Ray Paulick: Gretna Racing’s Bizarre Florida Barrel Racing Scheme Like Woody Allen’s Movie “Bananas”–”A travesty of a mockery of a sham of a mockery of a travesty of two mockeries of a sham”

Posted on May 9, 2012 by
section ray

Ray’s Paddock

Bizarre Florida Barrel Racing Scheme Rolls Along

by Ray Paulick | 05.09.2012 | 7:53am

If Fielding Mellish, the hapless revolutionary from the 1971 Woody Allen movie “Bananas,” were representing Florida horsemen in trying to stop the barrel-racing-for-slots scheme from proceeding any further, he’d have the perfect description of what has taken place so far: “It’s a travesty of a mockery of a sham of a mockery of a travesty of two mockeries of a sham.”

Exactly.

Beyond that, it’s a classic example of log-rolling politics in Tallahassee, Florida’s capital, where it’s not what you know but who you know. And in the case of the Gretna Racing LLC application to have pari-mutuel barrel racing in Gadsden County – a move that could spread to other parts of the state and permit these licensed “racetracks” to offer slot machines – one of its investors, lawyer-lobbyist Marc Dunbar, knows some very powerful people.

Dunbar’s law firm is listed by Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s chief of staff, Steve MacNamara, as a source of income as recently as 2010. Shortly after MacNamara joined Scott’s administration last July, he reportedly received an email from his old boss Dunbar complaining about the Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering.

In September, Dunbar’s Gretna Racing application was filed with the DPMW, attempting to exploit a loophole in Florida’s gaming law that could permit a racetrack to be licensed without offering what most people traditionally think of as a horse race. Enter a handful of horses and riders, a couple of barrels, some pari-mutuel machines, and a local referendum to permit slot machines.

It’s Dunbar and partner David Romanik’s 21st century definition of pari-mutuel horse racing.

That same month, the powerful MacNamara wielded his clout at the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which oversees the DPMW. Its director, Ken Lawson, called DPMW chief Milt Champion into a meeting and told him to step down from the job he’d held for the past five years.

“He told me Marc Dunbar is close with the governor’s chief of staff and they want me to resign, so I resigned,” the Miami Herald quoted Champion as saying.

Leon M. Biegalski was named director of the division, and the Gretna application was approved.

Champion told the Miami Herald as head of the Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering he “would have strongly suggested we not approve it.”

Is this whole sequence of events an abuse of power? That’s not for me to say, but it certainly looks like a travesty of a mockery of a sham of a mockery of a travesty of two mockeries of a sham.

It’s not over. Florida horsemen have gone to court to try and stop this bizarre scheme. Their case, in front of an administrative law judge, began in April and has been postponed until June. In the interim, the Miami Herald has uncovered the relationship between Gov. Scott’s chief of staff and one of Gretna Racing’s partners, and his possible influence in replacing the director of the Division of Pari-Mutuel.

Let’s hope the judge isn’t as friendly with Steve MacNamara as Marc Dunbar is.

 

To read the complete Miami Herald story by Mary Ellen Klas, click here or go directly to the Miami Herald story Web page here:  http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/05/2785490/scotts-powerful-chief-of-staff.html#storylink=misearch

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About Ray Paulick:   For 15 years, Ray Paulick was a leading industry voice as the editor in chief of the Kentucky-based magazine, The Blood-Horse, and his weekly “What’s Going on Here” commentary was a “must read” for people throughout the Thoroughbred racing and breeding world.  This highly respected journalist is now the Publisher of the Paulick Report www.paulickreport.com, which is known nationally and internationally as the Thoroughbred industry’s independent voice for news, analysis and commentary.

Posted in Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, Florida Gambling, Florida Quarter Horse Racing, Florida Slot Machines, Florida Thoroughbred Racing, Gretna Casino Based on Illegal Barrel Racing, Gulfstream Park, Slot Machines | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Florida’s Bizarre Approval of “Pari-Mutuel Barrel Racing”: The Miami Herald’s Mary Ellen Klas Explores How the Path Was Laid After Florida Pari-Mutuel Regulator Ousted At Gretna Racing Owner/Lobbyist’s Behest

Posted on May 7, 2012 by

</p><br /><br /><p>Steve MacNamara, Gov. Rick Scott's chief of staff.</p><br /><br /><p>

Above:  Steve MacNamara, Gov. Rick Scott’s chief of staff. (Photo from The Miami Herald)

“Pari-Mutuel Barrel Racing” Approved Shortly After Florida Regulator Ousted At Gretna Racing Owner/Lobbyist’s Behest

Published Sunday, May 6, 2012, the investigative news article below by The Miami Herald’s Mary Ellen Klas explains how the path was laid for the improbable 2011 approval of “pari-mutuel barrel racing,” which has cost both the State of Florida horse racing industry jobs and state tax revenue, and is now resulting in attempts to expand gambling throughout the state.

Excerpt from The Miami Herald, Sunday, May 6—The complete article is reprinted below:

(Then-Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering Director Milton) Champion said he, too, also was asked to resign.

In an email to MacNamara in August, Marc Dunbar, a lawyer and part-owner of a horse track in Gadsden County, complained about the division’s staff and hoped MacNamara could get them into shape. MacNamara had worked together at Dunbar’s law firm and listed the firm as a source of income on his financial disclosure forms as recently as 2010.

In September, Dunbar and his partners asked the division for permission to run rodeo-style barrel racing as a parimutuel sport, instead of the quarter horse racing they had intended when they obtained the permit. Shortly afterwards, Champion said he was called into Department of Business and Professional Secretary Ken Lawson’s office. “He told me Marc Dunbar is close with the governor’s chief of staff and they want me to resign, so I resigned,’’ Champion said.

Champion now says that while “the law may not be clearly defined,’’ had he remained at the agency he “would have strongly suggested we not approve it.”

MacNamara said Champion was asked to resign because his wife worked at the Seminole Hard Rock as head of surveillance. While the state does not regulate the tribe, it does regulate their competitors. But Champion said he had disclosed his wife’s job when he was hired to head the division five years ago and again when he was reappointed to the post when Scott came to office.

With Champion gone, the division then approved the barrel racing switch, a move which Dunbar and his partners hope will allow the track to get slot machines.
Posted on Sunday, May 6, 2012
As Gov. Scott’s gatekeeper exerts control, heads roll

By Mary Ellen Klas
Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau

www.MiamiHerald.com

Steve MacNamara, Gov. Rick Scott’s chief of staff Steve MacNamara has officially become Tallahassee’s Wizard of Oz.

The lawyer-lobbyist turned university professor is the brass knuckles gatekeeper and omnipotent advisor to Gov. Rick Scott.

Since becoming the governor’s chief of staff last July, MacNamara has controlled access to the governor and his schedule, assumed authority over appointments and dictated press releases and policy memos. He has directed the governor’s message and reached into the bowels of agencies to remove people he doesn’t like and install favorites.

“No one gets in to see the Wizard. Not no one, no how,” reads the sign on the way into MacNamara’s office, an excerpt from the famous movie.

He played the same role as chief of staff for former House Speaker John Thrasher and for Senate President Mike Haridopolos, each time temporarily stepping aside from his teaching, law firm and lobbying work.

POSITIVE SIGNS

Now, nine months later, the governor’s relations with lawmakers have improved. Florida’s unemployment rate is down. Scott had a successful legislative session with a modest agenda and, while his approval ratings remain low, they are on the rise.

“I think he’s doing a great job,’’ Scott said.

“I don’t think there’s any question he’s made a difference for this governor,’’ said Thrasher, now a St. Augustine state senator.

Scott’s closest supporters and some Tea Party followers, however, say that the union between the newcomer governor and the wily insider is for them a Faustian bargain. Though they refuse to be quoted by name, several advisors to the governor — both inside and out of government — fear Scott is squandering his conservative credentials and his outsider brand by engaging in deal-making with special interests who have connections to MacNamara.

His critics call him Florida’s “shadow governor,” noting that agency contracts have been redirected, gambling allowed to expand, and a policy to privatize state prisons, which Scott didn’t focus on during his campaign, has become an administration priority.

“I voted for the outsider and he has hired the consummate insider and he is acting like an insider now,’’ said Henry Kelley of the Fort Walton Beach Tea Party. “It’s very disappointing.”

He complained that issues Scott campaigned on, like illegal immigration, have been shelved while prison privatization has emerged. “Was that the governor’s decision or was that MacNamara’s decision?”

What’s more, they worry MacNamara is running the government with an eye toward retaining influence and returning to lobbying when he leaves, as scheduled, later this year.

MacNamara, 59, has heard the rumors and denies planting the seeds for a return to lobbying. He had originally planned this fall to move to Montana, where he has a home in the mountains along a glacier fed river. But his wife, an anesthesiologist, has a job in Vermont and he plans to move there.

“I haven’t done that in the past and it’s not my M.O.,’’ he said, dismissing the thought that he would need to cash in on his Scott administration connections. But as a tenured professor, he said, he’s exempt from the two-year lobbying ban. “I could lobby anybody in state government.”

THE EXODUS

Since MacNamara joined the office, five agency heads Scott brought to Tallahassee have left. Scott’s general counsel and director of external affairs resigned. One of Scott’s longest-serving staffers, deputy communications director Amy Graham, is leaving to join the Mitt Romney campaign, and at least two others have told the Herald/Times they are on their way out.

“If I only had to work for the governor, it would be great,’’ said Jack Miles, former secretary of the Department of Management Services who resigned in March and blames clashes with MacNamara for his decision.

After a career in the private sector, most recently as a former senior director at CIGNA, the healthcare company, Miles agreed to accept Scott’s offer to manage the agency that handles the nuts and bolts of government — from multimillion dollar contracts, leases on state buildings to health insurance for state workers.

“The governor, on many occasions made it very clear: I hired you to run your agency. I won’t interfere,’’ Miles said. “That worked for a period of time, then changes started to happen in the governor’s office and that was no longer the case.”

In interviews with several current and former top advisors and agency heads, one pattern emerges: while each offered a plausible reason for leaving, most say working conditions under MacNamara contributed to their departure.

Others agency heads who have left their $140,000-a-year posts include Secretary of State Kurt Browning, who stepped down in January to run for Pasco County superintendent of schools, and Doug Darling, executive director of the newly created Department of Economic Opportunity.

PROMOTING FAVORITES

Darling resigned in January, four days after sending MacNamara a critical note complaining of excessive travel expenses from film commissioner Shari Kerrigan, whom MacNamara had recruited. He cited personal reasons for his resignation.

Frank Farmer resigned in March as surgeon general after leading an overhaul of the health department but clashing with lawmakers over a push to turn over public health duties to counties. He cited his wife’s treatment for breast cancer but later told The Daytona Beach News-Journal that a mammogram performed in December was negative. Scott called his resignation “an unfortunate surprise.”

Two others, Miles’ chief of staff, Brett Rayman, and Milt Champion, former director of the Division of Parimutuel Wagering, told the Herald/Times that they were asked to leave so that MacNamara could replace them.

Rayman, who served as a budget and policy official for three previous governors after a 23-year career in the U.S. Marine Corps, said he considers Scott “probably the best governor I’ve ever worked with.”

During Scott’s first few months in office, the staff had “complete interaction” with the governor, Rayman said, and “understood what their mission was.” Under MacNamara, however, “things have been completely disorganized.’’

“He has political favorites he’s trying to move around and I’m not sure the governor knows what MacNamara’s doing,’’ said Rayman, who now works for the Department of Financial Services, which is not under the governor.

Among Rayman’s frustrations: orders from MacNamara’s deputy, Marc Slager, to “hold off” on signing a contract with a company to use federal money to map broadband access in Florida.

Another company that had lost the contract, Connected Nation, began pushing for legislation to move management of the contract from the DMS to the Department of Economic Opportunity.

The move would have allowed for the bids to be reopened and for the company, and others, to get a second shot at the contract. DMS objected, warning the switch could cost the state federal grant funds. The company’s lobbyists included Lanny Wiles, the husband of Scott’s former campaign manager, and Al Cardenas, the former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida.

Slager said “they had already expressed their opinions and the facts” and didn’t want them advocating a position.

Champion said he, too, also was asked to resign.

In an email to MacNamara in August, Marc Dunbar, a lawyer and part-owner of a horse track in Gadsden County, complained about the division’s staff and hoped MacNamara could get them into shape. MacNamara had worked together at Dunbar’s law firm and listed the firm as a source of income on his financial disclosure forms as recently as 2010.

In September, Dunbar and his partners asked the division for permission to run rodeo-style barrel racing as a parimutuel sport, instead of the quarter horse racing they had intended when they obtained the permit. Shortly afterwards, Champion said he was called into Department of Business and Professional Secretary Ken Lawson’s office. “He told me Marc Dunbar is close with the governor’s chief of staff and they want me to resign, so I resigned,’’ Champion said.

Champion now says that while “the law may not be clearly defined,’’ had he remained at the agency he “would have strongly suggested we not approve it.”

MacNamara said Champion was asked to resign because his wife worked at the Seminole Hard Rock as head of surveillance. While the state does not regulate the tribe, it does regulate their competitors. But Champion said he had disclosed his wife’s job when he was hired to head the division five years ago and again when he was reappointed to the post when Scott came to office.

With Champion gone, the division then approved the barrel racing switch, a move which Dunbar and his partners hope will allow the track to get slot machines.

TOP SALARY

MacNamara, whose $189,000 is the highest in Scott’s administration, believes it’s important for the governor to have people in positions of power who can be trusted. “They’re not free agents,’’ he said. The policy positions “have to be in conformance with what the governor wants to do.”

When MacNamara moved to the governor’s office, he brought with him Chris Finkbeiner, Slager, and administrative assistant, Amy Bescaglia, from the Senate. MacNamara made Finkbeiner and Slager his deputy chiefs of staff, giving them the same role as two women deputy chiefs of staff already in the governor’s office, Jenn Ungru and Carrie O’Rourke but paying them considerably more.

Finkbeiner and Slager make $135,000. Ungru and O’Rourke make $100,000.

MacNamara’s first orchestrated ouster came with the removal of Department of Corrections Chief Ed Buss. The prisons chief had been lured to Florida from Indiana but, once here, became a vocal critics of a Senate-led effort to privatize 30 South Florida prisons.

