§19-23-2. Permits required for horse and dog racetrack positions; residency requirements for employees of licensees.

(a) No person not required to be licensed under the provisions of section one of this article shall participate in or have anything to do with horse or dog racing for a purse or a horse or dog race meeting at any licensee's horse or dog racetrack, place or enclosure, where the pari-mutuel system of wagering upon the results of such horse or dog racing is permitted or conducted, as a horse owner, dog owner, jockey, apprentice jockey, exercise boy, kennel keeper, trainer, groom, plater, stable foreman, valet, veterinarian, agent, clerk of the scales, starter, assistant starter, timer, judge or pari-mutuel employee, or in any other capacity specified in reasonable rules and regulations of the Racing Commission unless such person possesses a permit therefor from the West Virginia Racing Commission and complies with the provisions of this article and all reasonable rules and regulations of such Racing Commission.

(b) At least eighty percent of the individuals employed by a licensee at any horse or dog race meeting must be citizens and residents of this state and must have been such citizens and residents for at least one year. For the purpose of this subsection, citizens and residents of this state shall be construed to mean individuals who maintain a permanent place of residence in this state, and have been bona fide residents and citizens of this state for a period of one year immediately prior to the filing of their applications for employment. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to individuals engaged in the construction of a horse or dog racetrack or in the equipping of same, nor to racing officials designated by the Racing Commission or racing officials designated by the executive officials of a licensee.