CRANDALL, Texas — A public hearing is scheduled for tomorrow, September 22, 2017, to consider a mass gathering permit for a horse training event, according to the notice.
CRANDALL, Texas — A public hearing is scheduled for tomorrow, September 22, 2017, to consider a mass gathering permit for a horse training event, according to the notice.
Nearby citizens, however, are concerned the applicant intends to hold an unlicensed horse racing event and not horse training, as indicated on the application.
Kaufman County took measures earlier this year in response to a number of complaints from nearby residents of other horse race tracks dotted across the county — now requiring a permitting and public hearing process before authorizing mass gatherings as defined in the Texas Mass Gatherings Act.
The act of holding a horse race isn’t illegal, according to the Texas Racing Commission, but, placing wagers during such an event is illegal and requires a license through the commission as well as compliance with a number of other regulations.
Residents, however, are concerned the races will bring, among other things, unwanted crime, illegal betting, noise, litter, and public safety issues.
Since the changes in January, two permits have been reviewed through the public hearing process. One was approved and the other was denied because they process was not completed properly.
During the last horse race, law enforcement agencies converged on the event and issued approximately 30 citations and made several arrests.
Additionally, a law enforcement source says they have concerns about human trafficking and drug cartel activities.
In 2012, a horse racing track on County Road 118, off of State Highway 243 east of Kaufman, was raided by federal agents of the Internal Revenue Service, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office.
The petitioner, under the county’s mass gathering provisions, must comply with several regulations before the public hearing phase including on-site inspections by the Kaufman County Fire Marshal, Sheriff’s Office, and public health officials to confirm compliance with, among other things, health and safety code regulations such as traffic and crowd control measures, security, first aid, sanitation, emergency vehicle access, electrical and utility code standards, and fire code regulations.
All of these conditions will be under review by Kaufman County Judge Bruce Wood during the public hearing tomorrow morning, September 22, 2017, at 9 a.m. The meeting will be held in the 2nd Floor Meeting Room in the Kaufman County Courthouse Annex located at 100 North Washington Street in Kaufman.
The event for which the mass gathering permit is requested is planned for October 7, 2017, from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. at 5650 Stitzle Road in Crandall, Texas, according to the public hearing notice.
