Hope dwindled for Florida horsemen Friday after a revenue estimating conference on decoupling failed to address the economic impact of allowing many of the state's pari-mutuel facilities to close, while at the same time retaining their casino licenses.

State economist Amy Baker and a team from the Office of Economic and Demographic Research, Florida House, Senate, Department of Professional Regulation and the Governor's Office performed a fiscal review of the 2016 gaming bills before the House and Senate. It was an entirely one-dimensional exercise.

The 2016 presidential campaign has already been a somewhat long but definitely wild ride, with dueling debates, bad Photoshop jobs, talks of building walls along the Mexican border and even taking on the Pope. A lot of these political wars have been waged through social media, keeping voters on the edge of their seats, fingers ready to click the refresh button for the next bout of political drama.

After three wins in a row, Donald Trump looks like a solid favorite to win the Republican presidential nomination--and he could be looking to the Sunshine State to find a running mate. Earlier this week, Trump talked about what he would look for in an understudy on the ticket and, if he wins in November, as vice president.