Is this legal?
by Trey Nosrac
“The moment you realize you’re bored with something you once loved is unsettling.”
Xavier and I go back to high school. I watched his mullet morph into a shaved head and long beard. We stay in touch. Like most guys, the depth of our conversations is directly related to the number of beers consumed. We moved from stiff into easy into giddy, and eventually, to serious.
We had just spent half an hour revisiting his marital escapades. I peeled the damp label off my fourth Miller Lite while he reflected on failed marriages and relationships that could have used a timeline and flow chart.
Then, still in a melancholy mood, he shifted gears to talk about his hobby.
“And, I’m just not into the hot rods anymore. Thirty years. Dozens of cars that I bought, sold, and restored. A lot of fun. Great memories. Then, somehow, it just ran out of gas. I never thought I’d bail; I thought I was a lifer. But I drifted away. It’s sort of sad.”
I nodded. “Same here with horses. This is probably my last year buying yearlings. I’m not sure why, but my juices just aren’t flowing. Waiting for the babies to train down this year feels like Groundhog Day.”
“Is that why you keep tossing out ideas about different ways to race horses?”
“Possibly.”
“You going to start another crazy business?”
“Nah. Three crazy startups in 30 years are enough. Besides, I can’t help thinking younger folks should hold the reins of any harness racing renovation.”
We sat in silence.
“I’m not even sure my ideas are legal.”
“Well, find out. Call a lawyer. Actually, save the time and expense. In a world going to hell, you can get free legal advice from Artificial Intelligence.”
I grabbed my phone and typed:
If someone sets up a new private business in South Carolina, they purchase rural property, and after securing permits, construct barns, corrals, a track, and related buildings. The business then purchases 125 horses and hosts a private auction for sportspeople interested in leasing those horses. The lease includes all expenses and care, and the horses remain on the property throughout the lease term.
As part of the business model, monetary rewards are paid to some horse lessees for appearance and performance. There is no gambling.
Is this legal?
Ten seconds later, I had an answer.
I read it aloud:
Yes, this structure is legal in South Carolina, provided it is a private, non-wagering enterprise, and complies with applicable state and local regulations. Owning land, constructing equine facilities with proper zoning and permits, buying horses, and leasing horses under contractual agreements are lawful commercial activities.
Rewarding lessees for performance or appearance in a fixed seasonal pool of rewards is permissible so long as payments are structured as promotional prizes, purses, or incentive awards, and are not tied to wagering. The critical distinction is that, in South Carolina, gambling is not authorized. Any scheme functioning as indirect betting could raise regulatory or criminal concerns.
Beyond gambling law, the business must comply with animal welfare statutes, licensing requirements, tax obligations, insurance standards, securities law (if lease interests resemble investment contracts), and local land-use regulations.
Absent wagering, however, a privately funded equine competition model rewarding performance through internal prize structures would fall within lawful private enterprise.
I closed my phone.
Xavier leaned back and said, “Well, there you go. Stay away from gambling, and the door is open. But the real question is, would you play without gambling?”
“Me? Absolutely. The thing is, not gambling doesn’t mean you can’t compete for money. Give me a target to race for in a new environment I trust, that pays something worthwhile back, even if it’s mostly my own money recycled, and I’m in.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know if anyone else would leap. Horse racing and gambling have always been joined at the hip.”
“Five or 10 years ago, I’d agree with you,” I said. “But the demographic trends and gambling numbers in horse racing are ugly. Competing for gambling revenue is not going to get easier. The fate of those who love this sport may come down to two choices: ride sadly and quietly into the setting sunset or try building something that survives in a world where pari-mutuel gambling is not the main revenue source.”
X signaled to the bartender for the tab and said, “If that is true, and it probably is, the question is whether anyone is brave enough to build around that truth.”
“Next week, I’m going to try to show how other sports that were on the brink of getting squeezed out attempted to reconfigure.”
He smiled and held up his bottle for a clink, and I clinked.
