Santa Anita filed a petition for a writ of mandate against California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the state Department of Justice in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, seeking a return of 26 slot-styled parimutuel gaming machines seized by law enforcement officials at the track late Saturday afternoon.
The machines, known as Racing on Demand, were installed Jan. 15 and were in operation for three days in a first-floor pavilion before they were confiscated.
The writ of mandate alleges that the government’s seizure of the machines was “arbitrary” and done without probable cause; that the machines are based on a legal existing 3x3 parimutuel wager; that Santa Anita officials had been in contact with the California Department of Justice and California Horse Racing Board about the legalities of the machines; and that the track’s Fourth Amendment rights were violated by an “unreasonable intrusion by the government.”
A writ of mandate is an order from a court “to a lower court or government official to orderly perform a duty or correct an abuse of discretion,” according to legal websites.
In Tuesday’s court filing, Santa Anita states that the request for a writ of mandate was necessary because of the government’s “refusal, both before the raid and in the days since, to provide any legal basis or explanation for their warrantless seizure of” the Racing on Demand machines.
“Because DOJ failed to provide any specifics about the rationale for its actions, it is unclear if the more than 2,000 self-service tote terminals in the State of California capable of offering a 3x3 wager, including Petitioner’s own terminals at Santa Anita Park, are in risk of imminent seizure,” the suit read.
A portion of the 52-page document filed Tuesday describes the terms of the 3x3 wager and describes how the Racing on Demand machines work.
The document details meetings between track officials and members of the attorney general’s office since the beginning of 2025 and with racing board officials in recent months to discuss the legalities of implementing the Racing on Demand machines.
In documents filed Tuesday, Santa Anita stated that neither the Department of Justice nor racing board “objected” or “disagreed” with the track’s legal interpretations.
“For nearly a year, DOJ could not be bothered to reply to [Santa Anita’s] very detailed legal analysis regarding the operation of Racing on Demand tote terminals, and when asked for clarification during the warrantless raid, DOJ could not provide a direct statutory provision that it claims was violated,” according to the court filing.
Track officials informed the racing board of its intent to install the machines on Jan. 15, according to Tuesday’s document.
After the machines were confiscated Saturday, notices from the California Department of Justice were posted on four pillars surrounding the pavilion, citing a California penal code allowing the machines to be seized and destroyed if in violation of laws, pending a court decision.
The government’s action disrupts Santa Anita’s plan to develop a secondary source of income to aid purses at a time when tracks in other states are thriving because of revenue from slot machines or casinos.
The Racing on Demand machines offered $1 bets only and required bettors to select the first three finishers of three random six-horse races.
Bettors received payoffs for correctly naming a minimum of three of the nine finishing positions. Payoffs ranged from $2.98 for naming three or four of the finishing positions to approximately $10,000 for naming all nine.
The games were based on past races at several tracks outside of California.
The machines are a variation of the historical horse racing machines that have been wildly successful at tracks outside of California.
The format of Racing on Demand is based on a $1 3x3 wager introduced at Del Mar in August 2024 and approved by the California Horse Racing Board earlier that year.
The bet, conducted on the final three races each day, requires bettors to name the first three finishers before the start of the third-to-last race.
The 3x3 bet, which has a carryover if there are no tickets that sweep all three trifectas, has not been successful. On Monday, the most recent day of racing, the pool was $106. A ticket with six named horses paid $65.40. Tickets with three, four, or five named horses paid $1.05. The bet has a carryover of $897 for the upcoming Friday program.
Santa Anita did not extensively promote the launch of the Racing on Demand machines, sending out rudimentary information to the press only in the hour before the games were introduced.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.