Now part of bigger bill, decoupling is advanced in Florida House

Photo: The Florida Channel

After a sudden detour out of the Florida Senate, the contentious decoupling proposal being pushed by The Stronach Group was turned into an amendment for a bigger gambling bill that was approved by a House panel Tuesday afternoon.

House bill 1467 won a 17-9 vote from the same commerce committee that voted 15-7 last month in favor of allowing Stronach to split Gulfstream Park’s racing and slot-machine licenses, a move widely seen in the Thoroughbred industry as a threat to racing in South Florida. The next step is the full membership of the House, which is racing to finish business in a 60-day legislative sprint that ends May 2.

As was the case through three previous hearings, most of the public speakers Tuesday had ties to the racing industry. While opponents dominated the podium, supporters were mostly quiet, likely sensing they again had the votes to win the day.

“There’s somewhere around $30 million annually that goes into the Thoroughbred industry, a combination of subsidies and revenue-sharing arrangements. That’s not changing,” said Tampa Bay Republican representative Adam Anderson, the sponsor of the original decoupling bill. “No one’s touching that. In fact, we’re making that process more efficient, and I would argue that would put more money in the hands of breeders and owners, the folks that are doing the work every day in this great industry.”

That argument has been criticized by opponents who believe the proposal still amounts to a time bomb that will spell the end of racing at Gulfstream Park.

With his original proposal becoming an amendment, Anderson became a co-sponsor of Palm Beach-area Republican John Snyder’s wider-reaching legislation that would tighten gambling regulations and define criminal violations while also allowing daily fantasy sports to be launched in Florida.

The 52 minutes of discussion about the bill came in the middle of a scheduled four-hour meeting. The speakers included 10 racing stakeholders such as 2023 Belmont Stakes-winning trainer Jena Antonucci, who made her fourth appearance in front of lawmakers.

“Why are we rushing a $3 billion industry through legislation?” Antonucci asked. “Let’s take time to get it strengthened for generations to come.”

Repeating an often-heard reference to Stronach Group chairperson Belinda Stronach’s family business, Whisper Hill Farm breeder Mandy Pope said, “The decoupling bill benefits a Canadian gaming conglomerate, not Florida families. It represents a betrayal of American principles and ‘America First,’ undermining our homegrown industries in favor of foreign corporate profit. That’s not right. It’s just not what we in Florida stand for.”

“Supporting decoupling is like tearing down the three-tier alcohol system,” said Nicole Pieratt, owner of Sallee Horse Vans. “Except in this case, the legislature is doing more to protect beer and liquor than they are to protect Florida families.”

One notable paragraph in the latest version of the proposal is that Gulfstream Park could not stop racing for at least six years.

“The bill requires Thoroughbred permitholders to give notice prior to ending live racing and to continue to offer a full schedule of live racing until the end of such notice period,” part of the new amendment said. “The notice cannot be made prior to July 1, 2027, and the term of the notice must ensure that live racing continues for at least three years after the date of the notice. Thus, the earliest date that a Thoroughbred permitholder may elect to end live racing is July 1, 2030.”

With decoupling being folded into the bigger gambling bill, racing suddenly had an unlikely group of allies speaking in opposition Tuesday. Military veterans said they feared vague language in the legislation could lead to its money-raising bingo games being shut down.

All 17 votes in favor of the bill came from Republicans, who hold a super majority in both chambers of the Florida legislature. Two other Republicans voted against as did all seven Democrats. The only votes that were different this time came from four members who had been absent last month.

The afternoon began Tuesday when the original Senate bill 408 with all its amendments was tabled by the appropriations committee on agriculture, environment and general government. Dozens of opponents who fear decoupling would end horse racing in South Florida suddenly had to move from one hearing room to another at the capitol complex in Tallahassee, Fla.

“We’re calling audibles,” said former Kentucky state senator Damon Thayer, a senior advisor to the Thoroughbred Racing Initiative, which has rallied opposition to the proposal.

Decoupling, which also would allow Tampa Bay Downs to split its racing and card-room licenses, has been pushed by The Stronach Group in hopes of increasing gaming revenue without being tied down by the requirement that it run at least 40 days of races per year.

Bill 1404, sponsored by Republican Corey Simon from Florida’s panhandle, is the companion gambling proposal in the Senate. It actually was approved 12-0 by the very appropriations committee that tabled decoupling Tuesday, but it did not include the amendment approved by the House commerce committee.

“The fight is not over,” Thayer said. “The Senate delaying the bill was a significant step in the right direction. However, the house attaching the bill to another piece of gaming legislation shows how desperate Gulfstream Park is to pass decoupling.”

The Florida legislative session runs through May 2. There are fast-tracking provisions that could accelerate the process in the session’s final weeks.