By FTBOA CEO Lonny Powell
Our priority every December is to update our membership on the issues and events of the past year that have impacted the Florida Thoroughbred breeding and racing industry.
All will recall that in 2023 the Florida Legislature enacted a two-year breeding and racing stimulus package, totaling more than $66 million across two years, referred to as House Bill 7063. This program produced Florida’s all-time strongest Thoroughbred breeding and racing incentives and provided state funding for HISA federal regulatory assessments.
This year’s bill, HB 7073, removes the two-year statutory “sunset” provision that would have phased out this program in 2025, thereby extending indefinitely critical industry funding, which includes:
• $15 million in purses and/or facility improvements at Gulfstream Park, with a similar $5 million going to Tampa Bay Downs;
• $5 million for the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association (FTBOA) breeding and racing incentives and/or promotions;
• $2.5 million in additional Florida-bred racing incentives.
Coupled with more than $6 million in annual racetrack tax credits to offset HISA assessments, the recurring annual stimulus combines to about $33.5 million for Florida Thoroughbreds.
The extended annual funding provides long-term stability and enhanced a Florida industry already on the upswing in 2024 thanks to new programs such as 20% statutory-maximum breeder awards for Florida-breds in Florida races, $18,000 added for Florida-breds in maiden special weight and allowance races at Tampa Bay Downs, and all-time high FTBOA and Florida-Bred Incentive Funds in Gulfstream Park races.
This legislation passed due to the herculean efforts of Marion County’s own Senator-elect Stan McClain, Speaker Paul Renner, and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo. We also appreciate the strong support of Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson during our effort and many thanks to Governor DeSantis for signing the bill into law.
But let there be no mistake – this legislation would not have ever cleared the launchpad without the FTBOA taking the leadership role as a trusted, honest broker among the various parties. The work of our Smith, Bryan and Myers lobbyist team of Matt Bryan and Jon Rees, combined with the talents of our general counsel Warren Husband and our strong FTBOA support base of president, board and staff, were all absolutely essential to helping me and our Tallahassee team get this impactful Legislation across the finish line.
For further details on this program and its economic impact, as well as all the thank you’s for this game-changing legislation, please refer to April’s episode 41 and to March’s episode 37 of The Florida Horse podcast, available at ftboa.com.
The reality is Florida’s modern Thoroughbred racing industry relies heavily on Florida-breds to fill the starting gate.
In fact, between Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs across the last 12 months our highly competitive Florida-breds represented 40% of all starters, 40% of winners, 40% of purses earned and 75% of these winning Florida-breds are Florida-sired.
Total breeder and stallion awards have seen an amazing increase of 52% and combined racing incentives at Florida racetracks gained about 66%.
Tampa Bay Downs was especially artful in applying HB7063 funding to race purses, alongside a joint effort with FTBOA, to enhance overnight race purses by a collective 36% and leading to increased fields and wagering growth.
Florida emerged in 2024 as the leading state outside Kentucky for combined breeder, stallion and open race owner awards. Florida maintains its edge as the leading regional producer by total national starters, starts and wins. And, finally, Florida perennially outruns ALL regional breeder-states by number of open and graded stakes wins. (See page 40 of the December Florida Horse) It is undeniable that equine speed is a major Florida export.
Please be reminded that all of this good news would not be possible without HB 7073 and its 2023 precursor, HB 7063.
So, lest there be any doubt, with the newly created enhancements for the Florida Thoroughbred industry there has never been a better time to own, buy, sell and breed Florida-breds.
Of course, none of this would have mattered if FTBOA hadn’t managed to deflect the aggressive and ill-conceived spring, 2021 legislative efforts of some – including our largest racetrack, and its’ horsemens’ association board and officers – to decouple Thoroughbred racing from all other forms of gaming offered at the tracks. That initiative, had it succeeded, would have enabled racetracks to eliminate purse payments from gaming revenues and discontinue live racing entirely. To date we remain flabbergasted, unable to explain to the inquiring national industry, how horsemen leadership’s sacrifice of race dates and purses is good for Florida Thoroughbred owners.
Before I leave the topic of our legislative and legal resources, we will be seeing two of our best—chief lobbyist Matt Bryan and general counsel Warren Husbands—transitioning to retirement at the end of this year. Each of these Tallahassee professionals has served 30-plus years with our Association and are owed a debt of gratitude by the entire Florida Thoroughbred industry for their good work, particularly in our State’s Capital on behalf of not only the FTBOA and Florida breeders, but more often than not, the racetracks and horsemen as well.
As tough as it is to see Matt and Warren go, we are very excited about the deeply experienced and already transitioned legal and lobby team that will assist us in moving this industry forward. Our lobby team will be led by FTBOA veteran lobbyist Jon Rees, along with Smith, Bryan and Myers principal Jeff Hartley. Our legal team will now include Lisa Hurley of SBM as our association counsel and Steve Menton of the Rutledge Ecenia firm as our gaming and administrative law counsel.
Not only does it take a great lobby team, legal counsel, management team, staff, board and officers to make great things like our 2023-24 legislation happen—it takes a supportive, empathetic, calm, cerebral and selfless volunteer board chairman and president to set the tone and facilitate the necessary discussions, all while supporting me as CEO and this association, as well as my team of executives and advisors. As is usually the case with FTBOA presidents, we seem to be particularly blessed to have the exact right person for the exact right time. FTBOA’s second-year president, longtime board member and officer George Isaacs has continued that proud leadership tradition.
During his past two years our President George Isaacs, has presided over a tremendous, historic time of legislative and economic success. If you know George, you know he is “all in” when it comes to Bridlewood Farm, the FTBOA, the Florida breeding industry and his community. It is an honor to work at his side.
