Florida horsemen will discuss Gulfstream decoupling plan

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.