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The House Commerce Committee on Monday is scheduled to take up a bill aimed at eliminating a requirement that Florida’s two remaining thoroughbred horse tracks hold races to be able to offer other types of gambling.
The bill (HB 105), sponsored by Rep. Adam Anderson, R-Palm Harbor, would be positioned to go to the full House if it is approved by the committee.
It cleared the House Industries & Professional Activities Subcommittee last month, amid opposition from the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association and other critics who said it posed a threat to areas such as Marion County, which is a major player nationally in horse breeding.
In a concept known as “decoupling,” the bill would erase a requirement that Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs hold live races to be able to operate cardrooms and, in the case of Gulfstream, slot machines.
Anderson said during last month’s meeting his goal is to support the horse-racing industry. He argued decoupling would give the tracks “the tools that they need to make better business decisions to make their tracks more profitable.”
But opponents argued it would lead to an end of racing in the state. Sen. Danny Burgess, R-Zephyrhills, has filed a Senate version of the bill (SB 408), which has not been heard in committees.
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