One Decoupling Bill Postponed in the Florida Senate, Another Born in the House

Legislative efforts in Florida to decouple the live racing requirement for Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs to operate their respective casino and card rooms-efforts that industry stakeholders largely see as a death knell to the future of horse racing in South Florida–took a few twists and turns in the state legislature Tuesday.

A standalone bill that had already passed out of one legislative committee was temporarily postponed in the state Senate. But similar language was inserted as an amendment into a separate and much larger gambling bill (HB 1467) heard that same afternoon during a House Commerce Committee hearing.

This large gambling bill was successfully voted out of that committee, 17 to 9.

As part of the bill's amendment pushing decoupling, Gulfstream Park–owned by The Stronach Group (TSG)–would be required to conduct live racing for a minimum of five years (or at least until July 1, 2030). This is a slightly shorter timeframe than the seven-year live racing requirement written into the bill temporarily shelved in the Senate.

What this means is that there are now two separate decoupling bills in the House now eligible to go to the chamber floor for a vote. The Senate's decoupling bill has only passed through one Senate committee so far. Typically, it would pass through at least two before going for a vote on that chamber's floor.

A bill can only be signed into law if both the House and Senate pass identically worded legislation.

In the debate portion of Tuesday's hearing, several committee members voiced serious concerns about the potential impacts from the decoupling portion of the bill.

Democrat Felicia Simone Robinson discussed how Gulfstream Park's casino license first came about through public approval, and that any step to reverse that decision should once again come about through public referendum.

“If this is to go any further with the decoupling, it needs to go back to the people,” said Robinson. “We should not be doing that here, because anything to do with what the people voted on is going against their vote.”

Republican David Smith said that, after the committee's initial hearing on the house's standalone decoupling bill, he visited Tampa Bay Downs to learn more.

“I spent a beautiful day at the races. The stands were full. I got to talk to a lot of people–folks that have boots on the ground perspective of Thoroughbred racing in Florida. Not a single person was for decoupling,” said Smith.

Republican Adam Anderson, from the Tampa Bay area, is a co-sponsor of the bigger bill with Republican John Snyder. Anderson also sponsored the original decoupling legislation in the house.

Anderson attempted to play down the impacts of the bill on the Florida Thoroughbred industry, arguing that the five-year minimum sunset clause for live racing comes with a requirement that a track provides a three-year notice of any intention to end live racing.

Another new provision added to the language of the bill, said Anderson, is that a license holder can transfer their license in a way that is not currently permissible.

“They can move their license to another facility. They can move their license to another individual. Under current law, if a track wanted to stop racing, it would not be able to do that, so racing would discontinue,” said Anderson. “If this bill passes, there's an opportunity for someone else to pick up that license, or an opportunity for that permit holder to move it to another location.”

Damon Thayer, senior advisor to the Thoroughbred Racing Initiative (TRI), an industry collaboration created to fight for live horse racing in Florida and elsewhere in the U.S., took the Senate stalling its version of the decoupling legislation as a positive.

“It was a very good day for us. The fight is not over. The Senate delaying the bill was a significant step in the right direction. However, the House attaching the bill to another piece of gaming legislation shows how desperate Gulfstream Park is to pass decoupling. We will continue to be wary during the waning weeks of the session,” wrote Thayer, in a statement.

Of the two chambers, the Senate is more favorable to the industry's arguments than the House, said Thayer.

Despite the decoupling legislation's “skids” being “greased in the House,” wrote Thayer, he and other industry representatives decided to testify before the commerce committee in order to demonstrate their opposition.

“We decided to call an audible,” Thayer added. “A good quarterback knows when to make in-game changes, and that's what we decided to do. We decided to go with a smaller lineup and hit some different points to make but not have the full array of speakers. We'll keep our powder dry just in case this bill gets heard in a Senate committee next week.”

Lonny Powell, CEO of the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association, wrote in a statement that the Senate's postponement of SB 408 indicates a commitment to “thoughtful consideration of how decoupling would impact” the state's Thoroughbred industry.

“In contrast, the House Commerce Committee's approval of HB 1467 is nothing short of an assault on our industry, driven by foreign interests. The eleventh-hour amendment that sustains toxic decoupling language attempts to circumvent the potential absence of a Senate companion bill,” wrote Powell.

“We urge lawmakers to stand with Florida families. Reject decoupling. Reject the unraveling of rural investment and agricultural growth,” he added.

As with recent prior committee hearings on decoupling legislation, industry stakeholders showed up in person to voice their opposition to efforts that are being spearheaded by TSG.

The owners of Gulfstream Park say that decoupling is needed to attract redevelopment investors to the vast property. However, TSG advisor Keith Brackpool also warned industry stakeholders earlier this year that even if the legislation passed, he could only guarantee the track would remain open for racing until 2028.

Longtime breeder Mandy Pope urged the committee to defeat the bill, or to table it until a later date to give the state's Thoroughbred industry time to figure out another way forward.

“We are now pursuing America first. That's what our country is about. In Florida, we have elected officers or committee members to put the Floridians first. And that's what we believe in. Decoupling we believe does the exact opposite. It puts Floridians last,” said Pope.

Chester Bishop, vice president of the state's chapter of the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, discussed how pivotal Florida was to the country's broader Thoroughbred industry.

“The Kentucky Derby is just around the corner. The favorite for the Kentucky Derby, Journalism, got his early start here in Ocala,” said Bishop. “That puts us on the world stage. Don't take that away from us.”

Bishop also discussed the particulars of the original public vote to give Gulfstream Park a casino license. He quoted certain provisions of the law requiring parties to “work cooperatively” to ensure both successful slot machine operations and live Thoroughbred racing.

“This decoupling will cripple us,” Bishop said. “We ask that you vote no.”