Pursuant to Senate Bill 1152, the Texas Racing Commission (TRC) is now included among the agencies that can accept license applications through the Texas Online portal. When fully implemented, this would mean that most owners or trainers will be able to apply for new licenses or request renewals via the Internet.

Currently, the TRC accepts license applications for owners and trainers by mail, but this new option will offer more convenience for some of these individuals. The commission issued over 4,000 owners’ licenses and over 1,400 licenses to trainers or assistant trainers in fiscal year 2003. However, only about 13% of the applications were received by mail, and the rest were received at a racetrack.

In accordance with state law, the Texas Department of Information Resources (TDIR), which oversees the Texas Online Division, must assess a charge for making this option available online. The fee can range from $2 to $5 dollars, depending on the actual expense to the state, and will be assessed to all licensees eligible to apply online, regardless of whether they choose to actually use the computer for the license application.

The Texas Horsemen's Partnership (THP) and the TRC have been working together to implement this change with the TDIR and keep the fees at a minimum. In early discussions with the TDIR, it appears that the fee will be $2 per application, and the service is expected to become available by mid-year 2004.

The THP and TRC have also been working to seek exemptions for the grooms and certain other types of licensees that would never be likely to use the online option. This will help these licensees avoid an unnecessary fee increase. TDIR is expected to determine which license types will be exempt from online licensing and the exact amount of the online fee by the end of December.

Once this service is available to horsemen, the THP will send out a notification to all our members advising them of how to take advantage of the new process.