Lonny Remarks.qxp_Layout 1 11/23/21 5:04 PM Page 30
CEO’s Corner I’d like to take time to have a brief and pretty candid conversation with you about just a few of the notable opportunities and challenges facing our Florida thoroughbred breeding and racing industry so far in 2021 and what we anticipate for 2022. This past summer we were thrilled (as I’m sure you were too if you are a breeder) to increase breeder awards and stallion awards for the entire 2021 calendar year—which has not been a common trend around the country. Just as important, we will continue those same percentages into 2022 which is critical for industry stability going forward. And let’s not forget we did this without the important and long traditional contributions from slots at Churchill’s now decoupled Florida casino, formerly known as Calder Race Course. This year, we also faced a historically high stakes, often contentious and very intense regular legislative session which prominently featured multiple initiatives to reshape the state’s gaming/pari-mutuel landscape including decoupling all pari-mutuels and breeds. Plus, the surprise, show-stealing development late in the session of a far-reaching new tribal gaming compact signed by the Seminole Tribe and Gov. Ron DeSantis. The convergence of all these gaming tidal waves then brought about a previously unplanned and almost immediate special legislative session just on gaming. Though there were a host of issues of concern for our Florida thoroughbred industry, the FTBOA approached three particular challenges. First, we wanted to keep thoroughbreds coupled even though all the other racing breeds and jai alai were on the decoupling chopping block. We, the thoroughbreds, were included for probable extinction in the original draft language before the FTBOA went hard at this issue. A simple way to understand this issue is to note that decoupled tracks are not required to race live. However, they are allowed to retain all current and future gaming products and revenues from those products and stop contributing to purses and breeder awards. For thoroughbred people, there is simply no “upside” to decoupling. Second, we wanted to retain the non-profit racing permit held by the FTBOA and keep it from being forever eliminated. And third, we wanted to create a Florida purse and awards pool with new purse revenue to be allocated to both Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs. This would keep purses competitive and continue with upward growth potential in Florida’s expanded and hypercompetitive gaming environment. Through much hard work by the FTBOA lobbyist Matt Bryan and general counsel Warren Husband and most of the time finding ourselves going it alone, we were able to build solid legislative support from Senate president Wilton Simpson. With great assistance 30
THE FLORIDA HORSE • DECEMBER 2021
from president pro-tem Kathleen Passidomo and our entire Marion County delegation and others too many to mention, the thoroughbred tracks were the only parimutuel facilities that remain coupled. In my 10 years with FTBOA, we have consistently opposed decoupling and any material reduction in Florida’s vital and successful year-round racing circuit, often with little to no help from our industry partners. Our legislative education and outreach and the sheer scope of the economics and jobs associated with the Florida thoroughbred industry really have made a difference from Tallahassee to Miami. While the new law requires the revocation of dormant parimutuel permits where racing or jai alai has not recently been conducted, it preserves the non-profit thoroughbred permits including the permit held here in Ocala. We, the thoroughbred tracks and horsemen, were very disappointed that we were unable to pass legislation to create a new Florida purse and awards pool during the recent special session. I anticipate this will be a focused and united priority and message for the Florida thoroughbred industry in future legislative sessions. The thoroughbred tracks were particularly unhappy and frustrated with the terms of the new Seminole Gaming Compact. We and the horsemen understand that there are a number of unintended consequences that radiate from this incredibly large and complicated 30-year agreement that may create additional competitive burdens and makes it more challenging for the tracks’ popular racing programs to grow at the pace we all would like to see. We are working with our horsemen partners and the tracks and facilitating and coordinating where and when we can as the next session nears—particularly on the purse and awards pool and/or other revenue enhancing initiatives and presenting a united thoroughbred industry front. Looking ahead—and please don’t think I’m crazy—I have reason to believe that in the next several years, our Florida thoroughbred industry stakeholders and their leadership will make a herculean effort to work together for the common good of our industry. In the last few months, we have been in meetings with horsemen and track leadership that we requested with the motivation being to do our part in making a viable future for the Florida thoroughbred breeding and racing industry. I believe we are currently in or near a unique industry cooperation zone.
