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, Kentucky has the strongest racing circuit in America, with tracks creating hundreds of new jobs and billions of dollars in economic investment.

By contrast, passage of Florida’s HB 105 would permit Gulfstream Park to sever the legislatively mandated connection between its gaming license and conducting live horse racing.

Gulfstream’s ownership, which wants to build a casino and hotel on the property, says that’s the only way the historic track will survive for three more years, but unlikely beyond that. But past performances tell another story: it would end horse racing in south Florida and cripple the state’s important Thoroughbred breeding industry.

When the Kentucky industry was threatened by a judicial action (a state Supreme Court deciding HHR was unconstitutional after 10 years of favorable legal opinions), it required a legislative remedy. Now racing in Florida is threatened by a desire to change a long-standing legislative remedy designed to help the horse industry to compete with the state’s full-blown casinos (currently standing at eight).

Racing is heavily regulated and continues to thrive in states where the industry has a strong relationship with the legislature, where the industry can tell its story and the legislature can make vital decisions about its future and health. Now is the time for everyone who cares about live horse racing and breeding in Florida–and that should include not just the Sunshine State but every other racing jurisdiction–to band together and tell Tallahassee the Florida Thoroughbred industry’s story.

According to the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association statistics, thoroughbreds alone account for:

• $3.24-billion annual economic impact
• 87,600 thoroughbreds in the state
• 33,500 jobs

While I’m proud of the strength of Kentucky racing and breeding, I also know that it’s important that the industry is strong in other states. It’s all part of the North American ecosystem. If the Florida legislature doesn’t care about that, lawmakers should care about protecting the tens of thousands of jobs and hundreds of thousands of acres of green space within its borders.

The Florida legislature can’t force Gulfstream Park to continue live horse racing. But lawmakers shouldn’t make it easy to abandon such a vital agri-business, job-creator and tourism attraction. It’s important to remember that Gulfstream Park would never have gotten its gaming license in the first place if not for conducting live horse racing.

Pompano Park is the cautionary tale for Florida lawmakers. Once the Standardbred industry’s premier winter track, Pompano closed three years ago, one year after decoupling legislation was passed for harness racing.

Breeding horses is a long-term investment. The foals of 2026 resulting from mares that will be bred starting this month won’t reach the racetrack until at least 2028, the last year for which Gulfstream Park says it will guarantee live racing if the decoupling legislation is approved. (And if not approved, Gulfstream Park’s consultant Keith Brackpool has said the track almost assuredly will close much sooner.)

Just the threat of Gulfstream Park closing in the next few years will take a toll. Uncertainty in the marketplace creates added risk and therefore less investment in any industry, especially those where the payoff is several years away.

Not to diminish the importance of Tampa Bay Downs–a true gem itself with its 4 1/2-month winter racing season and one of my favorite tracks–but there would now be far less incentive to have a mare foal in Florida. A year from now, how many of those mares will be shipped out to give birth in Kentucky, New York, Louisiana or Pennsylvania–pick a state–to take advantage of those states’ viable breeders incentives?

HB 105 would devastate Ocala. Marion County’s 75,000 horses account for the largest single-county equine population in the United States. Of those, 34,000 are Thoroughbreds. One in five of Marion County’s jobs–or 28,500 total employment–involve the horse industry, according to the FTBOA.

It’s not just Florida-bred horses and broodmares that are vital to the Florida industry’s health. Thousands of young horses are sent there from all over the country to get their earliest training on Florida farms and training centers. Horsemen from all over the East Coast and Midwest reside at least four months over the winter to train and race in Florida, spending millions of dollars in lodging, food, sales tax and horse feed, bedding and supplies.

Just like Kentucky, Florida is an exporter of Thoroughbreds. One example: the Ocala Breeders Sales, among the pre-eminent sellers of 2-year-olds in the world, sold a total 4,147 horses (all ages), fetching a total of $180 million in 2024.

It’s the job of government to create an environment where industries can thrive. HB 105 would do just the opposite. There’s a way for world-class horse racing to co-exist with a large casino and hotel without sacrificing tens of thousands of jobs, hundreds of thousands of acres of green space and an important tourism magnet.

Florida’s legislature should vote for its horse-racing industry by not passing HB 105.

Damon Thayer recently stepped down after 22 years in the Kentucky General Assembly, the last 12 as Senate Majority Floor Leader. He has served in numerous capacities in track management, marketing and publicity, work that continues with his Thayer Communications and Consulting marketing company. Thayer is a partner in racehorses through C.J. Thoroughbreds, including horses racing at Gulfstream Park.