Santa Anita Park sues California DOJ over seizure of betting machines

John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times on Jan 20, 2026

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LOS ANGELES — The fight over whether Santa Anita Park can legally have Racing on Demand machines at its facility moved to its next step on Monday when the track filed a writ of mandate seeking relief from the California Department of Justice.

The 52-page complaint, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, offered new details on the confiscation of 26 betting machines on Saturday. It also attempts to bring the California Horse Racing Board into the fray by detailing meetings that racing officials had with the regulatory agency.

A writ of mandate is a court order that attempts to correct alleged overreach or abuse of discretion by a government official or agency.

The petitioner, listed as the Los Angeles Turf Club, seeks that the 3X3 wager be deemed legal for concluded races as it is with live races. It also seeks the return of the machines and money that was in the machines. The state says it will destroy the machines in 30 days barring legal remedies to return them to the track.

A major point the track is trying to make is that the state and CHRB both had ample time to tell the track the machines were not legal, if that was their opinion. Both state agencies were provided a legal analysis earlier but did not offer any guidance.

"Neither the Attorney General's office, nor the CHRB, ever disputed [the track's] written legal analysis or stated that the [track] did not have the legal right to offer the 3X3 wager on concluded races," the suit said.

The track also said the confiscation was done without a warrant or warning. It said the state could have used other methods to warn the track of the alleged impropriety of the machines rather than sending 21 DOJ personnel, along with two uniformed officers from the Arcadia Police Department to the track with a U-Haul box truck.

The 3X3 wager consists of picked horses finishing first, second and third in three different races.