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HB49 • 2026

Pari-mutuel wagering; historical horse racing, percentage retained for distribution.

<p class=ldtitle>A BILL to amend and reenact § 59.1-392 of the Code of Virginia, relating to pari-mutuel wagering; historical horse racing; percentage retained for distribution.</p>

Taxes
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Reid
Last action
2026-02-25
Official status
Continued
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on the use of funds beyond mentioning promotion, education, maintenance, and safety. The exact distribution methods are also unspecified.

Historical Horse Racing Percentage for Distribution

This bill changes the law to require horse racing licensees to distribute a small percentage of money from historical horse racing to two foundations in Shenandoah County.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the law about how money from historical horse racing is kept by race tracks and shared with others.
  • Requires that 0.0125 percent of the retained amount must go to the Shenandoah County Agricultural Foundation and the Great Meadow Foundation.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Horse racing licensees who run historical horse racing terminals.
  • The Shenandoah County Agricultural Foundation and the Great Meadow Foundation.

Terms To Know

Pari-mutuel wagering
A type of betting where all bets are pooled together, and payouts come from that pool after a percentage is taken out for taxes and other costs.
Historical horse racing terminals
Special machines or systems used to place bets on historical horse races.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how the money will be distributed beyond mentioning two foundations.
  • It is unclear what specific activities these foundations can use the funds for, other than promoting and maintaining horse racing safety.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HB49ASC1

2026-02-18 • Committee

General Laws and Technology Amendment

Plain English: The amendment changes the percentage retained for distribution in historical horse racing from what was previously stated to 0.5%

  • Changes the percentage retained for distribution in historical horse racing to 0.5%
  • The exact previous percentage or details of what is being changed are not provided, making it unclear how this change affects the overall distribution.
HB49AS1

2026-02-19 • Committee

General Laws and Technology Amendment

Plain English: The amendment changes the percentage retained for distribution in historical horse racing from what was previously stated to 0.5%

  • Changes the percentage retained for distribution in historical horse racing to 0.5%
  • The exact previous percentage or details of what is being changed are not provided, making it unclear how this change affects existing rules.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-25 Finance and Appropriations

    Continued to 2027 in Finance and Appropriations (13-Y 2-N)

  2. 2026-02-18 General Laws and Technology

    Reported from General Laws and Technology with amendment and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N)

  3. 2026-02-18 Senate

    Senate committee offered

  4. 2026-02-13 Senate

    Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)

  5. 2026-02-13 General Laws and Technology

    Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology

  6. 2026-02-12 House

    Moved from Uncontested Calendar to Regular Calendar

  7. 2026-02-12 House

    Read third time and passed House (95-Y 3-N 0-A)

  8. 2026-02-11 House

    Read second time

  9. 2026-02-11 House

    committee substitute agreed to

  10. 2026-02-11 House

    Engrossed by House - committee substitute

  11. 2026-02-10 House

    Read first time

  12. 2026-02-09 Appropriations

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB49)

  13. 2026-02-06 Appropriations

    Reported from Appropriations with substitute (22-Y 0-N)

  14. 2026-02-06 Appropriations

    Committee substitute printed 26106997D-H1

  15. 2026-02-04 Commerce Agriculture & Natural Resources

    Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (6-Y 0-N)

  16. 2026-02-04 Commerce Agriculture & Natural Resources

    Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (6-Y 0-N)

  17. 2026-02-04 Commerce Agriculture & Natural Resources

    House subcommittee offered

  18. 2026-01-26 House

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB49)

  19. 2026-01-26 House

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB49)

  20. 2026-01-23 Commerce Agriculture & Natural Resources

    Assigned HAPP sub: Commerce Agriculture & Natural Resources

  21. 2026-01-22 General Laws

    Reported from General Laws and referred to Appropriations (21-Y 0-N)

  22. 2026-01-20 ABC/Gaming

    Subcommittee recommends reporting and referring to Appropriations (9-Y 0-N)

  23. 2026-01-19 ABC/Gaming

    Assigned HGL sub: ABC/Gaming

  24. 2025-12-29 House

    Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26101947D

  25. 2025-12-29 General Laws

    Referred to Committee on General Laws

Official Summary Text

Pari-mutuel wagering; historical horse racing; percentage retained for distribution.
Provides that with respect to all authorized historical horse racing terminals, of the amount that a horse racing licensee retains from wagering on historical horse racing pools and in addition to the current distribution required under law, 0.0125 percent each shall be distributed to the Shenandoah County Agricultural Foundation and the Great Meadow Foundation to support the promotion, education, maintenance, and safety of horse racing at such facilities.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
(HB49)
AMENDMENT(S) PROPOSED BY THE SENATE
GENERAL LAWS AND TECHNOLOGY
1. Line 152, engrossed, after
37.2-314.2
,
strike
the remainder of line 152
insert
0.5