racetrack or in the equipping of same, nor to racing officials designated by the Racing Commission or racing officials designated by the executive officials of a licensee.