Occupational licenses
Compiled text through Jul 15, 2022
Register checked through Jul 29, 2026
No later Register activity identified in this check.
Dates and status
- Compiling agency
- Executive Department
- Text status
- Source receipt
- Compiled text through
- Jul 15, 2022
- Register checked through
- July 29, 2026/Vol. XLVIII, Issue 30 (2026-07-29)
- Activity status
- No later Register activity identified in this check.
- Latest notice
- SGC-40-20-00001-A · Adopted rule · Feb 10, 2021
- Source snapshot
- Jun 6, 2026
(a)No person shall participate in the affairs of any association or corporation licensed by the commission to conduct harness race meetings at which pari-mutuel betting is permitted as director, agent or employee of such track licensee, unless such person shall have received an occupational license from the commission.
(b)No person shall participate in or at any harness horse race meet as owner, driver, trainer, assistant trainer, groom, farrier, harness goods supplier, salesman, veterinarian, veterinary technician, agent, or be the holder or operator of any concession, or perform any service, including without limitation the conduct of negotiations on behalf of any person or persons who engage in any racing activities or perform any services in connection with the conduct of any harness horse race meet, or engage in any occupation or employment at any harness horse race meet, unless such person shall have received an occupational license from the commission with the following exceptions:
(1)Public officers and public employees engaged in the performance of their official duties.
(2)Persons exempted by the commission from the occupational license requirement.
(c)It shall be the responsibility of each track licensee to prevent any person not holding an occupational license from doing or performing any act or acts at such licensee’s track.
(d)Each such license, unless revoked for cause, shall be for a period of no more than one, two or three years, expiring on the applicant's birth date, as prescribed by Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Breeding Law section 309(1); provided, however, that the commission may, pending final determination of any question under Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Breeding Law, section 309, issue a temporary license upon such terms and conditions as it may deem necessary or desirable to effectuate the provisions of such chapter. No person shall be qualified to receive or hold an occupational license if he or she is not a bona fide participant in harness racing. A renewal license for owner, trainer, assistant trainer, driver, racing official, mutuel employee, veterinarian, veterinary technician, farrier, track management or track security employee shall be for three years unless an individual establishes good cause for a shorter term or the commission, in the commission’s discretion, determines a shorter term.
(e)An application for an occupational license shall be made upon a form supplied by the commission and shall be executed in the manner prescribed by the commission. The commission may issue instructions as to the preparation and execution of applications for occupational licenses, which instructions may be a part of or separate from the application form. Failure to comply with any such instructions shall be grounds for denial, suspension or revocation of an occupational license. When so instructed by the commission, the applicant shall file with the application fingerprints and photographs in requisite number. The fingerprints so obtained shall be transmitted by the commission to the New York State Identification and Intelligence System, the Federal Bureau of Investigation Identification Division, and any other government agency of any state or country selected by the commission, for the purpose of establishing identity and previous criminal record, if any, of the applicant.
(f)Should a licensee lose a license or should a license in some manner be destroyed, such licensee may apply for a duplicate license by filing an affidavit on a form supplied by the commission and the payment of a fee of $5.
(g)Each applicant for an occupational license shall pay an annual license fee at the time of the filing of the application. In addition to the statutory license fees for owners, trainers, assistant trainers, drivers, farriers and stable employees set forth in Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Breeding Law section 309(1), license fees to be paid shall be as follows:
(1)veterinarian, track management—$20;
(2)cleaning and food service workers—$5; and
(3)all others—$10.
Such fees shall be multiplied by two for two-year terms and by three for three-year terms.
(h)The commission may suspend, revoke, exclude, or refuse to license any participant whose spouse would fail to qualify should such spouse apply for a license. In this regard the commission may require a participant to produce any evidence and information it deems necessary.
(i)It shall be the responsibility of the trainer to determine that every person employed by such trainer at a licensed track and every assistant trainer, groom clerk, assistant or other person working regularly in such trainer’s stable at a licensed track is licensed by the commission. It shall be the responsibility of the trainer to refuse to represent any participant at a licensed track under circumstances in which the trainer, by the exercise of reasonable discretion, has reason to believe that said participant has not been licensed by the commission and to report said circumstances to the track steward.
(j)No unlicensed person shall enter or be present in the stable area, paddock, racing strip, infield, or mutuel area of a track without permission from the commission and each track shall use all practicable measures to enforce the above restrictions.
(k)Upon the commission's request an applicant for an occupational license or a licensee holding such license shall furnish the commission records or information pertaining to such applicant’s service in the Armed Forces, to treatment for any physical or mental condition including confinement in any institution, to such applicant’s past or present financial condition, to such applicant’s past or present employment or any other information or records that may be deemed necessary by the commission. Failure to furnish such records and information if available, and if not available to cooperate with and assist the commission in obtaining such records and information, shall be grounds for denial, suspension, or revocation or fine by the commission.
(l)Before the commission issues or reinstates an occupational license it may require as a condition for issuing or reinstating such license that the person involved produce proof:
(1)that if he or she is to be employed, that his or her proposed employer intends to so employ him or her upon issuance or reinstatement of the license; or
(2)that if he or she is to otherwise engage in harness racing that he or she is able, financially or otherwise, to so participate upon licensing.