Photo:

Gulfstream Park – edited composite

Horsemen are expected to ask pointed questions and air
strong opinions Wednesday morning at a meeting to discuss a controversial proposal
that would allow Gulfstream Park to separate its racing and casino businesses.

It will be the first of this week’s two meetings called by
the Florida Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association since the Stronach Group said
it wants the state legislature to decouple its Thoroughbred and slot-machine
licenses. A second meeting is scheduled for Thursday morning at Palm Meadows
Training Center.

Flashback: 1/ST want to decouple racing, slots.

Stronach executive Stephen Screnci and former California
Horse Racing Board chairperson Keith Brackpool will be there Wednesday. Screnci has
spearheaded this effort in his role as president of racing and business development
for 1/ST, the Stronach business name. Brackpool, who has had a mercurial working
relationship with Stronach dating to 2013, has represented the company on
this project since last summer.

“Yes, Screnci and myself will be there and pleased to answer any questions they have,” Brackpool said in a Wednesday morning text message.

Herb Oster, the executive director of the FTHA, had not
returned calls or text messages asking for further details of the meetings. A spokesperson for Gulfstream Park said he did not know specifics about Wednesday’s meeting, saying it was in the hands of the horsemen.

“This is a meeting that the horsemen arranged,” Screnci said in a text confirming his attendance. 

In a news release sent last week under its business name 1/ST,
Stronach said it “reached an agreement” with the FTHA, which it called the
Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, “to support changes
to chapter 550 of the existing state legislation that will enable Gulfstream
Park’s live racing schedule to become independent of the venue’s pari-mutuel
license.”

That statement was met with criticism from owners and
trainers who said the FTHA did not represent their position. They fear this could
be a significant step toward the sale and closure of Gulfstream Park.

One trainer speaking on background told Horse Racing Nation, “This is
not like everything in life or politics where it’s 60-40 one way or 40-60 the
other. We are 100% against this.”

Stronach made the case that unrestricted development of the
casino and a proposed hotel on the Gulfstream property would bring in more
revenue that would be shared with racing. Horsemen who spoke to HRN begged
to differ.

“It would be just like every other track that has been
decoupled,” one trainer said. “Look at what happened at Calder.”

That was a reference to Churchill Downs Inc. using less expensive
jai-alai to replace racing. That allowed CDI to meet its pari-mutuel obligation
and keep Calder Casino in business. The track, which was leased to Stronach, hosted
its final races four years ago under the name Gulfstream Park West.

Oster told HRN last week that the FTHA faced a dilemma
when it was asked by Stronach to support decoupling.

“We either could have blocked it or blessed it, and we
decided to bless it, because in that case, if they do decouple, we have a deal
with them to increase our purses, increase the money we spend on aftercare and
increase our workers-compensation program, the premium for our workers-compensation
program,” Oster said. “So if they went ahead and decoupled and we weren’t with
them, we would have lost that.”

Florida house bill 105, which was filed Jan. 6 by first-term
Republican representative Adam Anderson of Palm Harbor, would remove the
requirement that a Thoroughbred permit holder must conduct live racing in order
to maintain a slot-machine license. It has not been assigned yet to a committee.

The very name of the FTHA, of which Screnci used to be president, has come into dispute since the
National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association stopped recognizing
it.

“The Gulfstream horsemen’s association is not a National
HBPA affiliate,” NHBPA CEO Eric Hamelback said last Tuesday. “While this
association had previously been an affiliate, it agreed to discontinue the use
of the name Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association.”

The FHBPA name actually is part of the language that would
be stricken from the law if the change were to be approved by the Florida
legislature.

Since this could have an impact beyond South Florida, Hamelback
said this week he has asked Tampa Bay HBPA president Mike Dini and vice president
Jan Meehan to go to Wednesday’s meeting.

“The NHBPA along with its affiliates, including the Tampa
Bay HBPA, and many other horsemen across Florida cannot currently support the
proposed changes to chapter 550,” Hamelback said last week. “At this time these
changes do not appear to offer any favorable provisions for horsemen. For years
the NHBPA has consistently opposed decoupling from live racing as it is
detrimental to the health and welfare of the horse-racing industry.”

According to the trainers who spoke to HRN, the FTHA
meetings this week are not expected to be open to the public.