A trial challenging the Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering's recognition of a new horsemen's group at Hialeah is set to begin in Tallahassee Tuesday. Those close to horsemen's issues in Florida have said the under-the-radar trial in the courtroom of Administrative Law Judge Lawrence P. Stevenson could have state and national implications.
Hialeah has submitted its racing permit application listing a new horseman's group created by Hialeah management.
Though the new horsemen's group has yet to be assembled, the Division has recognized it and issued Hialeah its racing permit for 2017.
The Division is not willing to be a referee to determine if this new group is legitimate and constitutes the new majority, says William P. White.
White, president of the Florida Horsemen's Protective and Benevolent Association claims the Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering is evolving into a regulation entity that does not referee/arbitrate. White is due to testify before Stevenson on Tuesday.
"With no racing commission, there is no governmental body to appeal to other than the courts," he says. "So every time we bring some sort of issue to the Division, they say, 'oh, it's not for us to decide,' we'll get the courts to do it."
Observers, however, say the Division shouldn't have to referee this issue. There are supposed to be signed "cards" on file that show a member has chosen to affiliate with that group. They say the Division has chosen simply to look the other way.
The group replaced was the American Quarter Horse Association (Racing). AQHA has represented horsemen since Hialeah began racing Quarter Horses in 2010. The original six-year purse agreement between AQHA and Hialeah expired last year.
A Quarter Horse permit also allows other breed races, including Thoroughbreds, as long as half the races are Quarter Horses.
Thus, with a new group, nothing would prevent Hialeah from running a mixed meet with a bogus group calling the shots.
It is a clear danger that the Division would accept on face value a track submitting a contrived horseman's group for the issuance of a permit.
Hialeah's gain is that they now are going to run in the Summer of 2017 with an abbreviated racing schedule. They can also cut or eliminate slot revenue to purses because they don't have to negotiate legitimately, but only with a group they created.
"In essence, Hialeah can fill out a purse contract any way they want and they are now, in all practicality, decoupled without legislation," said White.
"I believe the danger to us is Calder. When the tri-party agreement expires in four years, Churchill Downs again takes over the running of Calder," he said. "Churchill could try to do something similar to what Hialeah is doing."
Calder has virtually decoupled without any authority's permission. It has scrapped 1,400 of its 1,800 horse stalls and torn down its grandstand. Calder does have a casino. By state law, a casino at a pari-mutuel must be connected to its grandstand by a walkway.
Churchill wants decoupling now but could be tempted to go to a Hialeah formula if decoupling doesn't happen. White thinks it could be Churchill's plan so they would not have to negotiate with the FHBPA four years from now.
White's testimony will involve the legal requirement to have a legitimate horsemen's group representing the owners and trainers.
"This situation is getting very little attention but has enormous consequences," he said.
Observers have said if Hialeah is successful, it's a game-changer in how racetracks deal with recognized and legitimate horsemen's groups.
The real fear and the bottom line: With Division sanction, those behind decoupling have found a way to circumvent federal law if their attempt to separate casinos from pari-mutuel operations fails in the Florida Legislature.
Stay tuned.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
