In the back of the Office of the Racing Secretary is a group of three men or women, of varied dispositions and backgrounds, charged by the State with the supervision "in every particular" of the conduct of the race meeting - its attendants and management, its enclosures, the races themselves, and the behavior of every one of its licensees (owners, trainers, veterinarians, jockeys and grooms). The actions they take to police racing become public knowledge, yet they remain isolated in aeries above the track, or in obscure offices "somewhere." Most fans think of Stewards only as invisible ogres who have often wrecked a good pari-mutuel ticket by setting down or disqualifying a winning horse for some "infraction." Owners, however, must regard them for what they are: Stewards have - and use - the authority to levy fines, issue penalties, suspend licenses, bar individuals from the track, and temporarily remove horses from racing.

Stewards might also be looked upon as the Circuit Court of the racetrack. Everyone, from grooms to competing stables to warring owner-partners, comes to them for the settlement of grievances, objections and financial complaints against one another. They are not the "final" court, however: any involved party wanting to appeal a matter decided by the Stewards can take its lawyers and go to the California Horse Racing Board for ultimate determination. As one veteran Steward put it, "It has been said that old-time licensees never dared ask for justice. Only mercy. Today, they not only deserve due process, they damn well better get it."

The Stewards´ responsibilities, all of which involve ensuring the "absolute integrity" of the sport, settle out into fairly predictable (often prescribed) categories. Following is a list of those categories: