By Lonny Powell, CEO and Executive Vice President, FTBOA
In the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association’s Annual Meeting of the Members video, recorded at our Ocala offices and presented Oct 23, I delivered one message above all others: creating a new replacement Florida racetrack dominates all other priorities.
Decoupling Threatened
Here in Florida, the last two legislative sessions brought battles over track-pursued decoupling and depressed breeder economics, following two of our most successful legislative years ever.
Over those two sessions, The Stronach Group’s Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs pursued legislation to decouple, divorcing gaming and gaming revenue from live racing requirements, purses and awards. The damage would reach our entire Florida Thoroughbred industry except the decoupled tracks, setting the stage for a particularly bad curtain drop unless live racing transitions to an economically and purse viable replacement track, with the modern facilities and innovative racing programs this competitive era demands.
That replacement is very unlikely to be in South Florida. The state’s restrictive and clear gaming laws, Gaming Compact requirements and the plain economics of South Florida real estate all point elsewhere.
A Permit on Ice
FTBOA is the only entity in Florida, and refreshingly a breeder, owner and horse-centric one, that already owns a legislatively approved and available non-profit Thoroughbred racing permit. Ocala Thoroughbred Racing, Inc. is a wholly owned non-profit subsidiary of FTBOA, and by law it must be located right here in Marion County, the Horse Capital of the World®. OTR has the potential to be a pivotal piece of the puzzle in providing a more stable, certain and rewarding future for everyone in Florida breeding and racing.
Two features make the OTR permit very special in today’s racing environment.
First, it carries ownership limitations. It cannot be transferred, leased or sold, so it always remains with FTBOA through OTR and within the industry.
Second, it is a non-profit. It is designed to support the industry by directing what it earns above expenses to the all-important areas of breeders’ awards, purses and equine retirement and welfare.
The enabling legislation passed in 2010, and OTR was founded in 2011. I can speak firsthand from my 15-plus years as your CEO: launching the permit was not our priority when I arrived. The resources required to acquire land, build a modern, customer and horse friendly facility, fund operations and, most importantly, pay competitive purses made it impractical for a non-profit breeders association.
So we vowed to keep our OTR permit very handy, very close, but on ice, unless Gulfstream Park or Tampa Bay Downs greatly reduced their live racing dates or actually pursued decoupling. Both pursued decoupling these last two sessions, and the time has clearly come to make our OTR permit a reality.
The economics of making it happen remain the challenge, and we work on them daily.
OTR, The Rising Tide
The good news is that for almost 18 months we have joined forces with an all-star advisory team led by Florida’s own John Morgan, an iconic attorney, enormously successful businessman, visionary and advocate. Beyond his nationally prominent firm Morgan & Morgan, John is heavily invested in the entertainment and sports worlds, including Thoroughbred ownership, and he is a huge fan and believer in the Horse Capital of the World® as the location for this racetrack.
Pursuing the realization of the OTR permit through the remainder of this year and into next remains our top industry-saving and, eventually, growth opportunity. We look forward to finally receiving enthusiastic, full-throated support for this project, because it is a matter of Florida Thoroughbred industry survival for all of us and for all stakeholders. This is clearly a case where a rising tide, a new racetrack, lifts all boats.
John Morgan (left) Lonny Powell (right) – ©Judit Seipert
On behalf of the FTBOA and OTR boards, as well as Team Morgan, otherwise known as Gilligan Racing, I can assure you that we are working every day to make the OTR permit economically viable and competitive amid the challenges our industry faces nationwide.
I know we are all anxious to see what the solution will be, so I ask us all to stay tuned. We have much work to do and more updates to follow. We need your vocal support and your positive energy, and we will keep you posted on key progress between now and the end of the year.
Ready for Session
As always, Team FTBOA, from Tallahassee to Ocala, is preparing for anything, from the good, the bad and the ugly to the opportunistic. That includes any renewed push for decoupling by either racetrack. We are hopeful they won’t attempt it again after being defeated the past two sessions, and after Gulfstream’s many failed attempts before that during my 15 years here.
As a Florida association focused on Florida by Floridians, FTBOA values its decades of positive relationships, credibility and collaboration with elected and appointed officials, from Tallahassee to our own Marion County and across the state. We look forward to working and communicating directly with them. FTBOA does not delegate its political responsibilities, legislative representation or duties to any outside entity.
We are prepared to pursue long-term and, if necessary, short-term strategies in Tallahassee and with like-minded, trusted Florida partners and stakeholders to repair and modernize current racing laws, regulations and economics. In our humble opinion, many of them are badly broken, particularly for Florida breeders and owners.
That said, creating a new replacement Florida racetrack remains our highest priority.
Thank You
Lonny Powell (left), Wilton Simpson (right) – ©Judit Seipert
I want to extend some thanks, starting with the stars of our show: the Florida-bred horses we are all here for. They compete so well and win at all levels, including the global stage.
To our members, a majority of you breeders: thank you for your support, for hanging in and for investing in Florida-breds and the Florida industry. Track-induced decoupling debates have hit our legislature at least seven, eight or nine times over the last 15 years, always falling at the top of the breeding season. You folks are amazing. You are more resilient than any other state in the country. We are working hard to make your sacrifices worthwhile for a better future.
I also salute our hardworking staff, our advisors at SBM Partners and, of course, Team Morgan. We couldn’t make this happen without them. A dedicated board of directors has to be there from day one, and I always appreciate ours. And to our many community, state and national industry friends, supporters and like-minded stakeholders, thank you for your support. We look forward to even more.
Return to the November 3 issue of Wire to Wire