The idea was an important one to MacNamara whose close friend, Jim Eaton, is the lead lobbyist for the Geo Group, one of the nation’s largest private prison companies which stands to make billions in state business if they win the privatization contracts.

When a circuit court judge ruled in September that the budget maneuver used to pass the prison plan in 2011 was unconstitutional, it invalidated the prison plan, MacNamara demanded Ungru “give me some options” so that if they win on appeal they could “move forward with all due speed and diligence” in pushing for the prison plan. The hearing on the appeal is set for June.
MacNamara dismisses the forced departures as routine and not out of the ordinary for a governor running the nation’s fourth-largest state.

“People lose jobs; people lose contracts,’’ he said. “It’s calibrating people more than anything else. It’s not controlling people.”
Tampa Bay Times senior writer Lucy Morgan contributed to this report.

© 2012 Miami Herald Media Company. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.miamiherald.com

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/05/v-print/2785490/scotts-powerful-chief-of-staff.html#storylink=cpy

Posted in Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, Florida Gambling, Florida Quarter Horse Racing, Florida Slot Machines, Florida Thoroughbred Racing, Gretna Casino Based on Illegal Barrel Racing, Gulfstream Park, Slot Machines | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Amid Ongoing Negotiations With Gulfstream Park, Headline Misrepresents Florida Horsemen

Posted on April 18, 2012 by

New Times Broward/Palm Beach was notified on April 12, 2012 that the headline of their published article “Gulfstream Park Draws Ire From Horsemen for Running Last-Minute Quarter-Horse Race” had been altered on a gaming-themed blog to reflect the exact opposite statement.

The Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, Inc. (FHBPA), which is the entity referenced in the New Times headline and article, is presently in negotiations with Gulfstream Park concerning statutory purse (prize) contracts.  Based in Miami, the FHBPA (an affiliate of the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association) represents over 6,000 members statewide to ensure Thoroughbred tracks’ proper payment and distribution of purse money to Thoroughbred owners, among its other traditional undertakings.

The FHBPA currently has a valid and binding contract with Gulfstream Park stating that only Thoroughbred racing may be conducted there.

To view the original article with the correct headline, click here.

To view a screen shot showing the altered headline, click here:  Florida Gaming Watch Headline

Posted in Calder Race Course, Florida Destination Casinos, Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, Florida Gambling, Florida Quarter Horse Racing, Florida Slot Machines, Florida Thoroughbred Racing, Gretna Casino Based on Illegal Barrel Racing, Gulfstream Park, Slot Machines | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Florida Gretna Racing LLC “Pari-Mutuel Barrel Racing” Case To Be Continued On June 26, 2012

Posted on April 12, 2012 by

After nearly three days of testimony and at least six witnesses still remaining to testify yesterday, April 11, 2012, the case involving a dispute over the award of a racing license by the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering to Gretna Racing LLC was temporarily halted and will be taken back up over a three-day period beginning June 26, 2012.
 
Since the award of that license, Gretna Racing has used it to conduct a brand new form of gambling it calls “pari-mutuel barrel racing.” 
 
Nearly 450,000 horsemen in eight Florida and national organizations have agreed that the Division’s license award to Gretna Racing is an overstep of regulatory authority and constitutes an unpromulgated Rule.
 
During this week’s administrative hearing, the Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association (the Florida arm of the American Quarter Horse Association, which regulates and oversees the integrity of Quarter Horse racing worldwide) questioned the State’s hasty award to Gretna Racing, given the Division’s knowledge that the license would be used for “pari-mutuel barrel racing” as a new Florida gambling product.
 
Normally, the introduction of a new gambling product into the market would be enabled with the passage of legislation, followed by subsequent regulatory hearings in which public input would be provided and considered.  With “pari-mutuel barrel racing,” none of that process occurred.
 
Now enabled to minimally meet Florida live racing requirements for poker and slot machine licensing through “pari-mutuel barrel racing,” other Florida pari-mutuel permitholders are in line to leverage this new gambling product to acquire slot machines without conducting legitimate racing, which heretofore has employed over 50,000 documented Floridians per year who produce over $2.2 billion in economic impact.   Instead of 1,000 or more horses at a typical racetrack, “pari-mutuel barrel racing” plummets the need for that supply to just 8 per day, of which the same 8 horses can, and have been used over and over again, while the cardrooms stay open 365 days a year.
 
The implications of allowing “pari-mutuel barrel racing” to decimate the enormous economic impact of Florida’s heretofore successful horse racing and breeding industry are dire.   The State of Florida cannot afford to allow clever lawyering and loopholes to destroy its internationally known horse racing and breeding industry in this manner.

Posted in Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, Florida Gambling, Florida Quarter Horse Racing, Florida Slot Machines, Florida Thoroughbred Racing, Gretna Casino Based on Illegal Barrel Racing, Gulfstream Park | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Joint Statement by the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (the Florida Chapter of the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association) and the Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association (the Florida arm of the American Quarter Horse Racing Association) on the final event at Gulfstream Park April 8, 2012 (Update–”Results” Below):

Posted on April 8, 2012 by

Joint Statement by the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (the Florida Chapter of the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association) and the Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association (the Florida arm of the American Quarter Horse Racing Association) on the final event at Gulfstream Park today, April 8, 2012:

“It should be advised that today’s unlawful Gulfstream Park event billed as a ‘Quarter Horse’ race is not recognized, authorized or regulated by the American Quarter Horse Association, which regulates and oversees the integrity of all lawful Quarter Horse racing globally and in the United States, including Florida.  At no time has the American Quarter Horse Association been contacted about approving Gulfstream’s plans for today.

Further, the horses in today’s highly questionable event have not even been certified as actual registered, accredited Quarter Horses.  The lack of a regulation starting gate and the use of barrel racing riders as ‘jockeys’ should be of great concern to the public as to the legitimacy of the fiasco.

Why Gulfstream Park has chosen now to so flagrantly violate its current and binding contract with the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association remains a mystery, but track officials have been duly notified that our organization, which represents over 6,000 Thoroughbred horsemen in the State of Florida, will use all necessary remedies to ensure racing there is implemented properly, with integrity and according to our contract, and both state and federal law.

The question still remains as to whether a race was actually ever even run under Gulfstream’s Quarter Horse ‘After Care’ license on December 31, 2011, and whether the State of Florida will allow that, combined with today’s unlawful event, to technically fulfill Florida’s two-year live racing requirements, with the goal toward opening a new casino that would include additional slot machines.”

Update on the “results” of yesterday’s phony “Quarter Horse” race at Gulfstream Park–apparently, the duel was won by a 12 year-old mare of unknown breeding, who paid $3.00 to win.  It is not known whether the barrel race riders, who used Western saddles and were dressed up to resemble jockeys, were weighed in before the event, or were held to any other such regulation.  Since the American Quarter Horse Association has not authorized or approved Gulfstream’s “Quarter Horse” event, Equibase did not even track the results.

What IS known is that more than several rules of racing were broken in carrying out the event, including the issuance of duplicitous entry sheets, and a serious infraction of entering a horse in the “race” after the entries were closed.  This is illegal in both Thoroughbred AND Quarter Horse racing.  One of the horses that finally “ran” was actually one of the illegal entries.

Nowhere in Gulfstream’s on-line results, entries or scratches does the billed “Quarter Horse race” show up.  What data will be reported the the State of Florida is anyone’s guess.

Posted in Florida Destination Casinos, Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, Florida Gambling, Florida Quarter Horse Racing, Florida Slot Machines, Florida Thoroughbred Racing, Gretna Casino Based on Illegal Barrel Racing, Gulfstream Park, Slot Machines | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Barrel Racers to Compete at Gulfstream Park in South Florida Sunday, April 8, 2012

Posted on April 6, 2012 by

Please note that the two riders listed on the 4/8 event are barrel racers.

A copy of the Gulfstream “overnight entries” for Sunday, April 8 (right). 

Despite related ongoing turmoil and protracted litigation, Gulfstream Park has unilaterally decided to proceed with its own version of Quarter Horse racing.  To view a copy of the Gulfstream “overnight entries” for Sunday, April 8 click here or on the photo to the right>.
 
Please note that the two riders listed on the April event are barrel racers.  It is assumed that their horses are also barrel racers.  However, the race will be a 220-yard dash.  The Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (FHBPA’s) understanding is that the two horses will start by the drop of a flag.
 
Although the “race” shown on the attachment is scheduled to fulfill what was supposed to be the second half of Gulfstream’s December 31/January 1 “Gulfstream Park After Care Quarter Horse Permit Meet,” there is strong question as to whether the initial race of the “Gulfstream After Care” licensed race scheduled for December 31, 2011 was actually run, since, although Gulfstream officials claimed publicly not to have run the race that day, but nevertheless reported wagering totals to the State of Florida.  The FHBPA’s understanding is that Gulfstream was fined a small amount by the State of Florida for the faulty reporting.  To view the handle report, click on the following link:  http://www.myfloridalicense.com/dbpr/pmw/documents/HandleandCardroom2011-2012–2012-03-13–February–YTD.pdf
 
It is also the FHBPA’s understanding that, given the State’s acceptance that there was, indeed, a race actually run under Gulfstream’s Quarter Horse permit on December 31, that Sunday’s (4/8) race would technically fulfill Florida’s two-year live racing requirements with the goal toward opening a new casino that would include additional slot machines.
 
Sunday’s Barrel Horse race was scheduled without the permission or knowledge of the FHBPA, which has a contractual agreement with Gulfstream Park stating that ONLY Thoroughbred horse racing is to be run at the facility. 
 
“The FHBPA has been negotiating with Gulfstream on a new purse contract since the end of 2011.  However, the results have been frustratingly unsuccessful,” FHBPA President Phil Combest explained.  “Obviously, we, the horsemen, are, by definition, totally committed to the future of Thoroughbred racing at Gulfstream, but if Gulfstream intended to engage in legitimate Quarter Horse racing, it would have done so with the approval and sanction of the Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association, which is the Florida arm of the American Quarter Horse Association.  We do not even remotely understand how Gulfstream’s use of barrel racers in what they are terming ‘Quarter Horse racing’ fits in here.”

“It’s also extremely important to understand that we currently have a valid and binding purse contract with Gulfstream which runs through December 31, 2012.  That contract explicitly states that there will NO racing of any type other than Thoroughbred racing at Gulfstream,” Combest added.
 
“Pari-Mutuel Barrel Racing” at North Florida’s Gretna Racing LLC (co-owned by Gulfstream Park lobbyist Marc Dunbar and former Gulfstream Park attorney David Romanik) has resulted in 99.1% drops in pari-mutuel handle, along with a precipitous drop in the need for horses from some 1,000 to less than 50 to complete a “meet.”

Posted in Florida Destination Casinos, Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, Florida Gambling, Florida Quarter Horse Racing, Florida Slot Machines, Florida Thoroughbred Racing, Gretna Casino Based on Illegal Barrel Racing, Gulfstream Park, Slot Machines | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Veteran Florida Pari-Mutuel Regulator Abruptly Resigns to Work for Gretna Racing LLC Just One Day Before Likely Deposition

Posted on November 30, 2011 by

Just days before Gretna Racing LLC begins conducting “pari-mutuel barrel racing” in lieu of Quarter Horse racing, a long-time employee of the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Chief Investigator, Jim Barnes, quietly announced his immediate retirement from the State in order to pursue a newly available job opportunity in the private sector.

The combination of Mr. Barnes’ abrupt career change and the conspicuous timing of his departure is raising more than a few eyebrows.  The veteran regulator is leaving the agency just in time to assume his new title as Gretna Racing LLC’s Chief of Security for the brand new facility’s much acclaimed opening day on Thursday, December 1.

Yesterday, November 29, 2011, a Leon County circuit judge refused to stay litigation currently pending at the Division of Administrative Hearings that challenges the Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering’s unprecedented approval of “pari-mutuel barrel racing” as a brand new form of gambling in Florida.  The lawsuit is expected to lead to the depositions of Division officials believed to have been instrumental in the decision.  The lawsuit claims that the agency’s action was taken without the necessary legal authority, proper regulatory hearings or public input.

Just hours before the facility’s debut, details of how normal regulations such as wagering processes would be carried out at Gretna Racing, LLC, and even directory assistance listing information have yet to be revealed.

Posted in Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, Gretna Casino Based on Illegal Barrel Racing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

United Florida Horsemen: Time for court to stop Gretna “pari-mutuel barrel racing” mockery; it should send alarm bells throughout our regulatory, legislative and judicial system that the State of Florida is standing idly by while its taxpayer-funded pari-mutuel regulators are vigorously defending their unilateral sanction of ‘pari-mutuel barrel racing’ and sham horsemen’s organizations created by Gretna Racing and Hamilton Downs to shade their farcical activities

Posted on December 1, 2011 by

The United Florida Horsemen, which comprises nearly 450,000 Florida and national horsemen, including the National Barrel Horse Association and the American Quarter Horse Association, issued the following statement on today’s December 1, 2011 opening of “pari-mutuel barrel racing” at Gretna Racing, LLC:

“It is time for the court system to finally put a stop to the shenanigans going on in Gretna.  If there was any remaining doubt, the revelation yesterday that a Florida pari-mutuel regulator involved in approving the infamous ‘pari-mutuel barrel racing’ for Gretna Racing, LLC was planning to go to work for the very business he regulated and helped to get licensed should indicate to all of Florida’s public officials that it is time to pause and ask questions, rather than celebrate what others are describing as an ‘outright scam.’

It is a total embarrassment to the Sunshine State, with its ‘Government in the Sunshine,’ that the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering has completely evaded any public scrutiny or accountability and gotten away with its actions.  The Division has denied every request for a fair hearing on the issue and, to this day, refuses to be held accountable for its decisions.  The Division’s lawyers are too busy creating legal roadblocks to the public’s effort to find out the truth behind the barrel racing sham. 

The cruel irony of today’s ‘pari-mutuel barrel racing’ opening is that it is actually designed to replace jobs with slot machines, rather than grow our economy through the recognized benefits of legitimate horse racing.  Because the City of Gretna’s economic development benchmark started near zero, its impoverished people don’t realize the economic development that could otherwise happen there with legitimate Quarter Horse racing and the thousands more jobs and prosperity it would bring, as opposed to the predatory slot machines that will now outnumber people, while concurrently killing Florida horse racing industry jobs throughout the State.

