Florida legislature

After this past spring's failed attempt to get a controversial bill passed in the Florida legislature that would have stripped a 40-days-minimum live racing requirement from its casino licensure, the owners of Gulfstream Park have filed a lawsuit against the Florida Gaming Control Commission (FGCC), alleging that the 2021 statute that allowed all classes of pari-mutuel licensees except Thoroughbreds to "decouple" from live racing as a condition of operating slot machines is an "unconstitutional special law and violates the equal protection clause of the Florida Constitution." Daniel Wallach, a Florida-based...

With an economic impact of more than $3.2 billion to the state, the importance of the Thoroughbred industry in Marion County, and Florida as a whole, cannot be overstated. Any action that threatens the viability of our racing and breeding operations is deeply troubling and unacceptable. Ocala Breeders' Sales Company, Inc. (OBS) is proud to be the leading seller of two-year-olds in training in the world and while the sales attract a broad group of domestic and international buyers, it is critical that OBS along with the Florida horsemen and...

A Letter To The Industry from Damon Thayer The Florida State Legislature is facing a crossroads similar to what we in Kentucky's General Assembly faced in early 2021. At stake, as it was in Kentucky, is the future of the labor-intensive horseracing and breeding industry in that state. With strong support from horsemen whose livelihoods were at risk, Kentucky lawmakers passed legislation that allowed the racing industry to invest in itself by protecting tracks' ability to conduct and benefit from another parimutuel product known as historical horse racing (HHR). Today,...