A Leon County Circuit judge wont stand in the way of a state administrative hearing to determine if Gretna racing, which hopes to eventually offer slot machines, can use barrel racing as its gateway pari-mutuel activity.
Judge Kevin Carroll denied the Florida Quarter Horse Track Associations request to block a planned Florida Division of Administrative Hearings review on Friday by requiring a court trial.
The administrative review is to determine the legality of Gretna Racing LLCs license from the Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering to offer barrel racing as a pari-mutuel wagering activity at its tribal facility in Gadsden County, about 30 miles west of Tallahassee.
The Track Association, in its complaint to the state, claims that barrel racing is a subterfuge to allow Gretna to conduct card room operations and seek a slot machine license.
In court, Attorney Harry Purnell, representing the Track Association, contended that Gretnas license dramatically changes the definition of quarter horse racing.
All racing in this state thats been conducted since it first became legal in the 1930s, and even some that was conducted prior to that time, has always involved head-to-head competition among the race animals on the race track, running simultaneously, Purnell said.
Gretna has argued that the Track Association failed to show standing to contest the license.
Purnell countered that his group has standing because the license could affect the livelihoods of those involved by expanding the scope of quarter horse racing to include barrel racing.
Gretna Race received a permit to offer quarter horse racing in 2008 at the Gadsden County facility that is now planned to open next month.Without a track being constructed, Gretna instead filed for a license to conduct pari-mutuel wagering on quarter horses running a barreled track.
Gretna received an amended permit Oct. 19 to allow the barrel racing starting Dec. 1.
The Track Association argued that pari-mutuel wagering on quarter horses has been regulated by the state since 1949 and barrel racing should not be considered a recognized activity.
Recognition of barrel racing as a pari-mutuel wagering activity would represent the establishment of an entirely new category of pari-mutuel wagering and would result in a dramatic change in the interpretation of what constitutes quarter horse racing, the Track Association argued in its filing with the state.
Traditionally in quarter horse racing, a field of eight to 10 horses sprint a quarter mile from a common starting gate. Hialeah Race Track is the only facility currently offering such races.
In barrel racing, more of a rodeo event, a single horse and rider at a time navigate three barrels set up in a triangular fashion. The competitor who does it fastest wins.
Gretna intends to use the pari-mutuel events as a springboard to providing slot machines at its facility.
A referendum seeking to allow slot machines at the Gretna facility is currently scheduled to go before Gadsden County voters on Jan. 31, 2012. The referendum is allowed under state law in counties where a pari-mutuel facility holds a minimum number of events within a two-year period.
Hamilton County Downs, off Interstate 75 near the Georgia state line, has since made a similar application to the state to offer barrel racing as a wagering activity.
Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com, (850) 727-0859, or (772) 215-9889.