With such scrutiny being placed on ethics at all levels of government, it should send alarm bells throughout our regulatory, legislative and judicial system that the State of Florida is standing idly by while its taxpayer-funded pari-mutuel regulators are vigorously defending their unilateral sanction ‘pari-mutuel barrel racing’ and sham horsemen’s organizations created by Gretna Racing and Hamilton Downs to shade their farcical activities.

It is time for the courts to step in and either stop, or call time-out on these rogue and illegal actions before it’s too late.”

For more information, contact:

  • Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association:   Kent Stirling, Executive Director (305) 628-2989 or khs0813@bellsouth.net
  • Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association and Florida Quarter Horse Breeders’ and Owners’ Association:  Dr. Steve Fisch, DVM (850) 510-9650 or sfischDVM@avsequinehospital.com
  • Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners Association:  Dr. Phil Matthews, President at phil@matthewsoffice.net
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Creek Gretna Entertainment Opening Day Flop: Only 8 Horses and 50 people Show Up to “Pari-Mutuel Barrel Racing”; Thousands of legitimate horse racing jobs lost in the farce

Posted on December 2, 2011 by

To exacerbate the mockery of yesterday’s “opening” at Creek Gretna Entertainment, only 8 horses and 50 people showed up for the “pari-mutuel barrel racing” farce. Compare this with typical opening day crowds of 25,000 or more people and 2,000 horses at Gulfstream Park, which combine to produce thousands of jobs normally expected with legitimate horse racing. 

Normal opening day on-track wagering handle for legitimate horse racing is usually $1 million, whereas Gretna’s sham operation was accorded a generous estimate of only several thousand dollars, which was not known to be officially reported or recorded.

Even more alarming, it was reported in major news sources that one competitor bet on her own horse, which believed to be illegal.  State pari-mutuel regulators were not known to be on hand yesterday to police or publicly report these types of highly questionable activities.

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State of Florida Using Taxpayer Dollars to Defend Gretna Pari-Mutuel Barrel Racing Unwanted Expansion of Gambling

Posted on December 12, 2011 by

 
While the State of Florida grapples with a $2 billion budget deficit, one of its top regulatory agencies is simultaneously expending untold taxpayer funds to escalate and exacerbate a costly legal battle to defend the expansion of gambling, to which Florida’s top-ranking state legislators have repeatedly voiced their increasing opposition during the past several weeks.
 
Just last week, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation released dozens of pages of publicly-funded litigation designed to defend the very situation that the Florida Legislature is now vigorously debating how to curtail. 
 
With the Cabinet members now having publicly declared their opposition to the expansion of gambling through destination resorts, the State of Florida’s attitude toward the unfettered proliferation of gambling has been greatly clarified. 
 
But, to the chagrin of its sponsors, the intent of the would-be destination resort legislation’s proposed gaming commission had already been unexpectedly usurped by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s (DPPR’s) highly questionable and unilateral award of a racing license to Gretna Racing LLC.  As expected, the dubious license was ultimately used for purpose of introducing “pari-mutuel barrel racing.” Constituting a brand new gambling product, the license was awarded without enabling legislation, proper regulatory hearings or public input.   As expected, Gretna Racing officials immediately used their new license to secure a slot machine referendum in Gadsden County—a loophole-laden legal maneuver that quickly brought copycat requests from other small pari-mutuel permitholders.
 
So outraged were top legislative leaders at Gretna Racing’s actions that, in a Senate Committee on Regulated Industries workshop last week, some called for the need to solve the Gretna Racing problem before taking up the destination resort bills.
 
“As the people’s regulator, it is unconscionable that the DBPR is using the public dime to finance protracted litigation to protect its unilateral expansion of gambling, when the Legislature is making it quite clear that this is not the direction it wants for the State of Florida,” remarked Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (FHBPA) Executive Director Kent Stirling.
 
“What amazes me is that the State of Florida is actually finance failure by strangling off what could be thousands of jobs and exponentially greater wagering if Gretna Racing were to simply have adhered to legitimate Quarter Horse racing,” added FHBPA President Phil Combest, who also noted the startling disparity in opening day handle between Gretna Racing ($2,581) and Gulfstream Park ($4,837,605—constitutes a 22% increase for Gulfstream over the comparable day last season).  These numbers were generated literally within two days of one another.  The comparison that the Gulfstream Park and Gretna Racing facilities were the same as one another was made on December 2 by former Gulfstream Park attorney-turned-Gretna Racing Developer David Romanik in an interview with internationally known horse racing writer Ray Paulick.
 
Combest reminded that Florida regulations stipulate that pari-mutuel permitholders must demonstrate that they can protect the flow of revenue to the State.  “So we’re killing the revenue we could have had with legitimate racing, killing jobs in the horse racing industry, hammering the gravestones with taxpayer-funded litigation and paying Florida legislators to contemplate the whole thing,” he said.  “To me, that’s the real government waste.”

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Response by United Florida Horsemen to December 13, 2011 First District Court of Appeal Order Denying the Emergency Motion to Stay “Pari-Mutuel Barrel Racing” at Gretna Racing, LLC:

Posted on December 13, 2011 by

 December 13, 2011–“While we are disappointed with the Court’s decision to allow this Trojan Horse masquerade to continue for the time being, we are very grateful to the Court for considering our request and for granting us the unusual opportunity for an appellate hearing under these unfortunate and unprecedented circumstances.

It is important to note that the Court’s decision does not vindicate or validate in any way what the State and the permitholder are doing in Gretna. The Court is merely reserving judgment on the matter while we prove our case to put a stop to this illegal activity, and we fully intend to do that.

We look forward to having our day in court, and we remain confident that we will prevail on the merits in the end.

However, in the middle of widespread economic decline and job loss, it defies all reason that the State of Florida would expend taxpayer dollars in fierce litigation to defend the unilateral expansion of gambling through “pari-mutuel barrel racing”—a nefarious scheme designed to drastically cut jobs, people, horses and economic impact by replacing it all with slot machines. 

As far as we are concerned, there is no debate on the illegitimacy of this outright perpetration, since the numbers already speak for themselves:  Lost revenue to the State through dramatic handle and purse decreases, uninformed barrel competitors being cheated out of normal opportunity and fair winnings commensurate with the industry, and the fallacy of Gretna’s local elected officials pointing to empty bleachers and calling it all a ‘great success.’  

Florida law says pari-mutuel permitholders have an obligation to ensure revenue to the State.  Gretna Racing has clearly failed in its Department of Business and Professional Regulation-sponsored experiment, yet is ironically being artificially sustained by lack of regulatory oversight, despite strong opposition to expanded gambling from the Florida Legislature and Cabinet.”

The United Florida Horsemen are:

·         National and Florida Barrel Horse Association (24,000 members)

·         American Quarter Horse Association (350,000 national members; 7,163 Florida members)

·         Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association (439 members)

·         U.S. Trotting Association (25,000 members)

·         Florida Standardbred Owners and Breeders Association (630 members)

·         Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association (1,300 members)

·         National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (35,000 members)

·         Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (5,000 members)

 

For more information, contact:

·         Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association:   Kent Stirling, Executive Director (305) 628-2989 or khs0813@bellsouth.net

·         Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association and Florida Quarter Horse Breeders’ and Owners’ Association:  Dr. Steve Fisch, DVM (850) 510-9650 or sfischDVM@avsequinehospital.com

·         Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners Association:  Dr. Phil Matthews, President at phil@matthewsoffice.net

 

www.UnitedFloridaHorsemen.org

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Florida Governor Scott Tells Palm Beach Post’s Dara Kam That Lawmakers Should Shut Down Gretna Barrel Racing, Slots

Posted on December 21, 2011 by

In an interview with the Palm Beach Post’s Dara Kam today, December 21, 2011, Florida Governor Rick Scott said “Lawmakers need to put an end to the uncertainty over the barrel racing and possible spread of it to other facilities.” 

The article is reprinted below.

Scott: Lawmakers need to shut down barrel racing, slots

by Dara Kam | December 21st, 2011

Palm Beach Post “Post on Politics” Blog

www.pbpost.com

Gov. Rick Scott is calling on lawmakers to quickly close what he called a gray area in Florida law that allowed a Panhandle racetrack to get a permit for barrel racing and a card room and opened the door for slot machines.

Scott also for the first time said he doesn’t believe lawmakers meant to include as a legitimate gambling activity when they passed laws regulating pari-mutuels.

“It doesn’t appear to me that it was the intent of the law. They need to clear it up,” Scott told The Palm Beach Post this afternoon.

Scott’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation issued the quarter horse permit to Gretna Racing – owned by the Alabama-based Poarch Creek Indians and gambling lawyers David Romanik and Marc Dunbar – last month. Regulators believed there was nothing in Florida law allowed them to deny the permit, now being challenged in court.

Lawmakers need to put an end to the uncertainty over the barrel racing and possible spread of it to other facilities – a track in Hamilton County has applied for a barrel racing permit – Scott said.

“It’s not fair to people who invest their dollars. It’s not fair to people who are supposed to enforce the law if the law’s not clear. So the legislature ought to clear it up whether that’s allowed or not,” He said.

Scott said he wants the legislature to act quickly before voters in Gadsden County, where the Gretna track is located, go to the polls on Jan. 31 to vote on a referendum allowing slot machines at the casino.

Voter approval of the referendum could threaten the state’s agreement with the Seminole Indians and cost Florida the $225 million the tribe gives annually. That agreement requires that slot machines be limited to pari-mutuels in Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Slots at tracks elsewhere in the state could blow up next year’s budget which relies on the Seminole cash, Scott said.

“By not doing something, they’re making a decision that will put the Seminole compact at risk. I think they ought to clear it up ahead of time,” Scott said.

http://www.postonpolitics.com/2011/12/scott-lawmakers-need-to-shut-down-barrel-racing-slots/comment-page-1/#comment-305140

Dara KamDara Kam has covered the Capitol for more than a decade, first for the Associated Press and Gannett then for The Palm Beach Post for about five years. She never met a pair of fishnets she didn’t like and is still waiting for them to dim the lights in committee rooms so she can remove her shades.  Reach her at 850-570-1592 or dara_kam@pbpost.com.

The United Florida Horsemen are:

·         National and Florida Barrel Horse Association (24,000 members)

·         American Quarter Horse Association (350,000 national members; 7,163 Florida members)

·         Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association (439 members)

·         U.S. Trotting Association (25,000 members)

·         Florida Standardbred Owners and Breeders Association (630 members)

·         Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association (1,300 members)

·         National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (35,000 members)

·         Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (5,000 members)

www.UnitedFloridaHorsemen.org

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Slots Expansion Alert! Florida Approves Gulfstream Park to Run Two Quarter Horse Races; Right to Install 2,000 Additional Slots

Posted on December 24, 2011 by

Despite its growing slot machine expansion crisis, the State of Florida has awarded Gulfstream Park a license to conduct two (2) Quarter Horse races on December 31, 2011 and January 1, 2012, thus meeting the two-year statutory requirement to install 2,000 slot machines without legislative authority or local referendum. 

 

“In fact, we met with high ranking Gulfstream officials for three hours on Thursday afternoon (12/22).  During that meeting, the horsemen were asked for our ‘permission’ for Gulfstream to run a Quarter Horse race on December 31, and another race on January 1, 2012.  At no point during that meeting were we informed that Gulfstream’s Quarter Horse racing license had already been signed, sealed and delivered.”  Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association President Phil Combest emphasized.  “And the result was that the open partnership we’ve all worked so hard to build was inexplicably compromised as the horsemen were left to independently discover that another potential Gretna barrel racing slot expansion was in the offing”

Gulfstream is already authorized for 2,000 slot machines under its existing Thoroughbred permit.   Now, it would be free to install an additional 2,000 machines, for a total of 4,000 slot machines. 

Presently, the track operates 860 machines that only earned a daily average “drop” of $151 each during the beginning of this fiscal year.  By industry standards, this is considered to be poor performance. 

Gulfstream’s new license, # 536, was approved on December 19, 2011 by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering under the track’s Quarter Horse pari-mutuel racing permit, which it has held for years, but not activated.

Posted in Florida Destination Casinos, Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, Gretna Casino Based on Illegal Barrel Racing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Florida Horsemen’s President Phil Combest Says It’s “Absurd” That Gulfstream Park Fears Losing its Quarter Horse Permit; Track Still Not Forthcoming on Secret Horsemen’s Association or Where Alleged Quarter Horses Will Come From: Daily Racing Form’s Mike Welsch Reports

Posted on December 27, 2011 by

Gulfstream to run Quarter Horse race on New Year’s Eve

 

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Gulfstream Park has been granted legislative approval to exercise a dormant nonprofit Quarter Horse license and is hoping to run one Quarter Horse race prior to its regularly scheduled Thoroughbred program on Saturday, Dec. 31.

“We were advised by counsel that if we didn’t exercise the permit now there was a possibility of losing it during the upcoming legislative session,” said Ritvo. “Every major parimutuel facility in the state has been activating their dormant permits due to widespread expectations that lawmakers will revoke them. To meet the requirements of the nonprofit license, we must run one extra race on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, only one of which has to be for Quarter Horses.”

Ritvo said the long-range purpose of activating the Quarter Horse permit was that it could ultimately lead to Gulfstream being able to double its current allotment of 2,000 slot machines as well as add a second card room at the facility. He said the decision to exercise the long standing license came quickly and plans have not been completely finalized regarding the Dec. 31 Quarter Horse event.

“This really just fell into our lap on Tuesday,” said Ritvo. “A high level executive from the Stronach Group met with members of the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association on Thursday to discuss the matter and was hoping to continue talks with the group Saturday to insure them this wasn’t done to disrupt Thoroughbred racing. The Stronach Group is under direct orders from Frank Stronach that Thoroughbred racing should survive and thrive at Gulfstream Park.”

But Phil Combest, president of the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, said the Gulfstream horsmen are opposed to allowing the track to run the Quarter Horse race. Representatives from Gulfstream and the HBPA plan to talk Wednesday to try and allay the horsemen’s concerns.

