{"id":49033,"date":"2025-08-06T23:29:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T23:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/49033\/"},"modified":"2025-08-06T23:29:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T23:29:10","slug":"thoroughbred-industry-pushes-back-on-gulfstream-parks-legal-challenge-to-decoupling-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/49033\/","title":{"rendered":"Thoroughbred industry pushes back on Gulfstream Park\u2019s legal challenge to decoupling law"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"text | article-text\">OCALA, Fla. (WCJB) &#8211; Florida\u2019s leading Thoroughbred organization is calling Gulfstream Park\u2019s legal challenge to the state\u2019s 2021 decoupling law a \u201cdirect threat\u201d to the future of horse racing and agriculture in the state.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">In a statement released Wednesday, Lonny Powell, CEO of the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders\u2019 and Owners\u2019 Association (FTBOA), criticized Gulfstream Park for reportedly asking the courts to release the racetrack from its obligation to host live Thoroughbred races while continuing to operate slot machines.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">FTBOA officials say Gulfstream\u2019s slot machine license was granted specifically because of its involvement in Thoroughbred racing\u2014one of Florida\u2019s oldest and most economically significant agricultural industries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">\u201cToday\u2019s news of Gulfstream Park\u2019s court filing is deeply troubling,\u201d Powell said. \u201cAfter benefiting for decades from the prestige and profits of Florida\u2019s Thoroughbred industry, they\u2019re now asking the courts to let them abandon it entirely.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Powell described the move as a \u201ccasino-first\u201d attempt to bypass obligations that have helped shape Florida into a national leader in horse racing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">RELATED: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wcjb.com\/2025\/02\/12\/decoupling-bill-affecting-thoroughbred-horse-industry-worries-residents-marion-county\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.wcjb.com\/2025\/02\/12\/decoupling-bill-affecting-thoroughbred-horse-industry-worries-residents-marion-county\/\">Decoupling bill affecting thoroughbred horse industry worries residents in Marion County<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">\u201cThis lawsuit isn\u2019t about fairness; it\u2019s about Gulfstream Park wanting to operate a casino without fulfilling their racing responsibilities,\u201d he continued. \u201cThey\u2019re turning their back on the very industry that built their brand and bottom line.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">The FTBOA emphasized that the 2021 decoupling law was designed to preserve the core structure of Florida\u2019s Thoroughbred industry by ensuring at least one racetrack maintained live racing in exchange for the right to operate slot machines. According to the association, Gulfstream Park\u2019s legal challenge could erode statewide protections for horse racing, threaten jobs, and damage Florida\u2019s position as a top Thoroughbred-producing state.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">\u201cLet\u2019s be clear: this is a casino-first move, not a racing-first one,\u201d Powell said. \u201cThe courts should recognize it for what it is, a direct threat to our industry\u2019s integrity and Florida agriculture\u2019s future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">While FTBOA officials have not released a copy of the lawsuit, they say the court filing seeks to invalidate the decoupling law, which they argue would allow Gulfstream Park to abandon live racing while continuing to operate gaming facilities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Gulfstream Park has not publicly responded to the FTBOA statement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">The FTBOA, headquartered in Ocala, represents more than 1,300 breeders and owners across Florida and is considered one of the most influential voices in the state\u2019s racing industry.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wcjb.com\/newsletter\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Click here<\/a> to subscribe to our newsletter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"copyright |\">Copyright 2025 WCJB. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OCALA, Fla. (WCJB) &#8211; Florida\u2019s leading Thoroughbred organization is calling Gulfstream Park\u2019s legal challenge to the state\u2019s 2021&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":49034,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[3004,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-49033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-racing","tag-racing","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49033\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}