Senate Bill 408

The Thoroughbred Racing Initiative is sponsoring a bus trip for members of the Thoroughbred community in Ocala to travel to Tallahassee Tuesday for the Florida Senate Committee hearing on the decoupling bill. The hearing on Senate Bill 408, which eliminates the minimum racing requirements and funding for purse and breeder awards in the statutes that Gulfstream Park supported when the original approval of slots was granted in 2005, goes before the regulated industries committee in a two-hour meeting set to begin at 4 p.m. Tuesday in the Pat Thomas Committee...

The National HBPA has sent correspondence to Florida horsemen and racing fans urging them to send a letter to Florida senators to vote no on decoupling. In it, the organization urges readers to flood the Senate, and the Florida State Senator representing their address' district, with a prepared letter explaining the grave danger HB 105--and its virtual twin Senate Bill 408--poses to a key state industry. While the Senate measure has a separate number bill from the House, the objective is reportedly the same--allow racetracks to keep their gaming licenses...