“The horsemen are still completely opposed to this whole thing for a number of reasons,” said Combest. “For example, what are the simulcast and ADW implications of running a Quarter Horse race at Gulfstream Park, among other things? Gulfstream says they are doing this for fear of losing the permit at the next legislative session. That’s absurd. The state would never revoke a not-for-profit permit.”

Ritvo said it’s still unclear where the horses will come from to fill the race on Dec. 31. A Quarter Horse meeting is currently being conducted at nearby Hialeah Park. Post time for the race is expected to be set at noon.

“At the moment we have no plans as to where we’ll get the horses for this race or what the purse will be although after holding a preliminary discussion with Racing Secretary Dan Bork, it is likely the purse will be somewhere in the range of $10,000 to $15,000. Whatever that purse may be, none of the money will come out of the Thoroughbred purse fund.”

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Gulfstream Park Tells FHBPA’s Kent Stirling That Caesar’s Destination Resort Behind Bizarre Quarter Horse Pari-Mutuel Permit Slot Grab; The Blood Horse’s Jim Freer Reports

Posted on December 27, 2011 by

Gulfstream Quarter Horse Plan Questioned

Updated: Monday, December 26, 2011 1:09 PM
Gulfstream Quarter Horse Plan Questioned

Photo: Coglianese Photos
Gulfstream Park

Gulfstream Park will hold one or possibly two Quarter Horse races over the New Year’s weekend—one after its last Thoroughbred race Dec. 31 and a second possibly after its last Thoroughbred race Jan. 1.  The plan to run those races has led to immediate and strong opposition from the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association.

“Gulfstream Park has decided to exercise its dormant, non-profit Quarter Horse permit,” Gulfstream president and GM Tim Ritvo said in a statement Dec. 23. “We were advised by counsel that if we didn’t exercise the permit there was a possibility of losing it during the upcoming (Florida) legislative session.”

Ritvo added: “Every major pari-mutuel has been activating their dormant permits due to widespread expectations that lawmakers will revoke the permits during the upcoming session.”

Purses for the Quarter Horse races will come out of a separate account from the purse account for Gulfstream’s current meet, he said.

However, the Florida HBPA is considering legal action that would prevent Gulfstream from holding Quarter Horse races, said  the association’s executive director Kent Stirling. He said the Florida HBPA is concerned that Gulfstream could have expanded Quarter Horse racing during months other than the Thoroughbred season—with money from simulcasts, slot machines, and poker going to groups other than Thoroughbred horsemen.

Gulfstream, in Hallandale Beach, Fla., has held a Quarter Horse permit for several years.  On Dec. 19, the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering issued Gulfstream a Quarter Horse license for two performances.

Stirling said that Gulfstream’s contract with the Florida HPBA does not allow it to hold any racing other than Thoroughbred racing through Dec. 31, 2012.  He said the Florida HBPA is considering legal action that would prevent Gulfstream from holding Quarter Horse races.
Alon Ossip, an executive vice president for The Stronach Group, which owns Gulfstream, on Dec. 22 told Stirling and other Florida HBPA officials about the plan for two Quarter Horse races.

Ossip did not provide the Florida HBPA with details on plans for any additional Quarter Horse racing at Gulfstream, Stirling said.

Under one interpretation of Florida laws, holding one Quarter Horse race in two consecutive years can make a pari-mutuel in Broward County (Gulfstream’s locale) or Miami-Dade County eligible for a second casino.  Each of those casinos can have as many as 2,000 Las Vegas-style slot machines.

“He (Ossip) said the two Quarter Horse races could enable Gulfstream to have as many as 4,000 slots,” Stirling said. “He said someone like Caesar’s might be interested.”

A bill under consideration in the Florida legislature would authorize as many as three destination resort hotels in southeast Florida.  In addition to slot machines, each would have roulette and craps, which are currently not legal in Florida.

Ritvo has told The Blood-Horse that Gulfstream would like to be considered as a site for a destination resort.

Gulfstream has about 825 slot machines. It has vacant land, for a possible hotel-casino, on the south side of its property.

Gulfstream’s plan for two Quarter Horse races “came as a complete surprise, and was like a kick in the stomach from someone we thought was a partner,” Stirling said.
Ritvo said Ossip was hoping “to continue talks through Saturday to insure the horsemen this wasn’t being done to disrupt Thoroughbred racing. Unfortunately, members of the FHBPA were unavailable.”

“The Stronach Group remains committed to not only preserving Thoroughbred racing but allowing it to thrive,” Ritvo said.

Hialeah Park is holding Florida’s only conventional Quarter Horse meet with a purse contract with the Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association.

“They (Florida HQRA) are not providing horses to Gulfstream, and I don’t know who is,” Stirling said.

He said the Florida HBPA is concerned that Gulfstream could later use its Quarter Horse permit for pari-mutuel barrel racing—in a low-cost meet without the Florida HBPA in which Gulfstream might be able to keep bigger shares of simulcast and slot revenues.

He noted that Marc Dunbar, a Tallahassee attorney, is a lobbyist for Gulfstream and is one of the owners of Gretna Racing in Gretna, Fla.

Dunbar did not return phone calls.

On Dec. 1, Gretna Racing, which is near Tallahassee, began the first pari-mutuel barrel racing meet in Florida—a meet that is widely considered to be the first pari-mutuel barrel racing in the United States.

On Oct. 18, the Florida DPMW granted Gretna Racing a Quarter Horse license. Gretna is using the license for barrel racing, with Quarter Horses.

The Florida QHRA and the Florida Quarter Horse Breeders and Owners Association, in an emergency motion in a state court and in a state administrative hearing, are challenging the legality of Gretna’s licenses for racing and for a poker room it opened on Dec. 9.

Gretna Racing has been able to hold barrel racing, rather than conventional Quarter Horse racing, because Florida laws specify the breeds of horses but not the types of races that must be held with horse racing licenses.

On Dec. 21, Florida Gov. Rick Scott, said:“It doesn’t appear to me that it (barrel racing) was the intent of the law.”

Scott’s comment, to the Palm Beach Post editorial board, was his first public statement on the race meet at Gretna.

Several members of the Florida House and Senate have said they favor a change in definitions of horse racing, to prevent other facilities from having pari-mutuel barrel racing.  The Florida legislature will hold its 2012 regular session from Jan. 10 to March 9.

 

Read more: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/66710/gulfstream-quarter-horse-plan-questioned#ixzz1hm2Mwlzv

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Gulfstream Park Cancels Unsanctioned Quarter Horse Racing Scheduled for December 31, 2011

Posted on December 31, 2011 by

After long and intense negotiations, the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, together with Gulfstream Park, were pleased to announce that an understanding in principle has been reached on a tentative new purse agreement.  Both sides are pleased with the upside potential for Thoroughbred racing in Florida.  Importantly, Gulfstream’s planned, unsanctioned Quarter Horse race scheduled for 11:30 a.m. on December 31, 2011 that was so vehemently opposed by the Thoroughbred horsemen has been canceled as part of the agreement.

“I think the horsemen will be pleased with the results of the negotiation, which should mean increased purses going forward,” FHBPA President Phil Combest said.  “Naturally, it’s a relief that Gulfstream’s unsanctioned Quarter Horse race has been canceled, inasmuch as the precedent it set could have resulted in enormous negative impact for Florida’s racing industry.”

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Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (FHBPA) Seeks National HBPA Convention Sponsors as Calder Race Course Scales Back Commitment

Posted on January 5, 2012 by

Just nine days before the January 12 beginning of the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) Winter Convention in Hollywood Beach, Florida, Calder Race Course General Manager John Marshall informed the Florida HBPA, which is hosting the event, that the racetrack was significantly scaling back its prior sponsorship commitment of $10,000.

As a result, the Convention faces a budgetary shortfall.  Any individual or organization that might be able to help bridge that monetary gap with an emergency sponsorship is requested to please contact Wanda at the Florida HBPA (Telephone:  (305) 625-4591 or FHBPA@bellsouth.net).

The National HBPA represents over 35,000 Thoroughbred racehorse owners and trainers throughout the United States.  The Florida HBPA has over 5,000 members. 

To read about the FHBPA mission of helping horsemen, click here.

Posted in Florida Gambling, Florida Thoroughbred Racing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Florida AG on Slot Referenda: Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) DBPR may not issue a slot machine license in any county outside of Miami-Dade and Broward that seeks approval of slot machines by local referendum (see s.551.102(4)) without new legislative authorization for such a local referendum

Posted on January 13, 2012 by

In response to a question posted by Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (“DBPR”) Secretary Ken Lawson, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi issued an Opinion yesterday, January 12, 2012 addressed to Secretary Lawson on the subject of slot machines.  The Attorney General has concluded that the DBPR may not issue a slot machine license in any county outside of Miami-Dade and Broward that seeks approval of slot machines by local referendum (see s.551.102(4)) without new legislative authorization for such a local referendum.

“The United Florida Horsemen welcomes the Florida Attorney General’s opinion on slot referenda, which emphasizes our collective support for the responsible expansion of gambling,” said Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association Executive Director Kent Stirling.  “Obviously, any slot referendums based on questionable or unlawfully awarded pari-mutuel licenses should never be entertained under any circumstances.   Such activity does not represent the legitimate pari-mutuel industry in Florida, which has carefully adhered to Florida laws and regulations in the expansion thereof, and strongly condemns any activity to the contrary.  Further, our respective industries have entirely underwritten programs to ensure responsible gambling statewide.”

To view Attorney General Bondi’s Opinion 12-01, please follow the hyperlink below:
http://myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/JMEE-8QFQJC/$file/1201.pdf

To view Secretary Lawson’s request for an opinion, please follow the hyperlink below:
http://myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/JMEE-8QFQKU/$file/Request1201.pdf

Media inquiries contact:

Re: Opinion 12-01 issued to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation regarding slot machine referenda and Section 551.102(4), Florida Statutes.

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Pari-Mutuel Barrel Racing’s “North Florida Horsemen’s Association” Controlled by Gretna Racing, LLC Owners: Only in Florida Are Pari-Mutue​​ls Allowed to Own and Control Their Own Horsemen’s Unions

Posted on January 25, 2012 by

Pari-Mutuel Barrel Racing’s “North Florida Horsemen’s Association” Controlled by Gretna Racing, LLC Owners  

State of Florida Cheated Out of Literally 99.1 Percent Of Revenue It Could Be Earning Through Legitimate Quarter Horse Racing

Together with former third-generation Gulfstream Park attorney David Romanik, Gulfstream Park lobbyist Marc Dunbar is the part-owner of Gretna Racing, LLC, which is causing a deliberate horse racing industry decimation and dramatic loss of State revenue by having unilaterally introduced “pari-mutuel barrel racing” in North Florida.  This outright mockery of Florida law is enabled by these individuals’ own non-profit corporation known as the “North Florida Horsemen’s Association.”

Because the “North Florida Horsemen’s Association” is controlled by Dunbar and Romanik, revenues from Gretna’s cardrooms and, ultimately, slot machines, can easily be funneled back to their self-owned Gretna Racing, LLC, not to the “North Florida Horsemen’s Association” members who have unwittingly signed away their State and Federal purse negotiating rights.  These unsuspecting horsemen and women don’t realize that their rights to Gretna Racing’s revenues would otherwise be ensured under both Florida law and the Federal Interstate Horse Racing Act of 1978, the intent of which was never to have tracks own their own horsemen’s unions, since without ensuring lucrative purses to attract competitors, horse racing of any kind ceases to be a proper economic driver and job creator for any state.

If legitimate Quarter Horse racing sanctioned by the Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association (“FQHRA”) was taking place at Gretna Racing instead, these horsemen’s interests would otherwise be protected.  What’s worse, the irony is that legitimate Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association sanctioned Quarter Horse racing at Hialeah Park is out-earning Gretna “pari-mutuel barrel racing” by 99.1 percent, as reported to the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering.  Gretna Racing only pays $19.64 per day in pari-mutuel taxes.

With only 36 horses needed to complete Gretna’s entire “pari-mutuel barrel racing” meet, versus nearly 1,000 that are stabled right now at Hialeah Park, the FQHRA’s success, in turn, spurs economic development and job creation in both the racing and breeding industries, since that revenue is properly shared with horsemen according to State and Federal law,  thanks to the FQHRA.  As further evidence, Hialeah’s legitimate Quarter Horse meet has 803 licensed pari-mutuel employees registered at its facility, whereas Gretna Racing has only 38 comparable licensees.  Documented attendance at Hialeah Park averages 4,100 per day.  The Associated Press and other major media reported Gretna Racing to attract only 20-50 people per day.

But the fact is, Dunbar and Romanik are actually now profiting at Gretna Racing from the very same business plan that they, themselves, are suing the law-abiding horsemen’s associations for.  During 2011, Dunbar and Romanik launched a spurious lawsuit against the Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association and the Florida Quarter Horse Breeders’ and Owners’ Association, in which they claim damage from what the Florida Legislature ordained these statutory organizations to do:  Protect horsemen’s rights.

Nearly 450,000 members of United Florida Horsemen feel that the Florida Legislature should not support or negotiate with any person or entity that is currently engaged in a lawsuit designed to destroy horsemen’s livelihoods through self-dealing by means of dummy, self-owned horsemen’s associations designed exclusively to funnel pari-mutuel, card room and slot machine profits back to the track owners, rather than to properly disburse it to horsemen according to law.

To view State of Florida documentation on the ownership of “North Florida Horsemen’s Association,” click here.

The above information is based on reported Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering data.

