By T. D. Thornton
The Florida House of Representatives on Friday passed controversial Thoroughbred decoupling legislation by a 70-34 vote at 6:10 p.m.
HB 167 is a wide-ranging gaming bill, but the only section of it that came up for debate during the Apr. 25 legislative session was the decoupling aspect.
As passed by the House, the bill would remove a statutory requirement that Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs run a minimum number of live Thoroughbred races in order to operate the respective casino and card room at each venue.
The language of the bill would establish a five-year time frame before decoupling could go fully into effect in 2030.
The Senate has not yet voted on a version of the bill.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis indicated last week he is not in favor of decoupling legislation, but he stopped short of saying he would absolutely veto any bill that comes to his desk that would decouple casino gaming from live racing in Florida.
On Apr. 23, when the decoupling bill was first slated to be brought up during the House session, Lonny Powell, the chief executive officer of the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association (FTBOA), told TDN that even though this year's legislative fight is far from complete, his organization is already looking ahead to the next legislative calendar, when the issue might be debated anew with a focus on how the Thoroughbred industry might best transition to a new model if Gulfstream or Tampa were to opt for decoupling.
“We expect the House to pass decoupling,” Powell said on Wednesday, predicting the vote two days ahead of its passage. “Our big challenge is going forward after this session is to define the future of what Florida racing and breeding looks like so we can [move forward] and not be defending it all the time.”
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