Rep. Adam Anderson has filed a bill (HB 105) that could quite literally save thoroughbred horse racing in Florida.

And it would provide fairness to the parimutuel industry by leveling the playing field among all players.

The measure would allow Gulfstream Park to operate live horse racing and a casino independently. Currently, thoroughbred horse racing is the only parimutuel activity still required to operate its primary activity — in this case horse racing — in order to also operate slot machines.

All other parimutuels — from jai alai to harness racing — were decoupled through legislation passed in 2021 that allowed facilities to operate parimutuel activity separately from slot machines or other allowable gaming.

Anderson’s bill would not only provide fairness to the thoroughbred horse racing permitholder by eliminating restrictions already removed from other parimutuel facilities, it would also allow one major thoroughbred horse racing facility, Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, to improve its facility and quite literally save horse racing in general.

Gulfstream Park has evolved as prime real estate in a densely populated urban area that is ever-evolving. The existing footprint fails to maximize the land’s most efficient and highest-use potential. To alleviate that, significant physical changes and expansion to non-racing activities must be undertaken, and Gulfstream Park’s owners are willing to invest significantly to make it happen.

But being left out of the 2021 decoupling legislation is creating a major barrier. That’s because by tying slot machine permits to horse racing activity, the slot machine activity, though economically fruitful, has zero value on paper.

Imagine being a banker and looking at a financial portfolio where certain revenue comes with major contingencies, ones that could halt a major revenue stream if not met. That’s what is happening by continuing to tie slot machine permits to horse racing activity at Gulfstream Park.

Horse racing is on the decline, but it is still a significant industry and one that Gulfstream Park is trying to preserve. By improving its facility and expanding its gaming outside of parimutuel activity, more attention may be drawn to the racing activities.

And it’s not just improvements to slot machine facilities at the park that are being eyed. Improvements would also include new restaurants, shops and the development of areas of the property, furthering the potential to bring more interest to a sport that needs it.

It is not just hyperbole to say this legislation is needed to preserve thoroughbred horse racing in Florida. The Florida Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association Board unanimously voted to endorse the bill. They understand that without passage, the opportunity for its nearly 6,000 members, which comprises horse owners and trainers, to continue to race at Gulfstream will be significantly reduced.

And while there are several thoroughbred horse racing facilities throughout the state, Gulfstream is the only one with both horse racing and slot machines. Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar is permitted as a card room, but does not have slots. That means Gulfstream, sitting on 245 acres of valuable land, is well positioned to revive interest in a sport that dates back to ancient times.

The Legislature did well to decouple other parimutuel facilities in 2021, and the time is now to expand that to thoroughbred horse racing. If lawmakers saw fit then to begin this effort, there should be no reason for them to see fit not to finish it.

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