Florida Non Profit Corporation:  NORTH FLORIDA HORSEMEN’S ASSOCIATION, INC.
Filing Information

Document Number:  N09000005229
FEI/EIN Number:  APPLIED
Date Filed:  05/29/2009
State:  FL
Status:  ACTIVE
Principal Address 215 SOUTH MONROE STREET, 2ND FLOOR TALLAHASSEE FL 32301-1839
Mailing Address P.O. BOX 10095 TALLAHASSEE FL 32302-2095

Registered Agent Name & Address:  DUNBAR, MARC W 215 SOUTH MONROE STREET, 2ND FLOOR TALLAHASSEE FL 32301-1839
US Officer/Director Detail Name & Address Title D:  ROMANIK, DAVID S 215 SOUTH MONROE STREET, 2ND FLOOR TALLAHASSEE FL 32301-1839
04/11/2011 — ANNUAL REPORT
04/09/2010 — ANNUAL REPORT

05/29/2009 — Domestic Non-Profit

The United Florida Horsemen are:
·         National and Florida Barrel Horse Association (24,000 members)
·         American Quarter Horse Association (350,000 national members; 7,163 Florida members)
·         Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association (439 members)
·         U.S. Trotting Association (25,000 members)
·         Florida Standardbred Owners and Breeders Association (630 members)
·         Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association (1,300 members)
·         National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (35,000 members)
·         Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (5,000 members)

www.UnitedFloridaHorsemen.org
www.FloridaHorsemen.com

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Florida Senate Agriculture Committee Acknowledges Florida as “Horse Capitol of the World”; Florida Legislators Are Urged To Support Proven Job Power, Economic Benefits of Legitimate Florida Quarter Horse Racing

Posted on January 30, 2012 by
Florida Senator Alan Hays is a longtime horseman

Senator Alan Hays, himself an experienced horseman, said: “We need to realize ancillary businesses that go with (the Florida horse) industry and the ripple effect of those dollars as they go through the state. This is a hidden gem and we need to do everything we can to magnify the effect.”

 

Legislators Are Urged  To  Support Proven Job Power, Economic Benefits of Legitimate Florida Quarter Horse Racing

Florida Senate Committee on Agriculture members were surprised to learn during a presentation today, January 30, 2012, that Florida’s horse industry is a $5.1 billion economic driver that creates 104,700 total statewide jobs per year.  In fact, for each horse, seven jobs are created, according to the American Horse Council.  To view the presentation (begins on Page 86) click here.

Florida Horse Park officials, who gave this morning’s presentation, described Marion County as the “Horse Capital of the World.”   They outlined the extraordinary buying power of the people who come to Florida from all over the world to watch, ride and care for horses of all kinds.  Purchase of hotel rooms and lodging, food, gasoline, clothing, feed, veterinary services, horseshoeing and more are some of the reasons for the dramatic economic benefit of Florida’s horse industry. 

Even the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association CEO Carol Dover was on hand to discuss the importance of the horse industry to her organization’s members.  She explained that the sheer strength of Florida’s Thoroughbred racing industry provides the very infrastructure to encourage and warrant hoteliers’ investment.

Committee Chairman Gary Siplin introduced the presentation by explaining that Florida’s horse industry is one of the strongest industries in the state and has national impact.

Senator Alan Hays, himself an experienced horseman, said:  “We need to realize ancillary businesses that go with (the Florida horse) industry and the ripple effect of those dollars as they go through the state.  This is a hidden gem and we need to do everything we can to magnify the effect.”

If horses really do create jobs, the Legislature should note the success of legitimate Quarter Horse racing at Hialeah Park, which is out-earning “pari-mutuel barrel racing” by 99.1%.   

As evidence, nearly 1,000 accredited Quarter Horses are stabled at Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association-sanctioned Hialeah Park.  But Gretna’s entire “barrel racing” meet only requires 36 horses total—thus killing the positive impact that would otherwise be generated if Gretna Racing were to have used its permit for legitimate Quarter Horse racing instead of “barrel racing.” 

Gretna’s spurious use of its Quarter Horse permit to operate “pari-mutuel barrel racing” has deliberately cut the number of horses needed at its facility by over 96 percent.

Unfortunately, because no clear definition of “horse racing” yet exists, gambling regulators are free to consider what will further degrade the value of Florida’s otherwise-successful Quarter Horse racing and breeding industry by entertaining plans for six (6)  Quarter Horse licenses likely designed to cut live racing through spurious schemes like “barrel racing” that dramatically reduce the number of horses needed to create the very jobs and economic development acknowledged by our Senators today. 

It’s a fact:  Gretna and its copycat schemes are slaughtering, not growing Florida horse jobs and economic impact that would otherwise come with Florida’s legitimate racing and breeding industries. 

“Florida’s horse industry is not ‘dead’” explained Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association Executive Director Kent Stirling. “We are confident our legislators understand what we bring to the table and will work to protect it. This means ensuring that clever lawyering and loopholes are not allowed to trump job creation and economic development.”

Does Florida really want the economic and job creating benefits of legitimate live horse racing to be replaced by slots, cardrooms, poker, “pari-mutuel barrel racing” . . . .  or worse?

Legislators, we urge your awareness of this morning’s Senate Committee on Agriculture horse industry presentation and ask you to vote against any related pari-mutuel legislation that would serve to kill jobs and economic development of Florida’s horse racing and breeding industry.

For more information, contact:

  • Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association:   Kent Stirling, Executive Director (305) 628-2989 or khs0813@bellsouth.net
  • Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association and Florida Quarter Horse Breeders’ and Owners’ Association:  Dr. Steve Fisch, DVM (850) 510-9650 or sfischDVM@avsequinehospital.com

 

The United Florida Horsemen are:

National and Florida Barrel Horse Association (24,000 members)

American Quarter Horse Association (350,000 national members; 7,163 Florida members)

Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association (439 members)

U.S. Trotting Association (25,000 members)

Florida Standardbred Owners and Breeders Association (630 members)

Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association (1,300 members)

National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (35,000 members)

Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (5,000 members)

 

www.UnitedFloridaHorsemen.org

 

Posted in Florida Destination Casinos, Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, Florida Gambling, Florida Thoroughbred Racing, Gretna Casino Based on Illegal Barrel Racing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Ignoring Florida Legislature, Pending Litigation, Gretna Pari-Mutuel Barrel Racing Seeks Regulatory Loophole Protection

Posted on January 31, 2012 by

Read the documents–Gretna Pari-Mutuel Barrel Racing Seeks Regulatory Loophole Protection

Seeking to protect its cardroom and pending slot operations by solidifying the very loophole that enabled “pari-mutuel barrel racing” in the first place, Gretna Racing LLC owners David Romanik and Marc Dunbar have filed a petition to amend Rule 61D-2.001, entitled “General Definitions.”  In response, the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering has scheduled a five-hour March 13 workshop on the issue just days after the 2012 Florida Legislature officially concludes.

The audacious move comes amid Florida legislators’ pending efforts to correct the State’s legal definition of “horse racing,” the absence of which has led to a relative avalanche of pari-mutuel permitholders attempting to leverage the “Gretna Model” to similarly exploit existing the State’s live horse racing requirements to secure cardrooms and, ultimately, slot machines.

Late in 2011, absence of a clear legal definition of “horse racing” was interpreted by the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering to allow for “pari-mutuel barrel racing.”  By successfully exploiting this loophole, Gretna Racing was deemed to meet Florida’s live racing requirements, thereby enabling the opening of its 365-day per year cardroom and poker facility.  At that point having filed minimal “racing dates” that also fulfilled Florida’s two-year live racing requirement for slot machine licensing, Gretna Racing’s Romanik and Dunbar quickly convinced Gadsden County officials to hold their desired slot referendum, despite the cloud of massive and costly litigation mounted by Florida horsemen strongly indicating that “pari-mutuel barrel racing” was, in fact, based on an illegal license award by state regulators.

Now, despite the pending legislative and litigation firestorm, and contrary to the stern disapproval of Florida Governor Rick Scott and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, pari-mutuel regulators will once again entertain Gretna Racing by considering Romanik and Dunbar’s proposed Rule amendment petition.  Essentially, amending Florida’s regulatory definition of “Contest” in the proposed manner would protect and perpetuate not only Gretna Racing, but its six copycat license applicants in the regulatory pipeline, thus firmly entrenching the expansion of gambling at the cost of decimated Florida horse racing industry jobs.

“The State of Florida licensed Gretna ‘pari-mutuel barrel racing’ without any enabling legislation, regulatory hearings or public input,” recalled Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association Executive Director Kent Stirling.  ”The last time I checked, you can’t just ignore the law, then go back and fix it when someone points out in hindsight the fact that you broke it!”

Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association President Steve Fisch noted, “Once again, Florida regulators are usurping the role of the Legislature and paying short shrift to the resulting job loss and economic drain—both of which have been stunningly quantified in this very short December/January time period.  The fact remains:  Legitimate Florida Quarter Horse racing is out-earning ‘pari-mutuel barrel racing’ in dramatic proportions.  To say one is the same as the other—especially in this tight budget year—is simply cheating Florida taxpayers across the board.”

For more information, contact:

  • Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association:   Kent Stirling (305) 628-2989 or khs0813@bellsouth.net
  • Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association & Florida Quarter Horse Breeders’ and Owners’ Association: Dr. Steve Fisch, DVM (850) 510-9650 or sfischDVM@avsequinehospital.com

 

 

www.UnitedFloridaHorsemen.org

www.FloridaHorsemen.com

Posted in Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, Florida Gambling, Florida Thoroughbred Racing, Gretna Casino Based on Illegal Barrel Racing, Gulfstream Park | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Quote from United Florida Horsemen on today’s Gadsden County slot referendum (1/31): The people of Gadsden County and the City of Gretna are being cheated out of exponentially more jobs and long-term economic development they could have had if Gretna Racing LLC were holding legitimate Quarter Horse racing instead

Posted on February 1, 2012 by

Quote from United Florida Horsemen on today’s Gadsden County slot referendum (1/31):
 
“Notwithstanding the fact that the Gadsden County Slot referendum was held based the unlawful premise of “pari-mutuel barrel racing,” the travesty is that, regardless, of tonight’s outcome, the people of Gadsden County and the City of Gretna are being cheated out of exponentially more jobs and long-term economic development they could have had if Gretna Racing LLC were holding legitimate Quarter Horse racing instead.   For those who doubt that fact, the truth is now in the numbers:  Real Quarter Horse racing at Hialeah Park has out-earned and outperformed Gretna’s “pari-mutuel barrel racing” by over 99 percent—all with no cardrooms, slots or bailout from the taxpayers of Florida.   As for job creation?  Hialeah has over 800 employees who received their pari-mutuel license at the facility.  Gretna has only 38.   Proof that real jobs created by real horse racing are something slot machines can never replace.”
 
For more information, contact:
Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association:   Kent Stirling (305) 628-2989 or khs0813@bellsouth.net
Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association & Florida Quarter Horse Breeders’ and Owners’ Association: Dr. Steve Fisch, DVM (850) 510-9650 or sfischDVM@avsequinehospital.com
 
 
www.UnitedFloridaHorsemen.org
www.FloridaHorsemen.com

Posted in Florida Destination Casinos, Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, Florida Gambling, Florida Thoroughbred Racing, Gretna Casino Based on Illegal Barrel Racing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Just One Month Before Issuing Pari-Mutuel Barrel Racing License, Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering Lost Hefty Attorneys’ Fees Court Battle With Gretna Racing Owners

Posted on February 5, 2012 by

Above: Gretna Racing LLC Owners David Romanik (left) and Marc Dunbar (right)

Just one month before awarding Gretna Racing LLC the highly questionable license with which it perpetrated “pari-mutuel barrel racing,” the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering had lost a complex protracted litigation battle with Gretna Racing owners David Romanik and Marc Dunbar over the lawyer/lobbyists’ petition for the award of attorneys’ fees in a case involving the Division’s denial of a Quarter Horse permit to “Ft. Myers Real Estate Holdings.”  (This company later became “South Marion Real Estate Holdings,” while a company by the name of Ft. Myers Real Estate Holdings is now controlled by Romanik.  South Marion Real Estate Holdings is controlled by Michael Goldstein, a longtime Romanik associate and grandson of an official at Pompano Park racetrack who formerly controlled Ft. Myers Real Estate Holdings.)

To view the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings September 15, 2011 Final Order in Case 11-001722FC, click here.  To view the entire docket, click here.

Demanding to be reimbursed as much as $360,831 from taxpayer coffers for their time in litigating the Division’s Ft. Myers Quarter Horse permit denial, Romanik and Dunbar even supplied experts who testified that a multiplier should be used to make the Division “’pay dearly,’ i.e., as punishment . . .” for what they termed “a gross abuse of the agency’s discretion.”

The request was enabled by the First District Court of Appeal, which said the Division’s later related actions were “so contrary to the fundamental principles of administrative law” that Ft. Myers Real Estate Holdings was entitled to an award of attorneys’ fees.

But, in reviewing the timesheets and other documentation submitted by Romanik, Dunbar and two other affiliated attorneys, the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings found “obvious flaws and less obvious insufficiencies” and “a large amount of duplication . . . which exceeds a tolerable degree.”

“Regardless of how Mr. Romanik’s hours are characterized, they were excessive and duplicative,” stated Administrative Law Judge Elizabeth McArthur, who ultimately reduced Romanik and Dunbar’s requested hourly fee from $450 to $325 and $300, respectively.  She further determined that the circumstances of this case did not warrant that the Division be “punished.”  In fact, the Division’s denial had been because of a new law, under which Ft. Myers Real Estate Holdings permit could no longer qualify for the Quarter Horse racing permit for which it had applied.

It was ultimately revealed that, should Ft. Myers Real Estate Holdings have actually commenced gaming operations, Romanik would have been paid $5 million, in addition to “any and all court fees that may be awarded.”  Dunbar’s law firm, Pennington et al, was to be a subcontractor in the deal.

South Marion Real Estate holdings, along with Pompano Park, are among six pari-mutuel entities that are currently awaiting the results of Quarter Horse license applications with the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering.  None currently hold agreements with the Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association, the State’s statutorily recognized horsemen’s association.

In 2011, Romanik and Dunbar launched a spurious smokescreen lawsuit against the statutory Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association, while the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation continues to mount aggressive taxpayer-funded litigation against the same organization in defense of its unilateral Gretna Racing license award, which was done with no enabling legislation or regulatory hearings.

Gretna Racing’s “pari-mutuel barrel racing” is enabled by the “North Florida Horsemen’s Association,” which is controlled and owned by Romanik and Dunbar.  State and federal law mandates that tracks must have agreements with lawful horsemen’s associations in order to ensure the proper distribution of funds derived from wagering revenue.  Aside from Gretna Racing, no other pari-mutuel currently actively owns and controls its own horsemen’s association.

