Janelle Irwin Taylor
The House on Friday cleared an omnibus gaming bill that would, among other provisions, decouple thoroughbred horse racing from other parimutuel activities, including card rooms and slot machines.
The House cleared the bill (HB 1467) on a 70-34 vote. The decoupling provision was moved into the broader gambling bill. A Senate version of the measure (SB 408) was temporarily postponed by the Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government earlier this month.
The measure now needs Senate action to stand a shot at earning Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature, and even then it faces a challenge. DeSantis had previously signaled his opposition to decoupling, which would allow tracks at Tampa Bay Downs and Gulfstream Park to continue operating slot machines and card rooms without live horse racing.
“I just look at it like, are you standing up for Floridians or not? Are you siding with folks that don’t even live here, or other interests? Or are you standing for the people?” he said at a visit to the Ocala Breeders’ auction grounds, referring to the Canada-based ownership team behind Gulfstream Park, which is pushing for the decoupling measure.
Supporters of the measure note that thoroughbred race tracks are the only parimutuel facilities in the state that still have not been decoupled, with others decoupled under a 2021 law.
But critics worry the move would spell the end for horse racing in Florida. According to the American Horse Council, the industry has a $3.24 billion economic impact and supports more than 33,000 jobs. The estimate doesn’t account for the tourism impact from horse racing.
Even still, supporters argue the industry is already on the decline and is being propped up through unsustainable state subsidies.
From 2022 to 2023, the share of the North American foal crop fell from 6.4% to 6%, and the number of Florida registered foals dropped by 7.3%. The number of Florida-bred stallions dropped from 72 in 2023 to just 60 in 2024, a nearly 17% reduction. That’s after the number of Florida-bred stallions dropped by a staggering 76% from 2004, when 259 were bred in the state.
Auction results for Florida-bred thoroughbreds are also in decline, with 434 weanlings sold in 2004, but just 10 in 2024. And the average price paid for the weanlings dropped nearly 24% over that period.
And the decline has resulted in subsidies. Last year, DeSantis signed legislation establishing permanent yearly distributions of $27.5 million “to promote breeding and racing horses.”
Both the stalled Senate bill and the House version wrapped into the larger gambling package to address concerns about horse racing, by providing a lengthy window for the industry to prepare. The House bill offers a five-year guarantee for horse racing by requiring a three-year notification to the industry of intent to end live racing and that notice couldn’t be given for at least two years. The window in the Senate version was even longer, at seven years.
