The Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ & Owners’ Association CEO Lonny Powell joined a panel of racing experts on Jan. 5 for the Pari-Mutuel Committee session at the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States during their annual winter meeting in Fort Lauderdale.
Titled, “The Future of Horse Racing”, the session focused on the pressure horse racing nationwide is under from a horse and rider safety perspective and from rapidly expanding gaming options across the country. While there is new federal oversight of racing safety and implementation of the Horseracing Integrity Safety Authority, pari-mutuel handle is growing rapidly via Historical Horse Racing machines and other unique uses of pari-mutuel methodology for new gaming options.
In addition to Powell, the panel included Chris Cipolla, Senior Director Horse Racing, DraftKings; Steve May, Senior Executive Government Affairs, Gaming Laboratories International (GLI); and Jeff True, Senior Vice President Sales and Client Services, 1/ST Technology. The group reviewed the current state of the industry and discussed pari-mutuel gaming and technological options now available for legislators and regulators to consider in 2024.
The session was chaired by Senator Jason Barrett, West Virginia, who is also the NCLGS treasurer.
Tammy A. Gantt contributed to this report.