Recently, in the face of mounting statewide disapproval, Hamilton Downs Jai Alai, which had applied for a “pari-mutuel barrel racing” license based on the Gretna Racing model, withdrew its application for racing dates.

www.UnitedFloridaHorsemen.org

Posted in Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, Florida Gambling, Florida Thoroughbred Racing, Gretna Casino Based on Illegal Barrel Racing, Gulfstream Park | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

In Bizarre Move, Gretna “Pari-Mutu​el Barrel Racing” Owner Sends “Breakage” Check to Florida Quarter Horse Organizati​on . . . Even Though No Agreement To Do So Exists Between Them

Posted on February 9, 2012 by

“Check Immediately Returned”

In a bizarre move during the week of February 6, 2012, Gretna Racing, LLC (Gretna) owners sent the Florida Quarter Horse Breeders’ and Owners’ Association (FQHBOA) a “breakage” check from its “pari-mutuel barrel racing” operation, even though no agreement of any sort exists between the two organizations to do so.

“Breakage,” commonly known as the amount of money left over after statutory and regulated wagering revenue distributions, would normally be part of monies audited by an independent horsemen’s association such as the FQHBOA and used to properly fund “purses” (prize money) and breeders’ awards according to state and federal law.

Notwithstanding the fact that barrel racing is not Quarter Horse racing, Gretna’s ‘pari-mutuel barrel racing’ operation has no agreement or affiliation with the Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association (FQHRA) or the FQHBOA.  Therefore, the check was promptly returned to its sender via documented post office mail.

“We find Gretna’s sending of this check to be highly questionable,” said Dr. Steve Fisch, DVM, who serves as FQHRA and FQHBOA President.   Concurrently, Gretna’s co-owners are aggressively pursuing litigation against FQHRA and FQHBOA members in what many have characterized as a coordinated effort to eliminate state and federal horsemen’s protections altogether.

The FQHRA and FQHBOA serve as the Florida arm of the 300,000-member American Quarter Horse Association (“AQHA”), which regulates Quarter Horse racing nationwide.  Among other substantial duties that include auditing and accounting of accredited Florida Quarter Horse racing purse distributions, the FQHRA and FQHBOA also ensure access to workers’ compensation coverage and liability protection for horsemen, including jockeys.  The National Barrel Horse Association regulates barrel horse competitions.  Both organizations oppose Gretna Racing’s use of “pari-mutuel barrel racing” as a means of skirting Florida’s live racing requirements for pari-mutuel permitholders to hold 365-day slot machines and poker.

As set forth by the Interstate Horse Racing Act of 1978 and echoed by Florida law, tracks must have an agreement with a horsemen’s organization in order to operate.  Horsemen’s associations are independent organizations that represent the contractual interests and associated welfare of the competing horse owners and trainers, along with their respective employees and horses.

Further, the process of auditing tracks’ statutory purse distributions to horsemen is often so tenuous, horsemen’s associations of all breeds, including the FQHRA and FQHBOA, as well as the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (FHBPA)–Florida’s Thoroughbred horsemen’s association—must employ their own full-time accountants and bookkeepers.

In the unprecedented case of “pari-mutuel barrel racing,” however, Florida regulators allowed Gretna to own its own horsemen’s group, a non-profit known as the “North Florida Horsemen’s Association (NFHA),” which is actually registered with the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering as a “non-wagering horse racing” permit.

And because, up until January 27, 2012, the “NFHA” has been controlled by former Gulfstream Park attorney David Romanik and Gulfstream Park lobbyist Marc Dunbar, who co-own Gretna with PCI Gaming, a company owned by an Alabama Indian tribe, Gretna can thereby control distribution of the “breakage” check unilaterally.   On January 27, 2012, Romanik’s authority as NFHA Director was transferred to a Board, which includes the City of Gretna’s City Manager, Antonio Jefferson and Florida Association of Mortgage Professionals Director Cindy Gramling.  Not surprisingly, the NFHA had “agreed” to allow Gretna Racing to circumvent the Florida statutes in this manner.

Read:  Gretna’s Agreement With Itself

“That these wayward funds were so haphazardly handled by Gretna officials effectively illustrates that the unsuspecting ‘North Florida Horsemen’s Association’ members are being kept in the dark about contracts and statutory funds distributions that would normally be subject to auditing by an independent horsemen’s group such as FQHRA and FQHBOA. ” FHBPA Executive Director Kent Stirling explained.  “What’s even more disconcerting , Gretna’s wayward ‘breakage’ check was for $727.70, but it reported $917.20 to the State of Florida for the same purpose.  Where is the missing money?”

FQHRA and FQHBOA-sanctioned racing at Hialeah Park out-earned Gretna “pari-mutuel barrel racing” by 99.1 percent in a direct comparison.  Under the protection of the FQHRA and FQHBOA at Hialeah Park, nearly 1,000 accredited Quarter Horses competed for nearly $4 million in purse money, whereas at Gretna, which underwrote its own purses and handled its own purse auditing and distribution, only a handful of barrel racers and approximately 40 horses of unknown breeds were known to compete for the advertised $38,000 in total prize money.

“It may come as a surprise to many that the FQHRA and FQHBOA once worked with Gretna until it refused to comply with AQHA regulations.  But, if this strange communication is Gretna’s way of saying it now wants to abide by AQHA racing code and Florida law, we certainly won’t rule out that possibility,” Dr. Fisch remarked.

Posted in Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, Florida Gambling, Florida Quarter Horse Racing, Florida Thoroughbred Racing, Gretna Casino Based on Illegal Barrel Racing, Gulfstream Park | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Florida Thoroughbred Racing Rules and Regulations Quietly Deleted on January 4, 2012

Posted on March 23, 2012 by

While most of Florida’s horse racing community went about its business on January 4, 2012, the State of Florida’s Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering  quietly repealed a shocking slate of crucial regulations pertaining to Thoroughbred racing under the cover of Florida Governor Rick Scott’s 2011 Executive Order to repeal regulations that are “unneeded” or “unnecessarily burdensome to small business.”  Each track, of course, is free to have its own “house rules.”  The question is . . . do they or will they?  Will a free-for-all ensue in which tracks can do whatever they want, whenever they want?  Or is this part of  greater effort to kill off legitimate horse racing so jokes like “barrel racing” or worse can be completely controlled by lobbyist track owners without the bother of state interference?

ALL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA REGULATIONS BELOW HAVE BEEN REPEALED AND NO LONGER EXIST.

Chapter Title: RULES OF THOROUGHBRED HORSERACING

https://www.flrules.org/gateway/ChapterHome.asp?Chapter=61D-13

61D-13.001 General Rules.

(1) Chapter 61D-13, Florida Administrative Code, applies to all permitholders and occupational licensees participating in thoroughbred horseracing in Florida.

(2) Prior to the beginning of the meet, permitholder management shall notify the division of the post time of the first race of each performance of the meet.

(3) Racing permitholders shall at all times maintain their track surfaces in good condition and shall have proper implements to maintain a uniform track surface, weather conditions permitting.

(4) Any person who exercises, breezes, or races horses on the permitholder’s grounds shall wear a protective helmet and vest.

(5) It shall be a violation of these rules for any person to:

(a) Leave unattended any needle or syringe in a stall or horse barn.

(b) Smoke in horse stalls, feed rooms, and under the sheds.

(c) Sleep in any of the feed rooms or stalls at any time.

(d) Lock stalls occupied by horses.

(e) Permit open fires anywhere in the stable area, or to use any oil or gas burning lanterns or lamps.

(f) Possess electrical appliances that are not in safe working condition to be used in the stable area.

(g) Permit the accumulation of debris in the alleyway in front of the stalls and blockage of the alleyway that would prevent easy access to each stall door in case of fire.

Specific Authority 550.0251(3), (11) FS. Law Implemented 550.0251 FS. History–New 8-15-04.

61D-13.002 Stewards.

(1) During each racing meet there shall be a Board of Stewards at each thoroughbred permitholder facility which consists of three (3) stewards, one (1) of whom shall be the State Steward selected and hired by the division, and two (2) of whom shall be hired by the permitholder.

(2) The Board of Stewards shall have the authority to enforce the laws of the State of Florida and the rules of the division regarding racing (collectively referred to as the “Racing Laws”), and shall have jurisdiction over all racing officials, occupational licensees, and patrons under the Racing Laws. The Board of Stewards’ period of authority shall commence at the beginning of each race meet and shall terminate with the completion of their business pertaining to the race meet, which may include hearings, which occur after the race meet, for disciplinary action for violations occurring during the race meet. No racing official other than the stewards shall have the right to impose a fine or suspension of license for a violation of state laws or rules.

(3) The Board of Stewards shall take notice of alleged misconduct or violations of the Racing Laws, and initiate investigations into alleged misconduct or violations. The Board of Stewards shall investigate promptly and render a decision in every protest, objection and complaint made under the Racing Laws. They shall maintain a record of all protests, objections and complaints. The Board of Stewards shall file daily with the division and the permitholder a copy of each protest, objection or complaint and any related ruling.

(4) The Board of Stewards shall conduct all proceedings in accordance with the provisions of Rule 61D-3.001, Florida Administrative Code. The State Steward shall be the presiding steward in any hearings or proceedings conducted by the Board of Stewards in regard to the Racing Laws. The Board of Stewards shall impose any of the following penalties on an occupational licensee for a violation of the Racing Laws:

(a) Issue a reprimand or suspend imposition of a penalty pending a similar violation;

(b) Impose a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 for each count or separate offense;

(c) Scratch or disqualify a horse from racing;

(d) Require forfeiture or redistribution of a purse or award, when specified by law;

(e) Suspend a license for not more than sixty (60) days for each count or separate; or

(f) Impose any combination of penalties as set forth in paragraphs (a) through (f) of this rule.

(5) For racing violations, notice of hearings of the Board of Stewards shall be oral notice to the licensee. Failure to appear at the time and place designated shall automatically result in suspension until appearance. The Board of Stewards shall grant a continuance of hearing for a reasonable length of time upon good cause being shown. Good cause shown shall include, but is not necessarily limited to, the availability of the results of a split sample requested pursuant to Section 550.2415(5), Florida Statutes, the availability of witnesses or other matter outside of the control of the parties involved in the hearing.

(6) Each of the stewards shall be present in the Board of Stewards’ stand during the running of each race. The Board of Stewards shall have the authority to interpret and enforce the Racing Laws, and to decide all questions regarding racing relating to the Racing Laws.

(7) The decision of the Board of Stewards as to the official order of finish, including the disqualification of a horse or horses as a result of any event occurring during the running of the race, shall be final for the purposes of distribution of the pari-mutuel wagering pool. When the stewards determine that a horse shall be disqualified for interference, they shall place the offending horse behind any such horse or horses as in their judgment such horse interfered with, or if the interference was intentional, placed other horses and jockeys at risk of injury or altered the finishing position of the horse or horses interfered with, they shall place it last.

(8) The Board of Stewards has the authority to cancel wagering on an individual betting interest or on an entire race and also has the authority to cancel a pari-mutuel pool for a race or races, if such action is necessary to protect the integrity of pari-mutuel wagering.

(9) The stewards shall, within 72 hours after the close of each racing day, file with the division, a signed report of any and all infractions of the laws and rules coming under their observation, and shall file with the division any and all rulings on infractions or otherwise as soon as said rulings are made.

Specific Authority 120.80(4)(a), 550.0251(3), (11), 550.1155 FS. Law Implemented 120.80(4)(a), 550.0251, 550.1155 FS. History–New 8-15-04.

61D-13.003 Jockeys.

(1) Each jockey and apprentice jockey must obtain an occupational license from the division and abide by the rules outlined in this section. References to jockeys under this section shall be deemed to include apprentice jockeys.

(2) A jockey shall fulfill all riding engagements unless excused by a licensed physician. If a jockey fails to fulfill all riding engagements for any reason (including excused absentees), then the jockey will not be permitted to ride on the subsequent race day even if the jockey has been previously engaged to do so. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board of Stewards may grant a jockey relief from the provisions of this rule, but only in the event good cause is demonstrated by the jockey. Good cause shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, an event beyond the jockey’s control or the jockey being committed to participate in a race designated as a stakes race by the permitholder.

(3) A jockey under temporary suspension shall not ride in a race during the period of the suspension except that the jockey may fulfill any designated stake race engagements on file with the stewards at the beginning of the meet.

(4) No jockey shall make a bet on any race nor accept the promise or the token of any bet, with respect to the race in which the jockey is participating, except through or from the owner or trainer of the horse the jockey rides, and then only on that horse to win or place first in any multiple horse type wager.

(5) The use of spurs by a jockey is prohibited.

(6) Jockeys shall keep their feet in the stirrups at all times during the race.

Specific Authority 550.0251(3), (11) FS. Law Implemented 550.0251 FS. History–New 8-15-04.

61D-13.004 Maintaining a Straight Course.

(1) If the stewards determine that a racing infraction was intentional, or due to careless riding or driving, the jockey shall be held responsible.

(2) When the way is clear in a race, a horse may be ridden or driven to any part of the course, but if any horse swerves, or is ridden to either side so as to interfere with, impede, or intimidate any other horse, it is a racing infraction.

(3) The offending horse shall be disqualified if, in the opinion of the stewards, the racing infraction altered the outcome of the race, regardless of whether the infraction was accidental, willful, or the result of careless riding.

(4) A horse crossing another horse so as actually to impede that horse shall be disqualified, unless the impeded horse was partly in fault or the crossing was wholly caused by the fault of some other horse or jockey.

(5) If a horse or jockey jostles another horse, the aggressor shall be disqualified, unless the jostle was wholly caused by the fault of some other horse or jockey or had no impact upon the outcome of the race.

(6) If a jockey willfully strikes another horse or jockey, or rides willfully or carelessly so as to injure another horse which is in no way in fault, or so as to cause other horses to do so, his horse is disqualified.

(7) When a horse is disqualified under the rules, the other horse or horses in the same race coupled as an entry shall be disqualified, unless the stewards determine that the offense committed by the horse or jockey did not assist the coupled horse or horses.

(8) Complaints under this rule can only be received from the owner, trainer, or jockey of the horse alleged to be aggrieved and must be made to the Outrider, Clerk of Scales or to the stewards prior to the race being made official. Nothing in this section shall prevent the stewards taking notice on their own recognizance of a riding or driving foul.

(9) Any jockey against whom a foul is claimed shall be given the opportunity to present his case to the stewards before they make any decision.

