Florida's parimutuel wagering bill gets second House panel approval

A Florida standardbred horse racing bill, which seeks to give other tracks a chance to run standardbreds, has cleared a second House panel. The legislation, pushed by Democrat Rep. Dan Daley, is proposed in an effort to protect the state’s horse racing industry.

On Monday, the House State Administration and Technology Appropriations Subcommittee voted 14-1 in favor of the parimutuel wagering legislation, reports Florida Politics. House Bill 1269 would allow parimutuel permit holders at any kind of race track to host harness races, even if that’s not what the permit was for.

The bill has now headed to the Commerce Committee, and had previously also passed the Regulatory Reform Subcommittee. If approved, it would be effective from July 1, 2022. Last year, the proposal died from lack of support in the Senate.

The Gaming Compact signed between the state and the Seminole Tribe last year, which was eventually struck down in federal court, featured legislation allowing casinos operating at parimutuel tracks to operate without the tracks (“decoupling.”) In consequence, the lucrative casino business did no longer need racing to operate.

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“In doing so, what we also did — I think this was an unintended consequence — was foreclose on any opportunity for that industry, and we’re talking about the standardbred industry, to race at all,” Daley said, according to the cited source. “No new permits can be issued. No transfers can be conducted of existing permits.”

It is believed the racing industry in the Sunshine State supports more than 10,000 jobs, both direct and indirect. The lawmaker, whose family is in the standardbred business, believes the legislation could help save the fading market: the state’s last harness track, Isle Casino Pompano Park in Pompano Beach, is closing at the end of this season.

“This is a track that’s been around since, I think, the ’40s or ’50s. I grew up in part on that track,” Daley told Florida Politics last week. “I mentioned at the time that if we decoupled, it likely would lead to the end of harness racing in Florida and certainly to the closure of that track. And that’s exactly, candidly, what’s happened.”

While the Pompano Park track is set to make way for extended casino operations from Caesars Entertainment, which broke ground last week for what will be Harrah’s Pompano Beach, there are still some thoroughbred tracks operating in the state. Should the bill be approved, it would give existing permit holders the opportunity to also offer standardbred racings.