TRI

The Tampa Bay Downs Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association (Tampa Bay Downs HBPA) has intensified its opposition to Florida’s proposed decoupling legislation, specifically House Bill 105 and Senate Bill 408.

Dual Hall of Famer Mark Casse, who operates one of the largest thoroughbred training centers in the world in Ocala, told a ‪@FloridaHouseofRepresentatives‬ committee that Casse Racing spends $600,000 a month on training operation expenses and another $225,000 in feed, hay, shavings and waste removal “all paid to local vendors

This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca and Jon Green are back from Ocala, and dive into the statistics from HISA’s 2024 metrics report. Racing fatalities at HISA-run tracks were nearly half of those at the non-HISA tracks, proving that the system is working in keeping horses safer, and for the first time, we have data on training-related fatalities.

The Florida House of Representatives’ Commerce Committee recently approved House Bill 105 with a 13-7 vote, moving it to the House floor for further consideration. This bill proposes to “decouple” live horse racing from casino operations, allowing venues like Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs to maintain gaming licenses without hosting live races.

The Florida House of Representatives’ Commerce Committee recently approved House Bill 105 with a 13-7 vote, moving it to the House floor for further consideration. This bill proposes to “decouple” live horse racing from casino operations, allowing venues like Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs to maintain gaming licenses without hosting live races.

On March 17, 2025, the Florida House Commerce Committee approved House Bill 105 with a 13-8 vote, moving it to the House floor for further consideration. This legislation proposes allowing thoroughbred racetracks, such as Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs, to operate casino gaming without the obligation to conduct live horse racing—a process known as “decoupling.”

The Florida horse racing community is grappling with a legislative proposal that threatens the future of live racing at Gulfstream Park. House Bill 105 and Senate Bill 408 aim to “decouple” live racing requirements from casino operations, allowing Gulfstream Park’s parent company, 1/ST Racing and Gaming, to operate its casino without conducting live horse races. This move has raised alarms among industry stakeholders who fear significant economic and cultural repercussions.

David O’Farrell, a third-generation Florida horseman and general manager of Ocala Stud, warns that House Bill 105 and Senate Bill 408 threaten Florida’s thoroughbred racing industry by allowing Gulfstream Park’s parent company to operate a casino without live racing.

Prominent 2-year-old trainer and consignor Randy Hartley of Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds shares just how labor intensive the industry is and that decoupling legislation (HB 105/SB 408) threatens this major Florida industry.

Powerful testimony from veterinarian Bill Russell, a partner in Ocala’s Peterson Smith Equine Hospital, at the March 17 Florida House Commerce Committee hearing on HB 105. The decoupling bill would allow Gulfstream Park to retain its gaming licenses without having live horse racing.