(10) A jockey whose horse has been disqualified or who unnecessarily causes his horse to shorten its stride with a view to complain or so as to give the appearance of having suffered a racing infraction, or an owner, trainer or jockey who complains frivolously that his horse has been crossed or jostled, shall be disciplined pursuant to subsection 61D-13.002(4), Florida Administrative Code.

(11) All horses and jockeys are expected to give their best effort to win all races in which they participate, and any instructions or advice to the jockeys, or any handling of their horses by the jockeys other than for the purpose of winning are forbidden. All persons violating this rule will be subject to fines or license suspension, or both, by the stewards.

(12) The decision of the stewards as to the extent of a disqualification of any horse in any race shall be final.

Specific Authority 550.0251(3), (11) FS. Law Implemented 550.0251 FS. History–New 8-15-04.

61D-13.005 Disqualification.

(1) When the stewards determine that a horse shall be disqualified for interference, they shall place the offending horse behind such horse or horses it interfered with. However, if the interference was intentional, placed other horses and jockeys at risk of injury or altered the finishing position of the horse or horses interfered with, they shall place it last.

(2) Possession of any electrical or mechanical stimulating or shocking device by a jockey, horse owner, trainer, or other person authorized to handle or attend to a horse, shall be grounds for the stewards to scratch or disqualify the horse and impose penalties upon the possessors of such devices pursuant to subsection 61D-13.002(4), Florida Administrative Code.

(3) The stewards shall determine the appropriate placement or whether a horse shall be unplaced for the purpose of purse distribution for a violation of Section 550.2415(1)(a), Florida Statutes.

Specific Authority 550.0251(3), (11), 550.2415(13) FS. Law Implemented 550.0251, 550.2415 FS. History–New 8-15-04

61D-13.006 Use of Whips.

(1) Although the use of a whip is optional, any jockey who uses a whip during a race shall do so only in a manner consistent with exerting his or her best efforts to win.

(2) In all races where a jockey participates without a whip, an announcement of such fact shall be made over the public address system.

(3) Prohibited uses of the whip include use of the whip:

(a) On any part of the horse’s body other than the shoulders or hindquarters;

(b) During the post parade or after the finish of the race;

(c) Excessively or brutally causing welts or breaks in the horse’s skin;

(d) When the horse is clearly out of the race or has obtained its maximum placing;

(e) Persistently, even though the horse is showing no response under the whip; or

(f) Striking another horse or any person.

Specific Authority 550.0251(3), (11), 550.1155 FS. Law Implemented 550.0251, 550.1155 FS. History–New 8-15-04, Amended 1-4-05.

Posted in Calder Race Course, Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, Florida Gambling, Florida Quarter Horse Racing, Florida Thoroughbred Racing, Gretna Casino Based on Illegal Barrel Racing, Gulfstream Park | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Post-Gretna “Pari-Mutuel Barrel Racing” Palm Beach Kennel Club Slot Seekers Appear to be Jockeying for Florida Attorney General Opinion Wiggle Room: The Palm Beach Post’s Dara Kam Reports Boca woman sues Palm Beach County to take slots vote off November ballot

Posted on March 28, 2012 by

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Updated: 7:55 p.m. Tuesday, March 27, 2012; Posted: 7:51 p.m. Tuesday, March 27, 2012

 Read the Palm Beach County Slot Machine Referendum Complaint Here

A Boca Raton woman has filed a lawsuit asking a judge to take a slot machine referendum off the November ballot in Palm Beach County because she believes it “may be nothing more than a straw poll.”

County commissioners voted in December to place the referendum on the ballot in the hopes that a favorable vote would lead to the Palm Beach County Kennel Club being able to offer slot machine gambling.

But Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote a non-binding opinion in January saying that pari-mutuels outside Broward and Miami-Dade counties, where voters approved slot machines years ago, are not allowed to have the more lucrative slots without changes to the state constitution or permission from the Legislature. Citing Bondi’s opinion, Gov. Rick Scott and the Department of Business of Professional Regulation said they will not grant permits for slot machines at pari-mutuels outside Broward or Miami-Dade.

Bondi’s and DPR’s actions were in response to an effort by Creek Entertainment Gretna to get a slots permit for it barrel-racing track and poker room in Gadsden County, where voters approved slots in January.

In the Palm Beach County lawsuit, Sandra Medlicott alleges that the referendum would mislead county voters by giving them the impression that, if the referendum passes, the Palm Beach Kennel Club would be able to get slots. But “the proposed referendum may be nothing more than a straw poll that cannot authorize slot machine gaming” at pari-mutuels in the county, Fort Lauderdale attorney D. David Keller wrote in the lawsuit filed March 20 against the county commission and Elections Supervisor Susan Bucher.

Keller would not elaborate abut why Medlicott filed the lawsuit. “The lawsuit speaks for itself. I have a policy of not commenting on pending lawsuits. I do my talking in court,” he said.

Commissioner Burt Aaronson, who pushed the county to put the referendum on the ballot, said he hadn’t seen the lawsuit and could not comment.

The county put the referendum on the ballot after an 2011 appellate court ruling involving Hialeah Park racetrack found that the legislature has the authority to allow slot machines at pari-mutuels without a constitutional amendment, as was required for Broward and Miami-Dade counties. That decision is on appeal to the Florida Supreme Court, which has not decided whether to take it.

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Jennifer Sorentrue contributed to this story.

Posted in Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, Florida Gambling, Florida Slot Machines, Gretna Casino Based on Illegal Barrel Racing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tampa Tribune Commentary: Hamilton County Florida Slot Referendum Anchored by Gretna Copycat “Pari-Mutuel Barrel Racing”; Designed to Kill Jobs That Would Normally Be Created With Legitimate Quarter Horse Racing, FHBPA’s Kent Stirling and FQHRA’s Dr. Steven Fisch Explain

Posted on April 3, 2012 by

www2.tbo.com

Gambling on “barrel racing”

By KENT STIRLING, STEVE FISCH|Special to The Tampa Tribune
Published: April 03, 2012   Updated: April 03, 2012 – 12:00 AM

www.tampatribune.com

As the people of Hamilton County in North Florida approach the April 10 decision on whether to allow slot machines at Hamilton Downs Jai Alai and Poker, they should know that the referendum’s backers have deliberately misled them on the number of promised jobs, as well as the highly questionable behind-the-scenes manipulation on which the referendum is based.

The stark reality is that if Hamilton Downs were holding legitimate, accredited quarter horse racing versus the contrived “parimutuel barrel racing,” a minimum of 800 more jobs would be available. The truth is available in documented real numbers — not promises or projections.

Heretofore, Florida has allowed slot machines only at facilities that hold live racing, which traditionally employs thousands of people.  Last year, more than 800 workers were licensed at Hialeah Park, at which legitimate quarter horse racing drew a daily average of 4,100 people, who wagered an average of more than $200,000 per day. Nearly $4 million in prize money was paid to competitors — all without the “help” of slot machines, poker or other predatory forms of gambling.

In direct competition, legitimate quarter horse racing out-earned Gretna Racing LLC’s self-styled “parimutuel barrel racing” by more than 99 percent. Worse, during December and January, Gretna “pari-mutuel barrel racing” paid the state of Florida only $19.64 in daily pari-mutuel taxes.

Last year, Florida’s Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering played a cruel trick on the people of Gretna in Gadsden County by enabling a rodeo event to be considered as a horse race. Ironically, “parimutuel barrel racing,” which is not even real barrel racing, is cleverly and purposefully designed to actually eliminate jobs that would normally be created by legitimate horse racing.

The record books will show that Gretna’s “parimutuel barrel racing” can be conducted with as few as 36 horses for the entire “meet,” whereas legitimate horse racing at Hialeah Park drew nearly 1,000 documented and accredited quarter horses from around the nation. All those horses employed a whole lot of people in Miami — both on the track and off, and drew entourages that enriched the businesses in Hialeah and Miami-Dade County, as well as generated tax payments that benefited the entire Florida economy.

Because each horse creates an average of seven jobs, Florida’s horse racing industry has grown over the years to employ in excess of 50,000 people annually, ranking us third in the nation behind New York and California. But parimutuel owners who are using “parimutuel barrel racing” to deliberately cut the number of jobs, horses and racing days down to the bare minimum don’t care. They hope their paltry promise of a few hundred jobs can fool Hamilton’s unwitting citizens, whose “yes” vote will be used to make a few insiders very wealthy, with little return for Florida’s economy.

Considered by the National Barrel Horse Association to be a joke and an insult to its sport, “parimutuel barrel racing” requires just eight horses per performance, as opposed to an actual sanctioned barrel racing event, which typically draws hundreds of horses in just one day. Nothing but a perfunctory way to meet the state’s live racing requirements, “parimutuel barrel racing” purposely eliminates the need for additional horses and their respective entourages (and thus, jobs) that legitimate horse racing brings.

When the Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association insisted upon safe, American Quarter Horse Association-approved humane conditions for horses that were supposed to run in on an oval track promised by Gretna Racing LLC owners, Gretna Racing’s Alabama Poarch Indian Tribe and lobbyist-owners sued. To date, no oval track has been built, while regulators sit idle and allow these promises to be broken.

Now, other parimutuels stand to benefit from the “Gretna Loophole.”

Neither the National Barrel Horse Association nor the American Quarter Horse Association approve of “parimutuel barrel racing.” Rather, Gretna Racing “competitors” are just a pre-selected few insiders who have signed away their rights in a non-compete agreement.

“Parimutuel barrel racing” will never grow into anything. Its creators don’t want it to. What they want is your money in their slot machines.

Only with legitimate horse racing can the installation of slot machines create a winning equation that truly will grow the economy by creating thousands more jobs. And not only at the Hamilton Downs facility, but throughout the county and surrounding areas by fostering the breeding, training and racing of legitimate race horses — which is what Hamilton’s people expect. When the resulting outlying farms grow and prosper through legitimate horse racing, businesses will grow to support them.

On April 10 the people of Hamilton County should vote “no” or, better yet, save their votes for a day when the casino barons actually deliver the fair deal that taxpayers expect: 1,000 quarter horses at a real racetrack, and the thousands of jobs they create.

Kent Stirling is executive director of the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association.   Dr. Steven Fisch is president of the Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association.

Posted in Florida Destination Casinos, Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, Florida Gambling, Florida Quarter Horse Racing, Florida Slot Machines, Florida Thoroughbred Owners & Breeders Association, Florida Thoroughbred Racing, Gretna Casino Based on Illegal Barrel Racing, Gulfstream Park, Slot Machines | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Gretna Racing LLC Co-Owner and Former Gulfstream Park Attorney David Romanik Deposed in Florida Taxpayer-Funded Litigation to Subsidize and Protect Failure of “Pari-Mutuel Barrel Racing”

Posted on April 5, 2012 by
  • To access the complete dockets for Taxpayer-Funded Litigation to Protect Gretna Racing LLC’s “Pari-Mutuel Barrel Racing,” and the “North Florida Horsemen’s Association” Retaliatory Nuicance Case, which is also forcing the State of Florida to expend taxpayer dollars t0 defend Gretna Racing in drawn-out litigation, scroll down.
  • Click here to read the Tampa Tribune Commentary on the “Gretna Loophole” that Hamilton Downs Jai Alai plans to exploit.

From The Florida Current

Gretna Racing partner David Romanik deposed in barrel racing case

By Gray Rohrer, 04/04/2012 – 04:58 PM

 
David Rominik, a partner in Gretna Racing LLC, the group that received a license from state regulators last year allowing them to conduct barrel horse races, was deposed Wednesday in Ocala as part of an administrative court case in which quarter horse racing groups are seeking to invalidate the license.

The Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association and the American Quarter Horse Association are fighting the license because they contend the new form of pari-mutuel license is a way of minimizing the costly overhead involved in racing quarter horses and thoroughbreds. An administrative court judge will hear the case in Tallahassee next week.

In barrel racing, bettors wage money on which horse has fastest time through a course on a rodeo-like track set up with barrels. Horses race one at a time in timed events, as opposed to traditional horse racing in which several horses race to the finish line.

The groups contend that the license issued by the state’s Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering constitutes an unpromulgated rule without statutory sanction. Gretna Racing, however, has countered that FQHRA and AQHA are merely trying to solidify their “monopoly” on agreements with existing horse tracks for prize and purse money, freezing out the newly formed North Florida Horsemen’s Association.

Attempts to reach Gretna Racing officials Wednesday were unsuccessful. But in response to an attempt by the FQHRA to get a court to grant a stay of the license last year, their lawyers noted that “Florida law has never defined the terms ‘horse race’ or ‘horse racing’ . . . undoubtedly because these words, since the founding of our country, have consistently been interpreted to mean simply a contest between two or more horses racing against each other or against time.”

Meanwhile, the NFHA, which the other quarter horse groups contend is a front organization for Romanik and fellow Gretna Racing partner Marc Dunbar, is challenging a purse agreement between the Florida Quarter Horse Breeders and Owners Association (which is affiliated with FQHRA) and the Hialeah Park Race Track. FQHRA officials say the challenge, which is set for an administrative court hearing in May, is simply a tactic to pressure the groups fighting the barrel racing license.

“The agreement is fairly boilerplate,” said Michael Barry, a lawyer representing the quarter horse groups in the case. “It’s clearly been brought as a way to retaliate against the quarter horse associations for challenging the barrel racing license at Gretna.”

A decision from the administrative court judge in the barrel racing license case is not expected until two months after the hearing.

Reporter Gray Rohrer can be reached at grohrer@thefloridacurrent.com.

Filed in: Gaming
Tags: Pari-Mutuels

Docket for Case No: 12-000896

NORTH FLORIDA HORSEMEN’S ASSOCIATION, INC.
vs.
FLORIDA QUARTER HORSE BREEDERS AND OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC., AND FLORIDA QUARTER HORSE RACING ASSOCIATION, INC., AND DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL REGULATION, DIVISION OF PARI-MUTUEL WAGERING

Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 4/3/2012 Notice of Hearing (hearing set for May 22, 2012; 9:00 a.m.; Tallahassee, FL).
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 4/3/2012 Order of Pre-hearing Instructions.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 3/27/2012 Notice of Transfer.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 3/23/2012 Response to Initial Order filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 3/14/2012 Initial Order.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 3/13/2012 Agency referral filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 3/13/2012 Petition for Formal Administrative Hearing Involving Disputed Issues of Material Fact filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 3/13/2012 Motion to Dismiss filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 3/13/2012 Response to Motion to Dismiss filed.

