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Current as of January 01, 2026 | Updated by Findlaw Staff
A person is guilty of tampering with a sports contest in the first degree when, with intent to influence the outcome of a pari-mutuel horse race:
1. He affects any equine animal involved in the conduct or operation of a pari-mutuel horse race by administering to the animal in any manner whatsoever any controlled substance listed in section thirty-three hundred six of the public health law; or
2. He knowingly enters or furnishes to another person for entry or brings into this state for entry into a pari-mutuel horse race, or rides or drives in any pari-mutuel horse race any running, trotting or pacing horse, mare, gelding, colt or filly under an assumed name, or deceptively out of its proper class, or that has been painted or disguised or represented to be any other or different horse, mare, gelding, colt or filly from that which it actually is; or
3. He knowingly and falsely registers with the jockey club, United States trotting association, American quarter horse association or national steeplechase and hunt association a horse, mare, gelding, colt or filly previously registered under a different name; or
4. He agrees with one or more persons to enter such misrepresented or drugged animal in a pari-mutuel horse race. A person shall not be convicted of a violation of this subdivision unless an overt act is alleged and proved to have been committed by one of said persons in furtherance of said agreement.
Tampering with a sports contest in the first degree is a class E felony.
Cite this article: FindLaw.com - New York Consolidated Laws, Penal Law - PEN § 180.51 Tampering with a sports contest in the first degree - last updated January 01, 2026 | https://codes.findlaw.com/ny/penal-law/pen-sect-180-51/
FindLaw Codes may not reflect the most recent version of the law in your jurisdiction. Please verify the status of the code you are researching with the state legislature before relying on it for your legal needs.
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