While the State of Florida grapples with a $2 billion budget deficit, one of its top regulatory agencies is simultaneously expending untold taxpayer funds to escalate and exacerbate a costly legal battle to defend the expansion of gambling, to which Florida’s top-ranking state legislators have repeatedly voiced their increasing opposition during the past several weeks.
Just last week, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation released dozens of pages of publicly-funded litigation designed to defend the very situation that the Florida Legislature is now vigorously debating how to curtail.
With the Cabinet members now having publicly declared their opposition to the expansion of gambling through destination resorts, the State of Florida’s attitude toward the unfettered proliferation of gambling has been greatly clarified.
But, to the chagrin of its sponsors, the intent of the would-be destination resort legislation’s proposed gaming commission had already been unexpectedly usurped by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s (DPPR’s) highly questionable and unilateral award of a racing license to Gretna Racing LLC. As expected, the dubious license was ultimately used for purpose of introducing “pari-mutuel barrel racing.” Constituting a brand new gambling product, the license was awarded without enabling legislation, proper regulatory hearings or public input. As expected, Gretna Racing officials immediately used their new license to secure a slot machine referendum in Gadsden County—a loophole-laden legal maneuver that quickly brought copycat requests from other small pari-mutuel permitholders.
So outraged were top legislative leaders at Gretna Racing’s actions that, in a Senate Committee on Regulated Industries workshop last week, some called for the need to solve the Gretna Racing problem before taking up the destination resort bills.
“As the people’s regulator, it is unconscionable that the DBPR is using the public dime to finance protracted litigation to protect its unilateral expansion of gambling, when the Legislature is making it quite clear that this is not the direction it wants for the State of Florida,” remarked Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (FHBPA) Executive Director Kent Stirling.
“What amazes me is that the State of Florida is actually finance failure by strangling off what could be thousands of jobs and exponentially greater wagering if Gretna Racing were to simply have adhered to legitimate Quarter Horse racing,” added FHBPA President Phil Combest, who also noted the startling disparity in opening day handle between Gretna Racing ($2,581) and Gulfstream Park ($4,837,605—constitutes a 22% increase for Gulfstream over the comparable day last season). These numbers were generated literally within two days of one another. The comparison that the Gulfstream Park and Gretna Racing facilities were the same as one another was made on December 2 by former Gulfstream Park attorney-turned-Gretna Racing Developer David Romanik in an interview with internationally known horse racing writer Ray Paulick.
Combest reminded that Florida regulations stipulate that pari-mutuel permitholders must demonstrate that they can protect the flow of revenue to the State. “So we’re killing the revenue we could have had with legitimate racing, killing jobs in the horse racing industry, hammering the gravestones with taxpayer-funded litigation and paying Florida legislators to contemplate the whole thing,” he said. “To me, that’s the real government waste.”
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National Barrel Horse Association’s Florida Chapter Supports Nearly 40,000 Horsemen In Opposition to Gretna Pari-Mutuel Barrel Racing Scheme
Florida NBHA State Director Linda Jones: “Florida NHBA does not and will not endorse this endeavor.”
Immediately following the October 12, 2011 announcement of opposition by the National Barrel Horse Association (NBHA) to the “Gretna North Florida Horsemen’s Association” request for State of Florida approval to substitute barrel racing for Quarter Horse racing, Florida NBHA State Director Linda Jones explicitly registered her organization’s denouncement of the scheme in a letter to Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) Secretary Ken Lawson.
Although the Gretna application was returned to its source multiple times as “incomplete,” it is presently under review by the DBPR, which will decide whether to approve the pari-mutuel barrel racing scheme. As if already presuming authorization will be given, Gretna has indicated it will open for business on December 1.
“Florida NHBA does not and will not endorse this endeavor.” Jones wrote in her letter to Secretary Lawson.
With over 1,400 statewide members, the NBHA’s Florida Division is the largest in the international organization, which has 24,000 members and affiliates in 12 different countries.
Jones further added, “We wholeheartedly lend our support to the Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association and the United Horsemen of Florida and seek denial in allowing pari-mutuel wagering on barrel racing in the state of Florida,”
The United Florida Horsemen include the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (5,000 Florida members); the American Quarter Horse Association (7,163 Florida members); the Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association (439 Florida members); the Florida Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association (630 members); and the U.S. Trotting Association (25,000 members).
The “Gretna North Florida Horsemen’s Association” scheme exploits a loophole in Florida law and is rigged with lawsuits designed to usurp statutory Florida horsemen’s performance incentives, as well as challenge a federal statute that protects the horse community with legal rights in issues such as negotiating with track owners on prize (“purse”) money.
“We have provided the people of Florida a place to compete and win money and prizes for years without the benefit of betting,” NBHA Southeastern Director Paul Stanley wrote in his October 12 letter to Secretary Lawson. “The NBHA promotes a family atmosphere at these events and feels there is no place for betting where there are children competing.”
The NBHA estimates that a majority of its competing members are under 18.
Headquartered in Augusta, Georgia since 1992, the NBHA revolutionized the barrel racing industry by pioneering the divisional format, which allows riders of all skill levels a chance to win money and prizes in barrel racing competition.
To date, its official events have paid out $12,157,330 in prize money to competitors, with over $2.5 million in added money. In contrast, prize money offered at Gretna, which is neither compliant with State of Florida pari-mutuel regulations, nor sanctioned by the NBHA, is an aggregate $38,000, all of which is underwritten by out-of-state Indian gambling interests.
Florida Horsemen 