Docket for Case No: 11-005796RU

FLORIDA QUARTER HORSE RACING ASSOCIATION, INC.; FLORIDA QUARTER HORSE BREEDERS, AND OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC.; AND GERALD KEESLING
vs.
DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL REGULATION, DIVISION OF PARI-MUTUEL WAGERING

Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 4/3/2012 Respondent and Intervenors’ Joint Motion for More Definite Statement filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 4/2/2012 Notice of Agency Representative Deposition filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 3/30/2012 Notice of Deposition (of D. Romanik) filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 3/30/2012 Notice of Corporate Representative Deposition filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 3/28/2012 Intervenor’s Notice of Taking Deposition (of S. Fisch) filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 3/28/2012 Notice of Deposition (of M. Champion) filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 3/28/2012 Notice of Depositions (of W. Cox, S. Dymmik, and B. Dickman) filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 3/28/2012 Notice of Telephonic Deposition (of D. Donn) filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 2/14/2012 Order Granting Continuance and Re-scheduling Hearing (hearing set for April 9 through 11, 2012; 9:00 a.m.; Tallahassee, FL).
Not Available 2/14/2012 CASE STATUS: Pre-Hearing Conference Held.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 2/13/2012 Letter to Judge Sellers from M. Dunbar regarding request for telephone conference to re-schedule final hearing filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 1/30/2012 Order Granting Continuance and Re-scheduling Hearing (hearing set for March 28 through 30, 2012; 9:00 a.m.; Tallahassee, FL).
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 1/27/2012 Intervenor’s Notice of Stay filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 1/27/2012 Intervenor’s Memorandum of Law filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 1/27/2012 Amended Notice of Hearing (hearing set for February 2 and 3, 2012; 10:30 a.m.; Tallahassee, FL; amended as to starting time on first day of hearing).
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 1/27/2012 Amended Notice of Hearing (hearing set for February 2, 3 and 6, 2012; 10:30 a.m.; Tallahassee, FL; amended as to dates of hearing).
Not Available 1/27/2012 CASE STATUS: Pre-Hearing Conference Held.
Not Available 1/27/2012 CASE STATUS: Pre-Hearing Conference Held.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 1/24/2012 Notice of Telephonic Deposition (of D. Donn) filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 1/24/2012 Notice of Telephonic Deposition (of M. Champion) filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 1/20/2012 Notice of Depositions (of L.P. Stallings and C. Taylor) filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 1/20/2012 Intervenor’s Notice of Taking Depositions (of T. Buck, D. Schauf, G. Keesling, and S. Fisch) filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 1/19/2012 Notice of Deposition (of K. Allen) filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 1/18/2012 Order Denying Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 1/18/2012 Intervenor’s Response to Petitioners’ First Request for Production of Documents filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 1/18/2012 Certificate of Service of Intervenor’s Answers to Petitioners’s First Interrogatories to Intervenor filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 1/13/2012 Notice of Serving Petitioners’ First Set of Interrogatories on Intervenor filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 1/13/2012 Petitioner’s First Request for Production of Documents to Intervenor filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 1/12/2012 Petitioner, Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association, Inc.’s Response to Respondent’s First Request for Admissions filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 1/12/2012 Petitioner, Florida Quarter Horse Breeders and Owners Association, Inc.’s Response to Respondent’s First Request for Admissions filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 1/12/2012 Notice of Service Respondent’s Answers to Petitioners’ First Set of Interrogatories filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 1/12/2012 Division’s Response to Petitioners’ First Request for Admissions filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 1/12/2012 Department of Business & Professional Regulation Division of Pari-mutuel Wagerings Response to Petitioners’ First Request for Production filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 1/11/2012 Petitioners’ Response in Opposition to Intervenor’s Motion to Dismiss filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 1/11/2012 Petitioner, Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association, Inc.’s Response to Respondent’s First Request for Production filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 1/11/2012 Petitioner, Florida Quarter Horse Breeders and Owners Associaiton, Inc.’s Response to Respondent’s First Request for Production filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 1/11/2012 Notice of Serving Petitioner’s Unverified Answers to Respondent, Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Parimutiel Wagering’s First Interrogatories filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 1/11/2012 Notice of Serving Petitioner’s Unverified Answers to Respondent, Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Pari-mutuel Wagering’s First Interrogatories filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 1/10/2012 Intervenor’s Notice of Supplemental Authority filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 1/6/2012 Notice of Depositions (of J. Pouncey, J. Blackman, and J. Dillmore) filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 1/3/2012 Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 12/20/2011 Notice of Scrivener’s Error filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 12/20/2011 Order Denying Request to Take Official Recognition and Motion to Abate.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 12/20/2011 Order Granting, in Part, and Denying, in Part, Motion to Dismiss Amended Petition Challenging Agency Statement Defined as a Rule and Denying Motion to Strike.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 12/19/2011 Petitioners’ Response in Opposition to Respondents’ Motions to Abate filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 12/19/2011 Division’s Joinder in Motion to Dismiss by Intervenor Florida Quarter Horse Track Association filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 12/16/2011 Motion to Dismiss Amended Petition and Motion to Strike Request for Unauthorized Relief filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 12/6/2011 Order Re-scheduling Hearing (hearing set for February 2 and 3, 2012; 9:00 a.m.; Tallahassee, FL).
Not Available 12/6/2011 CASE STATUS: Pre-Hearing Conference Held.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 12/5/2011 The Intervenor’s Response in Opposition to Motion for Continuance filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 12/5/2011 Order Granting Continuance (parties to advise status by January 5, 2012).
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 12/5/2011 Order Granting Motion for Leave to Amend Petition Challenging Agency Statement as Defined as a Rule.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 12/5/2011 Order Denying Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering`s Requests to Take Official Recognition.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 12/5/2011 Order Denying Division`s Motion to Stay Proceedings.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 12/2/2011 Intervenor’s Request to Take Official Recognition and Motion to Abate this Proceeding Resolution of Pending Appeal filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 12/2/2011 Motion for Continuance filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 12/2/2011 Division of Pari-mutuel Wagering’s Concurrence/Joinder in Intervenor’s Request for Official Recognition and Motion to Abate Pending Resolution of Pending Appeal filed.
Not Available 12/2/2011 CASE STATUS: Pre-Hearing Conference Held.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 12/1/2011 Notice of Appearance (Marc Dunbar) filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/30/2011 Letter to Judge Sellers from Cathy M. Sellers from D. Romanik in response to Order of November 29, 2011 filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/29/2011 The Intervenor’s Supplemental Response in Opposition to the Petitioners’ Motion to Amend Petition filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/29/2011 Petitioners’ Response in Opposition to Motion to Stay Administrative Proceeding filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/29/2011 Notice of Telephonic Motion Hearing (motion hearing set for December 2, 2011; 2:00 p.m.).
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/28/2011 Joinder in Motion to Dismiss filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/28/2011 The Intervenor’s Response to the Petitioners’ Motion to Amend Petition filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/23/2011 Petitioners, Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association, Inc., and Florida Quarter Horse Breeders and Owners Association, Inc.,’s First Request for Admissions to Respondent, Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Pari-mutuel Wagering filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/23/2011 Petitioners’ First Request to Take Official Recognition filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/23/2011 Notice of Serving Petitioners’ First Set of Interrogatories on Defendant, Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Pari-mutuel Wagering filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/23/2011 Petitioners’ First Request for Production of Documents to Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Pari-mutuel Wagering filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/23/2011 Motion Seeking Leave to Amend Petition Challenging Agency Statement Defined as a Rule filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/22/2011 Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering’s Third Request to Take Official Recognition filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/22/2011 Respondent’s First Request for Admissions to Petitioner Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association, Inc. filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/22/2011 Respondent’s First Request for Admissions to Petitioner, Florida Quarter Horse Breeders and Owners Association, Inc. filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/22/2011 Respondent’s First Request for Production to Petitioner Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association, Inc. filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/22/2011 Respondent’s First Request for Production to Petitioner, Florida Quarter Horse Breeders and Owners Association, Inc. filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/22/2011 Notice of Service of Interrogatories filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/22/2011 Petitioners’ Response in Opposition to Division’s Preliminary Motion to Dismiss filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/21/2011 Order Granting Petition to Intervene.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/21/2011 Division’s Motion to Stay Proceedings filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/21/2011 Division of Pari-mutuel Wagering’s Second Request to Take Official Recognition filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/18/2011 Notice of Appearance (Ralf Michels) filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/16/2011 Notice of Hearing (hearing set for December 13 and 14, 2011; 9:00 a.m.; Tallahassee, FL).
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/16/2011 Order of Pre-hearing Instructions.
Not Available 11/16/2011 CASE STATUS: Pre-Hearing Conference Held.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/15/2011 Petition to Intervene (filed by Florida Quarter Horse Track Association, Inc.) filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/15/2011 Division of Pari-mutuel Wagering’s First Request to Take Official Recognition filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/15/2011 Notice of Appearance (Charles Collette) filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/15/2011 Division’s Preliminary Motion to Dismiss filed.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/15/2011 Notice of Appearance (David Romanik) filed.
Not Available 11/15/2011 CASE STATUS: Pre-Hearing Conference Held.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/14/2011 Rule Challenge transmittal letter to Liz Cloud from Claudia Llado copying Ken Plante and the Agency General Counsel.
Document in Adobe Acrobat Format 11/14/2011 Order of Assignment.
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Casino developer: “Oversaturation” can backfire

Posted on May 18, 2012 by
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE The Cordish Company’s Maryland Live!, opening on June 6, will have 4,750 slot machines and cost $500 million. Owner David Cordish warns that the expansion of casino gambling can’t go unchecked forever. “I don’t know how we can control the politicians; they certainly don’t understand the word ‘oversaturation,’” Cordish said. 
May 18, 2012 12:25 AM

By Wayne Parry

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Casinos are not like Starbucks stores: You really can’t have one on every corner.

That’s the word from David Cordish, whose company is opening a huge new casino next month in Maryland.

Yet Cordish warns that the expansion of casino gambling can’t go on unchecked forever. A big problem is the attitude of politicians nationwide who view casinos as free money.

“I don’t know how we can control the politicians; they certainly don’t understand the word ‘oversaturation,’” Cordish said Thursday. “They think you can have casinos like Starbucks.”

If that attitude continues, Cordish said, “it’s going to implode on them.”

That sentiment was voiced repeatedly at The East Coast Gaming Congress, a major annual casino industry conference, held this year in the newly opened Revel casino resort in Atlantic City. The $2.4 billion Revel is being counted on to help turn around Atlantic City’s five-year slump. But several experts at the forum said the solution to Atlantic City’s woes is the closure of one or more of its 12 casinos.

“Here in Atlantic City, we have assets for sale that literally nobody wants to buy,” said Gary Loveman, president of Caesars Entertainment, which counts four Atlantic City gambling halls among its 56 casinos. “There is simply too much supply in Atlantic City. The supply doesn’t go away. That’s a very bad thing. The problem here? Nobody ever closes.”

During a panel of Wall Street experts, Andrew Zarnett, managing director of Deutsche Bank Securities, said Revel might hurt, rather than help, Atlantic City’s overall casino market.

“Everybody’s a loser; when you add supply to a market that’s not growing very much, everybody gets cannibalized,” he said. “We need some of this capacity to close and go away. I would have thought that would have happened two years ago, but the properties are still here.”

Zarnett said he doubts any Atlantic City casino will close until they see whether New Jersey will approve Internet gambling and throw the struggling properties a lifeline. He also predicted that New York will approve a casino in Manhattan within five years.

Not all the news from Atlantic City was bad, though: Figures released Thursday by state regulators showed the casinos saw a 17 percent increase in gross operating profit for the first quarter of this year, following a 26 percent increase in the fourth quarter of last year.

The expansion of casino gambling has continued rapidly over the last several years, nowhere more fiercely than in the Northeast. There is serious disagreement within the industry as to whether the market is oversaturated or whether there is room for further growth. But most agree it is tougher to do business in the Northeast casino market than it ever has been before.

The Cordish Co.’s Maryland Live!, opening on June 6, will have 4,750 slot machines and cost $500 million.

“Thanks, David, for bringing 4,700 new slots to this market,” joked Don Marrandino, eastern division president of Caesars Entertainment. “That’s great news

for us.”

Cordish said the casino market needs the stability of knowing how many operators there are going to be, particularly with the 67 percent tax Maryland imposes on its casinos.

He said the state will have four casinos with more slot machines “than anything in Las Vegas. It’s an experiment that nobody knows how it’s going to turn out. A contest I don’t want to win is Maryland will probably be the king of the oversaturated market with the highest tax rate. It’s a real problem.

“What happens when you put mega-casinos close together is they generally not only oversaturate the market, they don’t work,” Cordish said. In the Washington, D.C., region soon, he added, “you’ll have four of the largest casinos in the country operating within a short drive of one another.”

But new casinos keep coming. Timothy Wilmott, president of Penn National Gaming, which has 26 casinos nationwide, said the company is interested in new markets in Massachusetts and Texas and is opening new casinos in Ohio soon.

And Virginia McDowell, CEO of St. Louis-based Isle of Capri Casinos, which owns 15 casinos in six states, said there are excellent new markets that don’t yet have casino gambling. The company plans two more, including one in Pittsburgh. She listed Massachusetts, Texas and Florida as prime spots for new casinos and said even traditionally hostile states such as Georgia, the Carolinas and Kentucky are considering legalizing them.

“Frankly, some of these opportunities are the best untapped gambling markets in the United States,” she said. But, McDowell said, “the industry lets its best growth opportunities die on the vine, choosing instead to fight each other.”

Mitchell Etess, CEO of Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, said the state’s two Native American-run casinos once had few competitors, but the Northeast casino market is becoming more crowded.

And part of that will be due to Mohegan Sun, which is also seeking a casino license in Massachusetts.

 

To view this article on its original Web Page, go to:  http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120518/NEWS19/205180335/-1/NEWS06

 

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