Florida Subcommittee looks to ‘decouple’ thoroughbred horse tracks
The proposal was approved by the House Industries & Professional Activities Subcommittee and would eliminate the need for horse tracks to hold events so other forms of gambling can be offered.
Key Points
- Both Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs are currently required to hold live races if it desires to operate cardrooms, in the case of Tampa Bay Downs, and slot machines for Gulfstream
- Bill sponsor Adam Anderson stated that decoupling would help the tracks to make better business decisions and lead to more profit
The House Industries & Professional Activities Subcommittee in Florida has approved a bill that would lead to the “decoupling” of the state’s two remaining horse tracks, eliminating the requirement to hold live races so other forms of gambling can be offered.
Bill sponsor Adam Anderson stated that his goal is to “support” the horseracing industry and argued that decoupling would allow the tracks to make better business decisions and lead to more profit.
Both Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs would no longer need to hold events so that way Gulfstream can operate cardrooms and Tampa Bay Downs can offer slot machines. The proposal has reportedly drawn fierce criticism from opposition, who believe that decoupling would “devastate” Florida’s horse-breeding industry.
Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association CEO Lonny Powell stated that the bill would act as a threat to areas such as Marion County and lead to many people losing their jobs.
Good to know: The Florida Gaming Control Commission sent cease-and-desist letters to multiple overseas bookmakers and casinos on February 4 that have been found to offer illegal wagers to residents of the state
The bill was filed for a legislative session that will begin on March 4, which is four years after Florida lawmakers voted to approve such decoupling for harness-racing tracks.
Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs are reported to support the bill, and Gulfstream lobbyist Jeff Johnston stated that the race track has already submitted plans to hold 200 days of races throughout 2025, and an equivalent 200 days during 2026.
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