Janelle Irwin Taylor
A bill aimed at saving thoroughbred horse racing in Florida and leveling the playing field for the parimutuel industry easily cleared its first committee Wednesday with a 12-4 vote.
Rep. Adam Anderson’s measure (HB 105) cleared the House Industries & Professional Activities Subcommittee easily, signaling that passage may ultimately be coming when Legislative Session begins next month.
The bill would allow Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach to continue operating its on-site casino without a contingency that it also operate horse racing. The measure is meant to align thoroughbred tracks with other parimutuel facilities that were decoupled from ancillary activities under a 2021 law (SB 2A).
Rep. Brad Yeager filed a strike-all amendment that would expand the legislation to cardroom license holders, a change that would affect Tampa Bay Downs. Currently, Gulfstream Park is one of two thoroughbred tracks in Florida, but the only with slots. Tampa Bay Downs has a card room, but no slots.
Supporters of the legislation say it is necessary to level the playing field for horse race tracks, by giving them the option to maintain certain gambling activities even without live horse races. It would make each activity independent.
But the measure is not without opposition. Critics include the Florida Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, the National Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, and the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association. They worry the measure would further degrade the horse-breeding industry and thoroughbred racing.
Horse racing is declining, but Gulfstream Park is still trying to preserve it as a significant industry. The park hopes to attract more attention to its racing activities by improving its facility and expanding its gaming beyond parimutuel, supporters argue. The decline is apparent through horse breeding statistics. In 2002, about 4,500 foals were bred. By last year, that number had dropped to just 1,000.
The breeding association collects a percentage of revenue from every race conducted at the parks, even if a Florida horse isn’t in the race.
Anderson’s legislation heads next to its second committee, the House Commerce Committee. The Senate companion (SB 408) by Republican Sen. Danny Burgess has not yet been assigned to committee.
