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SB159 • 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>

Enacted

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

Sponsor
Perry
Last action
2026-02-03
Official status
Continued
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not provide specific details on how the increased distribution will be used beyond supporting horse racing at facilities.

Historical Horse Racing; Distribution Percentage

This bill changes how money from historical horse racing is distributed to support horse racing and help people with gambling problems.

What This Bill Does

  • Increases the amount of money going to the Shenandoah County Agricultural Foundation and the Great Meadow Foundation from 0.025 percent to 2.5 percent.
  • Increases the amount of money going to the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund from 0.01 percent to 0.025 percent.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Horse racing licensees who run historical horse racing terminals
  • The Shenandoah County Agricultural Foundation and the Great Meadow Foundation
  • People with gambling problems who receive support from the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund

Terms To Know

Pari-mutuel wagering
A type of betting where all bets are pooled together, and payouts depend on how many people bet on each option.
Historical horse racing
A form of gambling that uses past horse race results to create simulated races for betting purposes.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify the exact new percentage for distribution to support horse racing promotion, education, maintenance, and safety beyond increasing it from 0.025 percent to 2.5 percent.

Amendments

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

SB159ASC1

2026-01-23

General Laws and Technology Amendment

Plain English: The amendment changes the percentage that is kept for distribution from 0.025 to 2.5 in Virginia's pari-mutuel wagering rules related to historical horse racing.

  • Changes the percentage retained for distribution from 0.025 to 2.5.
  • The exact impact and context of this change are not fully explained in the provided amendment text.
SB159ASC2

2026-01-23 • Committee

Gaming Subcommittee Amendment

Plain English: The amendment changes a specific percentage from 0.025 to 2.5 in Virginia's pari-mutuel wagering law related to historical horse racing.

  • Changes the percentage retained for distribution from 0.025 to 2.5.
  • The exact impact and context of this change are not fully explained in the provided amendment text, so more details about how this affects historical horse racing or pari-mutuel wagering operations are unknown.
SB159AS1

2026-01-29 • Committee

General Laws and Technology Amendment

Plain English: The amendment changes a specific percentage from 0.025 to 2.5 in Virginia's pari-mutuel wagering law related to historical horse racing.

  • Changes the percentage retained for distribution from 0.025 to 2.5.
  • The exact impact and context of this change are not fully explained in the provided amendment text, making it unclear how this affects overall distributions or operations.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-03 Finance and Appropriations

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

  2. 2026-01-28 General Laws and Technology

    Reported from General Laws and Technology with amendment and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N)

  3. 2026-01-26 Gaming

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB159)

  4. 2026-01-23 Gaming

    Senate subcommittee offered

  5. 2026-01-23 Gaming

    Assigned GL&T sub: Gaming

  6. 2026-01-07 Senate

    Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26101993D

  7. 2026-01-07 General Laws and Technology

    Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology

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, 0.025 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. The bill also increases the distribution percentage provided from the amount that a horse racing licensee retains from wagering on historical horse racing pools to the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund from 0.01 percent to 0.025 percent.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
(SB159)
AMENDMENT(S) PROPOSED BY THE SENATE
GENERAL LAWS AND TECHNOLOGY
1. At the beginning of line 155, introduced
strike
0.025
insert
2.5