Chester Bishop, vice president of the 5,000-member Florida Thoroughbred Horsemen, is a Thoroughbred owner and breeder, who lives in Palm Beach County, works in Broward County and boards his mares Marion County. He was among the 15 impassioned speakers who told the Florida House Commerce Committee how HB 105 (allowing Gulfstream Park to keep its gaming licenses without having live horse racing) would devastate the state’s Thoroughbred industry and more. “Over 30,000 lives are touched” by horse ownership in Florida, Bishop said. Decoupling “would severely cripple the industry. The horsemen put in millions of dollars to get the gaming license passed. So this was a partnership — not something Gulfstream just did on their own… Now they want to pull the rug from under us…. We’re willing to talk, but we need a partner to talk to. I don’t think that effort has been given its full consideration.” Thanks to TRI industry partners Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association (FTBOA) for video of the committee testimony and National HBPA for hosting on Youtube. These individual videos are available for any media use as part of the Thoroughbred Racing Initiative’s advocacy campaign promoting live horse racing, starting in South Florida.
Watch the complete video below.